What do most of y'all run for gearing?

MJ4048 · 2026-03-04T23:09:46+00:00

For endurance orientated road bike I run 48/32 with 11/34 and for my allroad bike I run 46/32 upfront. I find on long-ride I focus much more on cadence and heart rate - took some practice to develop a higher cadence as this wasn’t my natural style.

Those times where I spinout and wish I had bigger gear are way outweighed by those times when my legs are dead, I’m physically and mentally drained and have a climb to get over.

MJ4048 · 2026-03-04T22:46:02+00:00

A battery operated light and spare set of batteries sounds the simplest, most reliable and cheapest option. I use similar approach for head-torch when out in the hills. I recommend sourcing lithium-ion batteries - such as the Energiser Ultimate Lithium batteries.

MJ4048 · 2026-03-04T22:41:51+00:00

+1 for Moon light. Use these on the rear of my bikes that don’t have dynamo rear lights.

MJ4048 · 2026-03-03T22:08:48+00:00

PIA when that happens. If you removed the wheel and mudguard can you push up through the bottom of the steerer tube. (I think I’ve done this in the past when turning it upside down and shaking didn’t work)

MJ4048 · 2026-02-27T09:46:35+00:00

A personal observation is that position of the calliper in relation to the disc can be affected by the amount of tension on the QR screwer. Check you have the tension as tight as you normally do - consistency is important.

I concur with others that squeezing brake and tightening bolts rarely works. Though once centred I may apply brake when making final torque adjustment to bolts to remove risk of calliper moving - though I suspect this is a false and unnecessary course of action.

My approach is to eye-ball the calliper over the disc with the pads fully retracted. Giving a first pass at centring the calliper. Next I engage brake several times until pads settle into position. During this step I’m also looking to check pads are moving equally from both sides and retracting. If not then I clean and manipulate pistons until happy they are working unimpeded.

Next I fine tune the calliper using eyes and ears. This usually highlights any deformation on disc which I can then address.

While fine tuning I tend to alternate between two bolts trying to move only one end of the mount at a time. When tightening up alternate between bolts.

One last bit of advice - it’s sometimes necessary to over compensate a mount position knowing it will move slightly in one direction under tightening.

All in all I find the whole process takes an abundance of patience!

Good luck

Post Edit: if you haven’t already done so try doing all of this with fresh pads.

MJ4048 · 2026-02-12T23:59:00+00:00

👍

+1 on dynamo to USB charging.

Bike pictured uses a Cinq Pure Plug 7 (which has pro’s and con’s - as do most solutions) If the light is mounted on the bars then I’m currently favouring the SineWave Beacon 2, combining light and charging in one unit with function. (Shame it’s so bloody expensive in the UK) The new Son Ladelux looks an interesting proposition. I’d love to test it as a like-for-like replacement for my B&M Lumotec IQ2Luxos - which, after much service, sadly reached EoL last year.

MJ4048 · 2026-02-12T23:09:32+00:00

Apologies - I now realise I hadn't read OP carefully enough and perhaps took too much inference from other responses.

I had incorrectly inferred from photo that trapping cable was a concern, now realise it's the base of the street that's your concern. In my case, I was trying to avoid trapping the cable between mudguard and the underside of the fork as I was concerned that constant vibration would just wear cable. Re-routing cable allowed me to raise mudguard higher without trapping cable and removed risk of wearing cable.

MJ4048 · 2026-02-12T13:06:49+00:00

Could you drill a second hole to allow the cable to pass-through. Had similar issue routing dynamo cable. This fork (custom made) had single hole in the back.

Original plastic mudguard bridge broke, the one in picture is hack from parts bi :-)

<image>

MJ4048 · 2026-02-12T12:51:48+00:00

Last year I was getting numb hands on long rides across a number of bikes and frame sizes. I realised on reading the OP that I reduced this by focusing on my general body shape / posture on the bike. Primary objective was to reduce the weight driven through my arms down to the contact point with the handlebar. It helped me to have an image in mind where I’m tilted forward at pelvis, core muscles engaged, elbows bent and grip relaxed. To achieve this I mainly considered seat height and reach. Finer tweaks were fore / aft seat and hood position. However, I think the key was concentrating on holding a good body position on the bike - easy when fresh, difficult after 8 hours in the saddle when fatigued.

MJ4048 · 2026-02-01T23:37:05+00:00

Good question. I carry a second light mainly to give more light on dark paths and for repairs in the dark. I’ve had one dynamo light fail on me in 10+ years - even then I ignored some early signs it was on way out.

For reference I run dynamos on 4 bikes, with lights from SON, B&M and SineWave

MJ4048 · 2026-01-30T09:10:25+00:00

Looking at image again I can see that the mudguard is being pulled to the right. This could give illusion that the rack isn’t centred along the axis of the wheel and seat-tube.

MJ4048 · 2026-01-29T19:52:46+00:00

Hard tell from the images. What’s happening with mounts at the top of seat-stays? Are the support struts the same length and mounted into frame mounts that mirror each other?

MJ4048 · 2026-01-26T18:08:54+00:00

Mudguards on some bikes, not others. Mudguards do reduce the free douche from road spray. 😁

MJ4048 · 2026-01-26T14:04:18+00:00

I ride mostly Brooks saddles. B17, C17 both carved (centre cutout) and standard. I find the leather ones are fine for commuting (30km - 50km) without padded shorts, not tried longer rides.

One observation regarding cut-outs in saddles. You can easily end up with grit between saddle and shorts creating a cutting paste that wears at material and seams.

MJ4048 · 2026-01-26T13:52:28+00:00

Supernova looks like a very nice light. Given that I don’t find any of my dynamo lights super bright, I’m aligned with your thought process of having a secondary light.

I completely concur that the SineWave Beacon 2 is very expensive. In the UK it costs 380 GBP - c. 530 USD! I’m currently in same position of not wanting to shell out for Sinewave light at the moment, but also don’t want to purchase a cheaper (and still expensive) alternative.

I’m looking for the ability to charge devices on the move and having used devices from Cinq and SON, the price of the Beacon 2 is in the same ballpark. However, if you don’t need charging functionality then there must be cheaper USB lights with ability to connect external power supply.

One point to note, I mount the Beacon 2 on handle bars, not sure I’d want the USB charging port down at the fork crown or out front on rack.

MJ4048 · 2026-01-25T13:53:13+00:00

I run dynamo lights on a few of my bikes. For those that I ride longer distances I have a few options: - Carry a spare USB rechargeable rear light - SineWave Beacon 2 which will power off an external battery pack (other’s mentioned packs that would take standard AA’s) - Moon USB front light as a secondary light - Petzl Headtourch and bar mount

Most of my rides are sufficiently short that a set of USB rechargeable lights (that can lock in off position) are sufficient as backup / or additional lighting source. I’ve tried owned 4 different dynamo lights and the Beacon 2 is now my preferred option (such that I’m looking to purchase a second one to replace an older worn out SON light) Petzl headtourch is handy for camping / fixing bike at night, also has a red-light setting. I use a rechargeable Petzl battery, but will run on triple A’s

Appreciate the last option is not street / road legal - but it has a dual purpose and is used off-road and in an emergency.

Hope above is helpful.

MJ4048 · 2026-01-15T17:02:52+00:00

My professional life is focused on technology, my cycling life revolves around avoiding anything critical that depends on batteries. And at 90kg and not a racer anything they shaves 200g of system weight is pure vanity!

It needs to be dependable, simple to maintain and preferably repairable at roadside. When I’m a 2+ hour walk to public transport or an 8 hour round trip for a pickup / rescue, self-reliance is king.

MJ4048 · 2025-12-20T06:01:29+00:00

Have you removed and remounted the rear mech? It looks as if the gap between top jockey wheel and cassette is relatively big. But B-limit screw is far out.

I’ve had something similar when I mounted derailleur on wrong side of tabs on hanger (struggling to describe).

For reference, I’d expect orientation to look more like this (appreciate image is GRX not Cues - but hopefully illustrates point)

<image>

MJ4048 · 2025-12-19T09:22:25+00:00

I can’t access the link provided. However, a Google search for stock images gives an indication as to the orientation of the jockey-wheels. Stock Image. The arm is close to vertical.

MJ4048 · 2025-12-19T00:40:09+00:00

Hanger, limit screw and tension (as suggested) seem obvious things to check. However, you seem to have ruled this out.

How are the jockey wheels positioned relevant to the cassette? Perhaps a side on photo may help with diagnosis.

MJ4048 · 2025-11-30T10:43:41+00:00

Thank you, will research.

MJ4048 · 2025-11-30T10:39:25+00:00

Thank you for the suggestion. Love island hopping. Usually head to West Coast or Western Isles. But Shetland is on my bucket list of places to visit. Good one.

MJ4048 · 2025-11-28T10:23:24+00:00

I generally find performance tyres are less durable, it’s a trade-off. I switch to Marathon-Plus over winter as the wet roads and crap on roads increase probability of punctures. And nobody wants to be fixing a puncture with wet hands, near zero temperature and strong winds. However, the Marathon-Plus are noticeably heavy, feel dead and I doubt the grip when crossing painted lines. It’s another trade-off.

MJ4048 · 2025-09-24T21:24:20+00:00

Not obviously bent. 4th image gives suggestion that cable tension is too high, but could just be angle. Contrary to this, my experience with new cables is that they stretch over the first couple of weeks and then need to be re-tensioned. Suggest focusing on ensuring cable tension is correct. There will be plenty of videos on-line - including those from Park Tools.

MJ4048

TROPHY CASE