all purpose gear thread

the lombardia is still s/s but they stop just above the elbow so that should eliminate the gappy arm warmer effect hopef

who makes good warm arm warmers? i always pick up generic spandex stuff that's not warm enough

i typically dislike pi stuff, it often has insufficient stretch and seems very unsupple, but i have their heavyweight-ish armwarmers and they are adequate. typical brushed fleece backing. looks like they don't make em like mine anymore, mine have cool asymmetrical cuffs that longer to the outside and slightly cut back by the thumb. i can wear them alone down to high thirties low forties if its sunny and dry.

can i have yours?

sure, if i find better ones for a good price i will send the pi to you. i'll be careful to wash the snot glaze off the back of the cuffs :)

I have capo and Rapha ones and they both work well (who has two sets of arm warmers? someone who asks for arm warmers for christmas, that's who). The raphia are heavier and warmer but the capo are still pretty decent and really both do well as if it gets too cold for the capo ones I'm going long sleeved.

want to upgrade the wheels on my winter bike to shimano R501s but the rear wheel is a cassette-style hub whereas my current wheels are 6-speed freewheel style

is it possible to use the R501s and how do I go about it?

semi-educated guess: you'll need to get the rear triangle spread to take the wider hub. you'll need a 6-sp cassette to replace yr freewheel, too, which might be more problematic.

hmmm sounds technical. so do I pay RRP and get a bike shop to do it or do I pay internet prices and try fudge it myself

RRP: £130. internet: £78 delivered

I'd look for a freewheel hub wheel, you could pick up some older ones on eBay or get some new ones. New ones will be cheap but distinctly un fancy.

is fused gear any good, it looks smart but not too sturdy imo? presumably to britishers as its a uk co afaict.

for example
http://www.alwaysriding.co.uk/fused-coated-canvas-14-litre-single-bike-pannier-2112.html

Abt to buy:

CatEye Volt 300 light (300 lumens for $60!!!)
Planet Bike Borealis gloves
maybe a cheap balaclava or hat

I have borealis gloves they are ok not great below 40. Stay recomendation of swix lobsters. 3 weeks ago I got the niterider 700 lumen for $90 on amazon, do shop, cheap hat balaclava always great.

Rly? I keep reading that they're great down to like 20; how long are your rides? I'm only commuting and won't really ever be on my bike for more than half an hour

My rides are long about an hour. Mine Re also 3 years old.

So I'm thinking I'll get a Vulpine softshell for Xmas, but the question is, which colour? Green, red, or grey?

http://www.vulpine.cc/Shop/Mens/Jackets-Gilets/ICAT1000/MENS-SOFTSHELL-JACKET/ITM1000

Currently erring towards red; green is most visible, obviously, but perhaps a touch too close to hi-vis. The grey is nice, but very close to my current Rapha Stowaway, and I don't want to blend in with tarmac so much.

What do you think?

Where is the grey?

The red looks p nice imo

Female model is wearing the grey in some pics.

i _really_ like that softshell, except they need a charcoal gray, black, or navy. just, no way am i double dutying anything that is optic green.

just bought my first set of tubeless road wheels.

Let us know how they go. I like my tubulars so except when I have a puncture sealant can't fix (and TBF changing tyres is a pain in the arse)

sure. ed are you using tubies for general riding, or just events? nothing better than the way they feel, and in cx racing, anything else is like an actual joke ime.

ftr it seems like one can find ultegra 6700 wheelsets out there for pretty reasonable rates new, esp in uk. they are not light at 1650g, but reasonable for a training set.

basically i've been dared into a cx race, i have no rubber, and sold off my cx tubular wheelsets long ago. figure i'll try these tubeless for cx, then convert them to road (hopefully i don't trash them).

I got some Maciv R-Sys wheels used before I left the states. I'm riding them pretty much everywhere. Having learnt that Mavic's own tyres are about as puncture proof as wet tissue I've had mainly trouble free riding with nothing more than a can of vittoria inflateyfoam. I've had one puncture that stopped me getting home but that was a 6 inch rusty nail that stuck right through the tread and sidewall, I had to taxi to the nearest train station. I might have been able to macguyver a solution with a clincher but I'd have been walking down Oliver's Hill at the very least if I had.

Bike looks like this now:

http://i44.tinypic.com/15n5e3b.jpg

Whoops, but you get the idea.

Ordered the red Vulpine.

I adjusted my gears... front and back

tomorrow's run could be interesting....... : /

Red Vulpine arrived. Good fit, seems well-made, got coos of appreciation from the other cyclist in the room (who's wearing a Mammut softshell and thought it was comparable).

looks nice in the pics. tested it in the rain this weekend?

how do I touch up the paint on my steel frame? chain clatter has rubbed off a lot of the paint on the chainstay. sand down the area with 1000 and then apply paints in 3/4 coats, then apply chainstay protector? what type of paint should I use? airfix?

First 8 miles on Saturday morning were in drizzle, and it just rolled right off. The sleeves are a little annoying, though, if you're going fast; the fleece cuffs inside are quite baggy, so if you're wearing short sleeves beneath you'll get a cold wind right up your sleeve (this is obviated a bit by being on the drops, tbf). Long sleeves underneath and this is fine. The sleeves are also a little baggier than I'd have liked, but I knew it wasn't anywhere near a racing cut. The pocket for keys in the sleeve also requires some serious dexterity to access the carabiner. Maybe a Rapha Pro Team Jacket for next winter...

Other than that, really pleased with it. Have done well over 50 miles in it now, with bibs and overshorts (45ish) or with jeans (10ish), and it works really well either way; good cut, good baboon-bum-flap, good pocket layout, looks good, and keeps me toasty warm. The point of buying it was to keep me riding through winter, and encourage me to ride more often than just for exercise, so we'll see how that pans out. But it's working so far.

Got some Rapha city socks and a winter hat (Norwegian colours) for Chrimbo).

Got some Howies bib tights, which I wore yesterday and Saturday; circular-knitted, 'seamless', quite thick lycra and with no pad, so you can / should wear them over another pair of shorts or bibs - it's like I suddenly own 6 pairs of bib tights, cos you don't need to wash these anywhere near as often as they've not got your sweaty junk right in them. Dead useful, very comfortable, kept the wind right out, and with 3/4s underneath, I reckon they'd be good down to 0c or even below.

The Rapha winter hat is bloody awesome, btw; best thing ever.

Strong recommendation for garneau super shield lobster gloves. I've had 2 dif versions of pi, a planet bike, and swix before this. Garneaus are very unlikely looking- they are veerry low volume on the insulation, and very supple. Because they fit so close i was sure they were sized far too small (I have an 8.5 hand and purchased large). If I tug on them my fingers graze the end, which in most winter gloves is too small, you normally want 5 or 7mm ime. Anyway, they have been very comfy from 22 deg up, for an hour duration at low intensity. A little cool in the teens, but bearable. Better than swix and pi, waaaay better than pb borealis.

Got any clothing tips on making 40˚C+ heat cycleable?

How bout them ice vests?

CX1 makes me desire SRAM product for the first time :0

For a race only rig thats very cool stuff. Wonder how big the market is for it?

The deals avail caused me to put new rival on my cx bike last week. I like the crank its super stiff. The shifters work well and ergonomics are good, the feel of the mech is a bit dinky. With road wheels I'm in at 16.7 lbs which is amazing to me. thats nearly a pound less than my road bike.

that is probably lighter than my road bike too, sheesh

ok guys, let's talk saddles. i have never not used a saddle with a channel in it, and i've been on the same WTB pure V pro for 7 years. despite liking it well enough, i still get numbness on longer rides, especially during long climbs. i've tried positioning adjustments (lowering saddle, for instance), but it doesn't really help, and the saddle height feels natural otherwise.

since i first got into cycling, i've heard people talk about brooks saddles and how great they are. i've never been able to see it, but my new coworker and her boyfriend just rode from seattle to los angeles, and both of them rave about the B17. i'm most interested in the new rubber brooks saddle, since i don't do leather, and it doesn't require any break-in time. my hangup is that EVERY time i have tried a supposedly "comfortable" saddle without a channel or cutout, it has been miserable. this includes the gobi, concor, flite, etc. should i even bother with another new saddle to try?

well, brooks are very re-sellable (at least here), so that seems pretty low risk.

on the opposite end would be trying an ism adamo, though the application there is usually quite the opposite to "long climbs." notwithstanding, i have used an ism now for hundreds of tt position miles, and it really does remove _all_ pressure from the taint area. without it, i would have quit doing tts, it was too painful.

i don't know what it'd be like in an upright position, i've not done any extended seated climbs with it. seems like it would still work.

thanks for the adamo tip... this could be interesting.
http://www.ismseat.com/files/imageproxy/saddle_medium/files/images/peak-01.jpg

certainly no brooks in the looks department, but there's probably a greater chance of that solving my issues than a more traditional saddle.

brooks make a version of the b17 with a cutout, don't think they've done a cambium with a cutout yet. I have selle Italia gel flows of various types on all my bikes. Good cutout and it works for me.

i've had great luck with specialized cutout saddles, virtually eliminated the numbness issue for me

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/4126H5rm%2BLL._SX342_.jpg

I really like driving gloves like this and I had a pair but I lost them, but it's too damn cold in Philly to bike more than a mile or two esp early AM or late PM when I am cycling quite a bit. I'm thinking, though, that I should for my next pair of gloves I should buy something more bike-oriented what with padding and moisture control and all that, but idk is it really necessary if I'm only riding 7-10 mi a day? Can I get something versatile that looks sleek/minimal (i.e. not like a fuckin Pearl Izumi Cyclone) but also cushy for the palms? Or am I asking too much :-/ Note also that I am not made of money and I am not going to pay fucking $195 for tipless Rapha gloves, that is fucked.

also also I have not fucked w/ tipless gloves before but would assume that they would not be v good at keeping my hands warm -- or do they?

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/4172Wx3z50L.jpg
http://www.amazon.com/Giro-LX-Gloves-Black-Large/dp/B009R3CXRO/ref=sr_1_2?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1395434679&sr=1-2&keywords=giro+lx+lf
http://www.velodramatic.com/archives/5068

i swear by these, i buy a new pair every year or two for the past 10 years, but they are not sleek, not padded:

http://www.rei.com/zoom/bb/bfab04c8-414d-431e-9917-524e4b0cba30.jpg/440

good down to about 35 deg for me.

http://www.rei.com/product/766531/manzella-silkweight-windstopper-gloves-mens#reviewsTab

i guess giro also does a winter glove:

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41Er1lpExrL.jpg

http://www.amazon.com/Giro-Ambient-Winter-Cycling-Glove/dp/B00FQMYQ2U/ref=pd_sim_sbs_sg_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=1NM77W7XF61GBNQBDZC4