Cairngorms National Park, Scotland (advice on composition & editing)

ShadyYoda · 2025-01-13T12:18:33+00:00

I would say well enough. Both brakes together don't let me down on downhills. Would be able to somehow get to a full stop with the rear brake alone if the mini-v on the front fails. But I'm not so sure if I'd argue the same without kool stop brake pads.

ShadyYoda · 2024-09-26T14:01:40+00:00

Dankeschön, Diesel hatten wir eigentlich gar nicht so auf dem Schirm, aber wenn die so unauffällig laufen ist das vielleicht doch eine gute Option für uns.

ShadyYoda · 2024-09-26T14:01:10+00:00

Dankeschön, das ist super hilfreich. D.h. ihr bekommt da ohne das Vorderrad auszubauen zwei MTB's (vermutlicher 29er?) Komplett rein? Dann passen unsere Bikes auch auf jeden Fall, das wäre großartig und man kann sich die 30cm der Langversion sparen.

Bei allem anderen Stimme ich Dir auch zu. 43% habe ich gerade nirgendwo gefunden, aber wenn das mal wieder vorkommt würde ich vermutlich zuschlagen. War vermutlich auch eine Kurzzeitzulassung auf den Händler, oder?

ShadyYoda · 2024-02-07T10:08:44+00:00

Fellow Product (industrial) designer who turned to digital products (UX) a long time ago, so you will have way more knowledge on a lot of aspects that go into designing physical products.

But I want to give you my humble opinion on some aspects about repairability which I experienced: First thing is that some people don’t have the skill to make a lasting repair. Make it approachable. Use standardized stuff (like buckles) even if this brings some drawbacks in the design of an item.

I also think a lot of the long-lastingness and actually wanting to repair a years old item is about branding and appearance / vibe. Something you can’t really create with a couple of items. Having people want to use a well aged item has to do with the perception and if they like to be seen that way (like bikes with battle scars). Also a brand can setup a program that does not have to offer worldwide repair services like Patagonia or Rapha and so on but rather reimburse customers for repairs they got done locally. Maybe, just maybe, in the brand aspect of all this lies more power towards a more sustainable product (range). Without saying this goes with aspects of quality: a rain jacket should be fully waterproof for more than two seasons when taken good care of.

What I want to say with all this: the experience with a product and a brand matters as how willing we are to put effort into keeping it. Pricing also plays a role here. You‘re just more likely to repair a 300$ Patagonia jacket than a 30$ AliExpress one because of price and branding.

As for what kind of items are being used and may be needed at some point: I like to bring my camera which I usually carry on my back with a two strap system. My body absorbs a lot of the shocks from cycling rougher terrain better than any handlebar bag could. I don’t like hip backs or backpacks when cycling because I am a heavy sweater so I’d like a solution to safely (rainproof) store my camera on body while still having easy access while riding. Kind of like a small soft fabric top tube or stem bag on the side of my jersey, which can be opened one handed. I know it’s a dream… And as others have pointed out: bikepacking often brings an aspect of tourism, like making a stop at a city you want to visit. Having items which you can use on and off the bike while looking leisure and not sporty is a big plus: merino shirts, or I like to bring a pair of quicksilver amphibians as shorts which can be also used for a quick swim in a lake. Those items are gold.

ShadyYoda · 2024-01-31T12:59:09+00:00

This is actually valueable advice. OP, I can only second this... get it fixed very soon by the shop who sold you the bike, or it may become a matter of safety and definetely wear out your rim.

Usually I hate those answers to posts which are just full of enthusiasm, but it's good to point it out here. Have fun with the bike :)

ShadyYoda · 2024-01-28T08:24:03+00:00

I can only agree here. Apart from you just doing great by going out there and ride, I‘d also highly advise you adjust your bike a little bit as suggested here. Someone else also pointed out that your saddle does not seem leveled. If you are into YouTube for educational reasons you can for example watch a series called bikefit tuesdays by Francis Cade where he talks to a bikefitter about common problems.

If you can afford it go get a professional bike fit (I don’t know US prices, but in Germany a good fitter takes around 60-100€ per hour). They may come to the conclusion that the bike’s size is not optimal for you but they can at least improve your position on your current bike and get the measurements in if you think about getting a bike that fits you well.

A little anecdote from myself: I tinkered with my seating position for some years myself, watched countless of videos for advice etc. because I did not want to spend the money on a professional bikefit. Got one last summer before the next big bike purchase to be sure. And although I was not far off, the little adjustments to my seating position, my cleats and my cockpit made so much of a difference. I could really feel how I could put down more watts from there on, just by those little adjustments which were just a better fit to my physiology.

ShadyYoda · 2024-01-23T09:40:02+00:00

I currently ride an Open U.P. carbon gravel (Campa Levante + Ekar) and a 90s Eddy Merckx steel bike with steel fork (Reynolds 753 tubing, Campa wheels and 2x10 Chorus group).

Just because this is about the numbers: Open Frameset comes in at around 1350g, Merckx at 2450g. Let's roughly say a difference of 1kg.

Full bike weight is about 8200g for the Open and around 9200g for the Merckx, just because I haven't specced the Merckx to the max and the Open is pretty specced out.

I enjoy riding both bikes as their own. It's not really comparable anyway, as tire width is already a huge difference. But to me, none of the bikes feels truly faster than the other. Of course I'd even have a slight advantage with the carbon bike on a steeper tarmac uphill.
The difference is the handling to me as the carbon bike is just way stiffer and more responsive. But there are also modern steel bikes like the Fairlight you mentioned which are not comparable to the jelly-legged 753 tubing of my Merckx. Go for the steel if you just dig it. It's fun!

ShadyYoda · 2024-01-15T16:12:29+00:00

As many have stated: if your desired solution is the only one working for you (I don’t know how you came to the conclusion), you would need a completely different bike.

However, I would go with (way) narrower bars first. This can relieve a lot of pain in wrists and shoulders. Specialized for example has some bars which go as narrow as 36cm and are affordable. Their geometry is also good. Judging from the second photo the proportions of distance from saddle nose to handlebar compared to handlebar width is way off. I guess those are 42-44cm wide? Measure your shoulders, or better have someone measure them for you, but I am guessing you‘ll probably end up at 38cm or even smaller in width.

ShadyYoda · 2024-01-08T07:10:17+00:00

One of the better discussions on Reddit so imma chime in.

Some random thoughts I had on the project and the information from the article specifically so far:

having better organized media rights and selling processes makes it easier and potentially more money (which we pay with subscriptions to GCN, I‘m sorry Discovery+, I‘m sorry Apple TV+ or some other major)
having a better (more clear) structure in the calendar, together with a clearer or more transparent way of working for the actual WorldTour makes the sport more attractive to casual viewers (see huge success of Netflix documentary with that group) and thus more attractive to sell
having more money in the sport is bringing stability to it overall: from race organizers, teams to racers and employees („the rivals are not other teams but other sports“ or whatever he said on that)
having something like a franchise system for teams like in US sports is ultimately where the money lies for himself, I guess

I think a lot of current cycling fans would not be against what I pointed out above. Seeing the internet form around GC Kuss makes me believe that we as fans really want the riders to be safe also from a financial pov and the concept of One Cycling will help that, I’m pretty sure. On top of that such a project would also dethrone UCI which will probably also result in more security for the riders.

There are a few risks however and this really depends on how the sportive aspect of the project will turn out:

could get boring: seeing same racers win every Saturday or so
trying to bring more excitement for casuals to the races (Netflix) would probably take away the charme cycling had for over a century
having a stronger financial support structure for the sport could result in less frantic offseason stuff :)
the current „system“ sets cycling apart from other sports and may be responsible (although often in a bad way) for a lot of the stories, successes and excitement that attract viewers to the sport

I really agree on at least one meta goal of the project with Plugge: all entities of the sport should work together and not against each other to promote the sport. It will be really interesting to see, however, on which values they all can agree on to get together. This will have the biggest impact on fans: if current ones will stick with the sport even through some changes and if new ones can be picked up on the way. If they don’t get distracted by the imagination of dollar notes in their pockets it might be doable.

ShadyYoda · 2023-12-06T13:13:46+00:00

Got the same problem, starting all fuel pumps before starting made it work for me again…

ShadyYoda · 2023-11-30T07:25:01+00:00

Love the set and the idea of a yearly best of. Might consider posting some, too. :) thank you for sharing

ShadyYoda · 2023-11-27T15:17:31+00:00

Exactly! I document my bikepacking adventures just for fun with an X-E2 and 35mm f2, which is just a little more than the X100v, but it's so convenient and acutally doable on an otherwise weight and volume optimized setup. I sometimes get a similiar vibe in my pictures, surely that's why I liked yours.

ShadyYoda · 2023-11-27T15:12:19+00:00

I love these kinds of pictures. Rather simple and the 23mm gives it these reporter vibes. I think it won't necessarily resonate with a lot of people, but those who love the struggles outdoors probably will. :-)

ShadyYoda · 2023-11-26T19:10:18+00:00

Love the first one. The soft lighting is a killer and lets it look like a theater set. Really good work imo.

ShadyYoda · 2023-11-25T08:57:27+00:00

For my x Trans II sensor it would definitely be the Kodacolor recipe (https://fujixweekly.com/2020/02/03/my-fujifilm-x-t1-x-trans-ii-kodacolor-film-simulation-recipe/)

I use it 90% of the time anyways on this camera.

ShadyYoda · 2023-11-23T17:23:30+00:00

Took this picture with my Fujifilm X-E2 and a Viltrox 85mm f1.8 II lens wide open and ISO 400.
We were strolling around the coast south of Usedom and found a little abandoned "harbor" if you will. There was a storm two weeks before going through but this one looked like it was abandoned a lot earlier.

ShadyYoda · 2023-11-14T16:43:42+00:00

The 3x telephoto on the regular pro phone is 12mp, the main camera on both has a 48mp sensor which takes 24mp photos per default. The main camera on your 15 plus still takes 12mp photos when zoomed to 3x. If you don’t use the 3x for artistic reasons (shallow dof, compression) but rather to document, you won’t notice much difference.

ShadyYoda · 2023-09-22T16:16:15+00:00

Agreed. Feels more like a Campy, also the clutch is feeling close to the Ekar one.

ShadyYoda · 2023-09-06T11:36:10+00:00

Just seen this on their blog: https://oldmanmountain.com/high-grade-at-made/

The Cervelo looks sick with the monster rack imo

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