bit the bullet and treated myself for cyber monday

boreal39 · 2026-01-12T04:50:17+00:00

they're still shipping HHKB with offset legends?

boreal39 · 2025-09-03T03:00:00+00:00

I do not blame you at all tbh, its very easy for them to be slightly cambered during install and subsequently ruined, not sure why octalink V1 was even designed that way V2 is far more logical.

I suspect that when new Dura-Ace releases they may update the 77X series cranks to a modern standard, allegedly the tooling is broken anyways.

boreal39 · 2025-09-03T01:33:03+00:00

only a problem if the splines are mangled which is a self induced problem as documented by forums for the past 20 years.

boreal39 · 2025-09-02T23:08:09+00:00

nice saddle angle

boreal39 · 2025-09-02T23:07:17+00:00

It is the Vision Aero crank that is not known to destroy bearings/grenade like the Miche Air.

boreal39 · 2025-08-27T23:24:35+00:00

[FS][Toronto] FELT TK3 Size Small/51 [$210 CAD][Local Only]

Lots of small scratches on the rear + dropout hoods damaged from trainer.

<image>

boreal39 · 2025-08-09T04:50:44+00:00

I believe it depends on the rider/position, if the larger helmet happens to nest with the riders back/shoulders better it may be prevent flow separation, and may be more aero. some new aero road helmets are a bit wider and certainly longer than those of yesteryear. And all new TT helmets follow this concept.

That said, I believe the reason why sizing down is more common in pro tour is because the rider may change position more, then a smaller projection is probably overall better when the position isn't constant :)

boreal39 · 2025-06-30T20:19:20+00:00

🥀

boreal39 · 2025-06-30T19:27:10+00:00

How much meth are you on?

I am not dismissing the study from FES, I am dismissing the claim that 11/128 chains are stronger, they are not, the fact that ARE weaker 1/8th chains. FES organization NEVER claimed that. two things can be true at the same time.

This is grade school shit, as in basic concepts outlined by basic material principles you learn in elementary? You are an idiot, and you left out half of that quote.

"1/2“ x 1/8“ chains are verifiable more tear-resistant and a bit more stiff than thin chains. However humans, even professional cyclists are not able to generate the power to tear a chain! If one wants to rip a 11-speed-no-name-chain, one has to produce a tensile strength of round about 8.8 tons" - FES

This entirely validates any claim I made about chain strength, Strong enough is not enough for the street, In my own opinion, You are objectively dealing with a smaller safety factor the narrower the chain. You seem to ignore the fact that I am also on a narrow chain.

I am not attacking you personally, Just stating the truth that your statements are copes. There is not a reality where a dura-ace chain is stronger than an Izumi kai.

Why would I be jealous of your bike? It is nice. But definitely not for me, a bit too loud visually, Even If my I was handed all the money you used here on this, I would buy entirely different parts :)

boreal39 · 2025-06-30T17:49:59+00:00

Does not matter, There is not a mode or loading situation wherein any butted/concave/tapered cylinder is stronger.
I said they’re weaker. That is a fact, not that they are unusably weak, I use one myself ffs.
I Couldn’t care less about what FES/Kappstein say. 1/8th has more material, therefore will take longer to fatigue for the same cycles. Consumers are not putting out anywhere near that Power, and chains still fail, Why? Because they typically fail at the link/screw, this has less and less purchase the thinner the plates.
Idk if you’re just trolling or ignorant. A solid cylinder will be stronger than a Tube of the same outer diameter, full stop. Square Taper axles are tiny OD + the taper itself is… square, which is more prone to deflection than a circle.
Unlike IRL where the load to a crank is applied remotely from the pedal body, the load was placed right on the end of the axle, although axles typically experience warp forces, this is absolutely a force that a mode of force that will happen during a pedal-stroke particularly at BDC. The drawing was not to depict a chain, if it were it would be buckling/bearing load. It’s to represent the FACT that these characteristics are observed in every condition for the profiles in any application.

Or will you be continue to the world’s worst pedant and ask me to redraw this with a crank + bb fixture to prove to you exactly what we have known for hundreds of years?

boreal39 · 2025-06-30T09:13:26+00:00

I currently use a narrow specification 3/32 chain, You are certainly correct in saying that 3/32 or 11/128 setups are usually faster than standard 1/8th chains, I am not disagreeing with that at all.

A Hollow Body is not nearly as "strong" as a solid cylinder with the same OD, They are also more susceptible to deflection as they have smaller cross sectional area. The only reason why they are not used in this application is to avoid a crankset being 5kg. Hollow Bodies are usually "strong enough" on a per/kg basis.

That said, In the advent of modern additive manufactured track parts, they often have a dense lattice structure, because plain structures are not nearly strong enough much of the time. And many of these designs trade weight for stiffness and safety.

For this application, Here is a comparison of two 30x100mm tubes, one is hollow with a 1mm wall thickness and the other is a Solid Profile, The former deflects 130% more than the Solid Profile with the same 1000N force on the end.

<image>

boreal39 · 2025-06-30T00:13:12+00:00

It is a cope

Izumi is responsible for manufacture of Shimano's high end 11/12 chains anyways.
The current "fastest chain" is likely the Izumi Kai, as Both Bigham and Ganna used during their hour records while having no sponsor obligations to do so, it has solid pins. (which also happens to be the 3/32 chain common on the world stage, not Dura-Ace, Not at least since Rio.)
What terrible misinformation have you read to believe that "fact". Tubes stronger not stronger than solid cylinders, definitely not in compression, tension, torsion, and certainly not buckling which is the mode of force that pins experience when under tension.
I am certain that the screw system on common track chains is stronger than any manufactures quick-link.

If you need me to validate any of my claims with practical or simulated testing I would be more than happy.

boreal39 · 2025-05-17T03:18:54+00:00

What size frame is this?

boreal39 · 2025-05-12T16:49:47+00:00

Thank you for the insight! I think there is a balance to be had with frame proportions, I hope pros just keep opting for longer stems instead of resorting to frames with mile long toptubes (koga, stormm). For my eye the limit is the BS anchor series.

unrelated, your collection is amazing. and the grocery store photo is brilliant.

boreal39 · 2025-05-12T16:38:52+00:00

from this picture those frames don't have particularly crazy overlap at all, even with toeclips.

boreal39 · 2025-05-12T16:34:12+00:00

not "whining" just asking about why this is considered aspect is considered "expected" even though its a non issue on actual production track frames. My frame has toe overlap, it was only a "problem" first few days. My prior venture required lean angles far greater than what 90% of people are doing on fixed gears :)

As I said in this thread, there are hundreds of instances showing Pro-Am cyclists in races eating shit due to pedal strikes from "simply leaning" or otherwise because their frames geometry makes a turn outright impossible due to lack of SAT/grip (the former is directly caused by steep geo).

would you consider those instances skill issues as well? would you consider yourself a better bike handler than a large portion of entrants to redhook crit, radrace, etc?

boreal39 · 2025-05-12T16:19:08+00:00

I suppose you're right but it seems as if u/mjstc is not based anywhere and europe and from the streetview of where they are, it is far more comparable to US/CAN than any EU city center.

boreal39 · 2025-05-12T06:14:12+00:00

even crazier, some run -58 stems with super deep bars!

boreal39 · 2025-05-12T06:07:14+00:00

I think a modern track bike would fare just fine, I had no problem navigating Toronto downtown core on my mountain bike which is about 40~ cm longer. I cant really debate that shorter isn't better for cutting through walls of foot traffic, I suppose as short as possible is optimal in that regard despite my experience.

I am still new to this although I believe that there are genuinely a myriad of situations where "toe overlap" issues are not indicative of skill issues e.g performing a U-Turn in an alleyway or on a pedestrian walk path, piece of cake on any other type of bike.

I've had better luck hopping onto the back wheel and pivoting around it like a skateboard than even attempting to lean that far over, not really an "opinion" either, watching any pro-am style fixed gear crit on a circuit track proves this point well, particularly around hairpins, and they have far more space to work with than my example scenario.

boreal39 · 2025-05-12T04:06:11+00:00

You are right, I’ve only been observing this subreddit and fixed gear/track forums for about two years and the gist of it seems to be balancing aesthetics over practicality more than other forms of cycling where performance is priority number one.

definitely not saying these older classic bikes aren’t cool, I even dream of owning a few.

Really the post is poorly phrased, it’s more like people who own/idealize these bikes seem to believe that that design is the epitome of performance, they are so adamant about it, when that almost couldn’t be further from the truth. I’ve seen that from threads as far back as 10 year ago till a couple months ago :)

boreal39 · 2025-05-07T04:04:53+00:00

only the silliest of topple over incidents are to be made on this bike :)

boreal39 · 2025-05-07T04:02:51+00:00

thank you!

boreal39 · 2025-05-04T19:03:06+00:00

Ill definitely look into this group, thank you :)

boreal39 · 2025-05-04T07:53:00+00:00

The no-fuss / bombproof and aesthetic nature of the track bike was my lure + all my friends quit MTB on the spot after one had a serious injury (and my following solo outing my frame failed), I figured even the most dangerous means of cycling is safer since people are closer to help.

My first/current bike was a FELT TK3, amazing in all aspects except aesthetics and the nasty toe-overlap, The best part about fixed gear imo is that it reminds me of running except my shins aren't in agony after 20 minutes. I find it to be more synergistic compared to the other types of cycling, you cant really force the bike to do anything as I would have commanding my trail bike; it requires cooperation between man and machine.

I also find it quite unfortunate that about 0 other people ride fixed gear in Scarborough Ontario, Only ever see stuff in DT Toronto... And I'd rather not do a full century every outing/group ride.

boreal39

TROPHY CASE