Friday, January 28, 2011

I am the real deal ...

I pull no punches when it comes to parts, builds and maintenance. I have no brand loyalties or underwriters if parts work they get recommended/ used. My dogma is build it right or do not bother.

It is time for yearly maintenance time to strip the bike down to the bare frame leaving only the head set in the frame. ( unless it needs replacing) This is the time to replace all the cables& housing, bar tape, bearings and any fasteners that have corrosion. Time to inspect all parts thoroughly after cleaning/ de-greasing.

Big tips use the best bearings you can afford, use standard or stainless fasteners it is not worth risking failures with AL or TI bot are inferior fasteners for differing reasons the weight you save is minimal in comparison to safety. ( some pros do use them but they are switched out quite frequently)

My suggestions do not spend a lot on bar tape or chains as you will be changing them frequently. Chains should be changed every 1-1.5k bar tape every 3k as the cables and house will be changed at that time too. Shift cables every 1k to keep the shifting performance up to peak.

CX amd MTB racers I can not strongly enough suggest that no CF seat posts be used . This is a component that takes a lot of stress and has a high failure rate in these disciplines. Use an high quality alloy post it may just save you from a DNF or injury one day.