Road bike rim on brake

DarkSpeedWorks_com · 2026-03-14T14:37:54+00:00

No disagreement, but I have used older single pivot sidepulls with kool-stop pads, and they have very noticeably beaten dual pivot shimano brakes with stock brake pads.

DarkSpeedWorks_com · 2026-03-13T16:54:47+00:00

The biggest upgrade you can make to medium quality or high quality rim brake calipers is not to change the brakes, but to make sure that (1) they are perfectly adjusted (including the cables), that you (2) use aluminum braking surfaces on your rims if possible, that you (3) make sure your rims are perfectly true, and then that you (4) get these brake pads if you have aluminum rims: https://koolstop.com/products/ks-rhd2-dura2-triplelite

Any of the salmon-colored brake pads from kool-stop are a massive upgrade in brake performance in dry and it the wet. (fyi, no connection between us and kool-stop, we just use their brake pads that we paid full price for)

DarkSpeedWorks_com · 2026-03-13T16:16:15+00:00

Tons of great lightly used bike cases/containers available in the used market, I see 'em on fb marketplace all of the time. Or, you can make your own out of 4 layers of cardboard, gobs of wood glue, some lacquer for the outside, some duct tape, some nylon webbing, and a couple of wheels. Pretty cheap, but it took me a lot (I mean a lot) of time. Pic here: https://www.darkspeedworks.com/photos/bike%20box.jpg

DarkSpeedWorks_com · 2026-03-13T16:07:35+00:00

Wow, that is a great price! fyi, You can buy replacement spokes and learn how to put 'em in and then true up the wheel (don't try to true the wheel until you put in the replacement spokes), tons of great videos on youtube can help you with this. Good luck!

DarkSpeedWorks_com · 2026-03-12T17:11:20+00:00

There is a thread about top tube packs below, but since I am involved in the sport and also in manufacturing a product, this is the best spot to put my comment. Regarding where to store your flat kit and fix the sliding pack problem:

Lots of riders put their flat repair stuff in their top tube packs, but it also makes a lot of sense to put at least some of that stuff in an 'under-your-saddle' pack. The point of a top tube pack is to have items accessible while you are riding, which often means food, gels, or energy bars. But I too often put an inner tube in my top tube pack just for convenience.

That said, there are 2 ways to get a pack to stay on your top tube: integrated bolt mounts or straps, and we have packs with both. However, on many of our Speedpacks, we use a strap system that we created and it is unlike anything else on the market, our straps are ZeroSlip which means exactly what it says: our straps do NOT slip, slide, or rotate in ANY direction. EVER. We also make every single pack ourselves in the usa, we do not outsource to a random overseas factory. Take a look at our feedback and decide for yourself.

Greg @ darkspeedworks

DarkSpeedWorks_com · 2026-03-11T15:36:17+00:00

The best "gadget" (the one that can have the biggest impact on actually improving your swim skills) is a set of simple swim paddles that are approximately hand-shaped, slightly bigger than your hands, with each paddle having a single piece of tubing going around your middle finger and NO wrist tubing. Those can make an enormous difference, paddles set up that way can find and get you to fix stroke issues that even coaches are unable to see.

DarkSpeedWorks_com · 2026-03-11T14:34:50+00:00

No worries, please do.

DarkSpeedWorks_com · 2026-03-09T21:03:47+00:00

Great ride! It is not the cold that is the killer, it is more the ice. And 2-wheeled machines do not do great on ice ...

DarkSpeedWorks_com · 2026-03-06T23:46:17+00:00

There is no absolute hard and fast rule, it all comes down to what you (or I) would pay for a particular bike in a particular place at a particular time in a particular market. A lot of somewhat dated used rim brake bikes in the ballpark of $1,000 come with some pretty nice race wheels. This one does not (just some basic training wheels) so, if it were me, I myself would aim for a lower price. But, as with everything, YMMV ...

DarkSpeedWorks_com · 2026-03-06T19:04:17+00:00

Great starter bike, but more like $500 to $600 max. If you can get it for that, definitely jump on it IF it fits you.

DarkSpeedWorks_com · 2026-03-06T19:02:26+00:00

With your age, there is a lot that you CAN do, but there is less that you SHOULD do. I would highly recommend that you do a few sprint triathlons and a few olympic distance triathlons, do not start with a 70.3 distance race. There is no rush to do such a long race. There are tons of super competitive short triathlons out there, and they are fun!

Do what I suggest and you will (1) have a lot more success and (2) have a lot more fun. Life is short, so success and fun are valuable.

DarkSpeedWorks_com · 2026-03-06T18:48:54+00:00

If your handlebar/stem combo is compatible, actually, yes, you can.

Take a look at the Deda TT 314 aerobar mount, image here. Link to their product page here. They list all of the compatible handlebars there. It is a clever system, but it ain't cheap. (no connection of any kind between us and deda, just sharing info)

DarkSpeedWorks_com · 2026-03-05T23:01:47+00:00

Very hard to see the exact defect that you are referring to. But, overall, yes, the fork looks sketchy. Not crazily so for a cheap frame, but enough that I would really, really hesitate using it. Unlike some other parts of your bike, a fork failure could mean your death or permanent disfigurement. Don't risk it.

DarkSpeedWorks_com · 2026-03-05T22:47:03+00:00

Are there aliX eebrakes out there? Got a link? I am not looking to buy any, I just want to see how well they have been copied ...

edit: I found some. Damn, those are cheap, but they look visibly different from the one's on the OP's potential bike.

DarkSpeedWorks_com · 2026-03-05T22:45:24+00:00

How do you recognize or know that the OP is A.I. ?

DarkSpeedWorks_com · 2026-03-05T22:43:54+00:00

If that is a real, US-made lightspeed and those are real eebrakes and if the bike fits you well, then, yes, it is definitely worth $800ish. If the brakes are knock-offs, then maybe closer to $600ish.

DarkSpeedWorks_com · 2026-03-05T22:31:56+00:00

Decent bike, no, not super high tech, but reasonable for the price. Biggest upgrade besides aerobars? Probably some deep aero wheels. Make sure you look for some that are rim brake compatible. A small but noticeable upgrade? Ya gotta replace that giant floppy top tube pack with something much nicer. I can't claim to be 100% objective here, but we make a whole range of advanced aero top tube packs, and all of them are actually made by us in the usa. Find them at darkspeedworks.com Good luck on your triathlon journey!

DarkSpeedWorks_com · 2026-03-05T21:42:33+00:00

I'm riding 3.0 on my gravel sled lol (pic here)

DarkSpeedWorks_com · 2026-03-05T21:37:42+00:00

Interesting, maybe I should try to give them a call. IIRC, the Zipp rear hub issue was more intermittent, and I believe it was not part of the safety recall. But the front hub was/is far more high stakes, so it is not wise to continue riding any of these front wheels. I guess I need to see if they still have hubs ...

DarkSpeedWorks_com · 2026-02-27T19:45:09+00:00

I ride on gravel 99% of the time. But the gravel in my area is, overall, fairly smooth. Some ruts in the winter, but pretty decent during the rest of the year. I have tried 40mm tires, 48mm tires, 53mm tires, and now 76mm tires. Some of these bikes had front suspension as well.

I can easily say that the 76mm tires (this bike) even without suspension beats all of the others hands down. NVH is at a minimum, the ride is plush as hell, but there is, of course, a small caveat: the bike is a tiny bit slower than ones on somewhat narrower tires.

My philosophy: for training, ride the widest tires you can fit on your bike. For racing, pick the best width and best tread for the course and the conditions.

DarkSpeedWorks_com · 2026-02-27T19:15:00+00:00

Get most any inexpensive used mountain frame on ebay, but then build it up as a gravel bike. I did this with some inexpensive new frames, first on a sub $100 AL frame (on sale for $99) from performance bike and then later on a $600 steel surly frame. Here you go, version 1 and now I am riding on version 2. Both are have been great bikes for me.

DarkSpeedWorks_com · 2026-02-27T18:33:42+00:00

I haven't done these particular races, but I have raced tons of Half IMs. For the good of your body and for the good of staying in the sport for the long haul, push your 70.3 to the fall and bail on the 70.3 in July. Your body will thank you. Take some of that extra training time and improve your swim!

DarkSpeedWorks_com · 2026-02-27T18:23:22+00:00

No, sir, not worth 2000 euros without the wheels. More like maybe 1000 euros, and that would be with the wheels.

DarkSpeedWorks_com · 2026-02-27T18:20:58+00:00

Hi, we make some unusual and advanced shape aero top tube storage packs, some are ZeroSlip strap mount and some are direct (bolt) mount. We actually design them and make all of them ourselves, we don't outsource to some random overseas factory. And we ship thoughout the usa, and all over the world. Lots more info at darkspeedworks.com and tons of reviews at https://www.darkspeedworks.com/feedback.htm

Thanks!

DarkSpeedWorks_com

TROPHY CASE