Chain Breaker. photo-Cor Vos
I replace my chain every year, more or less. It tends toward less as I don’t have a set anniversary for new chains. Usually I notice the shifting is lagging a second and it dawns on me that the chain is in need of replacement. In my youth I would keep the same chain on the bike forever. I even used to take it off, and reinstall it inside out (?!) thinking…thinking that I was a cheap idiot. The result of that was the rear cogs were always ruined too, reinforcing the cheap idiot thing. Since replacing the chain on a yearly basis I’ve never had to replace a cassette. I’ve heard that the Fabian Cancellara’s of the pro peloton get a new chain once a week. The pros are fifty-two times more mighty.
This most recent chain replacement had me using a Campagnolo Chorus chain I had attempted to install on another bike and failed. I shamefully put the chain on a shelf until I had stocked up on Campagnolo’s special bullet shaped, don’t drop this on the shop floor or you will never find it, you only get one shot at this, very special chain pin. Maybe it’s like redoing your handlebar tape or filing taxes; these jobs only done once a year never go perfectly. Installing the Campagnolo chain is like what I imagine arming a field tactical nuclear weapon is like. It is cramped. It requires small hands. It requires excellent vision. It requires mechanical skills and you only get one shot at it. Luckily, for me, the whole mess was contained with a KMC 11-speed quick link, whew, done and dusted.
My point is, when one changes just one component on one’s bike, the change is very noticeable, The first few pedal strokes out on the road with a new chain is a subtle revelation. It feels different. It feels better. Damn it feels excellent.
Or is it all in the mind. This article was linked in the Velominati posts a while back. In a world full of anecdotal evidence I do enjoy an article where our perceptions are put to the test. Maybe my new chain feeling is all in my head? Who cares, I can still enjoy it and “in my head” is where enjoyment happens anyway.
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I'm a convert to dry wax lubes, especially squirt (I believe it's a Sth African company?) where you apply at night ride in the morning. Most of my miles right now are on the commuter and the track bike, and have to admit that for the previous summer's race season, I was all about the prolink for race day.
Have to admit I don't understand removing and soaking the chain in kero or degreaser - flushing out the grease inside the links, for one, would root the chain, and they're disposable items these days - they're just not supposed to last that long to make it worthwhile to go through that amount of hassle. Soaking in Paraffin, yeah sure, that'd get some marginal gains, but who can be arsed,really. You can get the chain super clean without removing it form the bike, and drip wax lubes perform really well in the wet.
Speaking of drive train maintenance, I just stumbled across a new product for post-job hand cleaning: the used dryer sheet!
Yesterday, after cleaning the thick black sludge that accumulates around the rear D tight areas and underbelly of the bb I subsequently came up with hands so black you know you did the job right. I didn't want to transfer said blackness to the garage doorknob, so I looked around for something to wipe my fingertips enough to open the door and get to the sink. Spotted a used dryer sheet (does not need to be Snuggle brand). To my surprise, the sheet absolutely cleaned my hands completely, with no water/soap/solvents.
Great re-use of a product and will start keeping them on my work bench. Always hated to just throw those sheets away after one spin in the dryer.
@ErikdR
Darn, you beat me to it. I just copied the pic from the catalogue and wanted to paste it, but then saw you already did. This post should be under the Bikes though. FYI: I got a new Koga signature last January, see catalogue pic.
@DeKerr: it's been raining cast and dogs here in Switzerland over the past couple of days (see Tour de Romandie footage, which ended yesterday), so I have not been able to take any nice sunny pictures of the old steel Koga Miyata (now promoted 8 steps from nr 1 to bike nr 9) , still have to gussy her up a bit and make it Rule #26 compliant before posting. I did clean the chain though yesterday ;-)
@RobSandy
If you're racing TTs, choose GP4000s over and over again. They seem to strike a pretty ideal balance between rolling resistance (very good score), aerodynamics (those little ridges apparently make it fast) without being super-fragile. They're not exactly my first choice for Pave or rain, nor do they feel supple - but they undeniably work. Conti Attack/Force are pretty much the same, might be a touch faster.
If you're willing to put up with a bit more puncture-risk and gain a slightly faster tyre, Specialized Turbo Cottons are the current king-of-the-hill in terms of Crr/aero tradeoffs. Rumor has it they're also super-supple and grippy, and would make great road racing tyres - but that they tend to cut easily.
I like Vittoria Corsa Evo CXs for summer riding and road-racing, GP4000s on the TT wheels and a Roubaix-style open tub (Challenge, Vittoria Pave etc) for the #1 wheelset - latex tubes on all, these make the biggest difference. Winter and gravel on the Conti 4-Season, because I get hypothermic easily if I stop mid-ride.
@Teocalli
I think I actually have exactly the same pair of pliers (first set given to me by my dad around 40 years ago) but not so sure about the coat hanger. Hope it will work though...
@tessar
While on the subject, what are your thoughts on TT tubs?
I've recently acquired some Mavic 80s with Mavic's own tubs for the Trinity.
Having ridden clinchers all my life I was expecting something on the level of divine revelation but it was decidedly anti-climactic. My Enves with Vittoria Open Corsa and latex tubes on the TCR actually feel nicer and on the Trinity if I did a 'blind' test I doubt that I could distinguish between the Mavics and the Giant P-A2 alloy clinchers it came with.
Anyway at some point I'm going to have to replace them and I understand that the Mavic tubs are pretty poor in terms of resistance. Although I can get them at a heavy discount, so there's that...
What other options should I look at do you think? I'm generally riding on pretty smooth, well-maintained surfaces so speed and feel is above durability.
@ChrisO
Mavic CXR80s? On some frames it's the fastest wheel bar none! You're right that the Mavic tubs are poor in terms of Crr.
I'd say the newest Zipp Tangente SLSpeed are a pretty good bet. Crr-wise they're some of the fastest road tubs (nearly as fast as the fastest clinchers) - to get significantly faster than that, you'll have to hedge your bets on specialist track tubs. Also, they apparently play nice aerodynamically (expected for Zipp?). No other option on the market nails Crr+Aero at the moment, for a tubular. Schwalbe's Ironman used to, but now they come with butyl tubes (same with Conti's tubs).
I'm not surprised you've been underwhelmed by the difference. Despite the romantic musings on this site, there's nothing magical about gluing a tyre as opposed to a bead-hook holding it in place (assuming road pressures, not 'cross). The whole mystique of a tubular comes from the days when tubs were handmade works of art and came with a supple cotton or silk sidewall and a thin piece of thread glued to it, while clinchers were thick, rubber behemoths. These days, you can get shit tubs with vulcanized rubber threads, or top clinchers with supple sidewalls. An "Open Tub" - essentially a supple, tubular-like casing with thread glued to it, just with a bead-hook - will ride as nicely as any equivalent tubular: Your Open Corsa is nearly identical to a tubular Corsa, and in fact some bikes at Paris-Roubaix this year had threads from the clincher models glued onto tubular casings - they're that similar.
@tessar
That's the one - where you can put the little insert between the rim and the tyre, although I haven't done it.
Reviews seem to suggest that the gain of the insert is more than offset by the requirement to use Mavic tyres.
@ChrisO
Indeed, but despite Mavic's warnings, there doesn't seem to be any reason not to use faster tyres from other manufacturers on those wheels. Besides, since these inserts are raceday-only items, I reckon they can't cause much harm to the sidewalls anyway.
Mavic's prototype CXR clincher tyres apparently tested quite well, but I'm not sure if the same holds true for the production version (and is definitely not true of the tubulars). Might indicate that the compound itself is good, but held back by butyl tubes inside the casing. I wonder what Katusha and other Mavic-sponsored teams are using.
@tessar
The inserts aren't UCI legal apparently, which is another reason why I haven't bothered with them - not that anyone would check out here. Unless we beat the locals...