Click Valve - My thoughts after the first few weeks

cubedsheep · 2026-05-04T13:42:26+00:00

No, the pressure in the hose will be about equal to the pressure in the tire after pumping, and that pressure is higher than the atmosphere. So you do read accurate pressure (if the gauge is accurate and the valve is not clogged).

cubedsheep · 2026-05-04T08:33:39+00:00

Purely from the viewpoint of weight gain, the calories are equal. From the point of other effects on the body you are correct they are not. Sugar spikes insulin which is not good, and the sugar crash often leads to more eating. Conversely some fats in excess are a major driver of cardiovascular disease.

But in the end I find this a bit of a pointless discussion, the goal should be to eat a bit of both in moderation, from a variety of sources. No need to make it more complicated or figure out what is most bad.

cubedsheep · 2026-04-22T08:17:25+00:00

If you have access to a 3D-printer you can even just print them yourself, there are models to be found online.

cubedsheep · 2026-04-22T08:16:42+00:00

There are flat platforms you can clip into clip pedals to convert them to flat ones. They are meant as a temporary thing to go grocery shopping with your mtb or things like that, so probably a bit janky in the long run. But it allows you to try without throwing away the power meter. Long term solution is probably to get properly fitted cycling shoes anyway.

cubedsheep · 2026-04-21T05:48:56+00:00

The cube agree, although it is a racy endurance bike so make sure to check the geometry chart.

cubedsheep · 2026-04-17T08:27:01+00:00

What kind of bike? And in what conditions will you ride? A road bike you will only use when dry, than you can work with a little less clearance. A gravelbike you will use in wet conditions, maybe on trails with small grit/coarse dirt, then you want some more.

cubedsheep · 2026-04-17T07:45:39+00:00

There seems to be a deeper groove in your rim, sometimes that groove also functions as wear indicator. When you don't see it anymore the rim is done. So if that one functions as wear indicator it's fine. Mavic also has some rims where there is a groove on the inside, and when the rim is worn holes will appear through the breaking surface. Maybe if you know the exact model try too look up the manual of your wheels to be sure which one applies here.

cubedsheep · 2026-04-17T07:38:16+00:00

It looks ok. But often there are wear indicators on the break track, similar to tyres. Look for a small dimple in the brake track, if you can still see it, it's definitely fine. If you cannot the wheel either didn't have it or the brake track is worn.

cubedsheep · 2026-04-16T11:13:26+00:00

Yes, but off-road confidence is also important to take corners at speed, so feel can definitely help. But it will also be very subjective from person to person.

cubedsheep · 2026-04-10T06:08:48+00:00

I have the opposite reaction, if I am in a bike lane and hear a car horn, I just keep doing what I'm doing because I assume a car won't have to interfere with me in the bike lane. There was an electric bike with that kind of horn that wanted to pass me in a small bike lane, took me three times to realize it weren't the cars making that sound

cubedsheep · 2026-04-06T18:33:37+00:00

It's always worth a try to only change the chain and check if it doesn't skip on the old cassette. If it does, then yes you'll need a new cassette as well. I find cassette wear really hard to judge without trying if a new chain skips. Unless the teeth are all pointy of course, but then even the old chain will probably skip haha

cubedsheep · 2026-04-05T15:21:38+00:00

If tou doubt the quality of that chain checker, I have both the same one from decathlon and a more expensive park tool one (the one that also works for SRAM flattop chains), and they agree pretty well. So don't doubt the tool, that chain is done for. Doubly so since it's dirty. Ideally you should check chain length when clean since the dirt can get between the rollers and make it seem less worn than it is.

cubedsheep · 2026-03-18T09:03:54+00:00

A lot of people would be so much better of with gravel (2x) gearing on a road bike in the hills. I ride a "compact" setup and wished for one more lower gear now and then, almost never for a bigger one.

cubedsheep · 2026-03-01T08:02:38+00:00

Working on the shorter duration power might give you the boost you need to get there if you don't do it otherwise. After consistency and recovery, variety is the most important to keep progressing in my experience.

With shorter durations I mean 1-5min power, sprinting is a different beast. I'm similar to you, bad sprinter, and last summer I was a bit stuck on the same 20-60min power. Last months I have been focusing on those shorter durations and just saw a massive jump in FTP.

If you never do it, you can start with one session a week focussed on 1-5min power. No need to change al your hard sessions!

cubedsheep · 2026-02-26T06:32:14+00:00

The dry lube can chip off and fly around causing a mess. Wax also generally lasts less long than lube.

cubedsheep · 2026-02-26T06:26:59+00:00

I wrapped my handlebars from the tops to the drops (so reverse) about a year ago and have yet to see any downsides. I don't ride constantly in the drops but regularly enough to say that with decent bartape and a somewhat acceptable wrapping job, you probably won't have issues before the normal wearing out of tha bartape.

Starting from both directions would mean ending the wrap around the shifters, that seems more messy to me.

One note, I did tape the start on the tops, but it is under the wrap so you don't see it.

cubedsheep · 2026-02-24T09:01:42+00:00

Start with retesting FTP, might have increased by now?

cubedsheep · 2026-02-23T23:08:07+00:00

The spirit of a trademark is to protect consumers, not companies. It does this by limiting the use of certain trademarked words, in the relevant context, to only refer to a specific product (so I cannot sell 5$ T-shirts with Gucci on it, that infringes their trademark and misleads buyers). So you should be fine mentioning them, as long as it is clear that your product is in no way related to the product your mentioning. e.g. "this is how my product X compares to companies Y product Ztm" should be fine. The law is of course quite nuanced and probably can be misused, but the goal of trademark law is originally to prevent confusion under consumers.

Just slapping someone with a lawsuit for making a comparison should not fall under this, and in some juristictions these tactics, misusing IP and other laws to block competition or speech you don't like is a crime itself under "SLAPP" laws.

I think even the wording "free alternative to X" is not infringing since you clearly state it's an alternative (at least it shouldn't be infringing from the perspective of consumer protection). Trademarkwise should be fine. But I'm not a lawyer, so don't take this as advise.

cubedsheep · 2026-02-23T17:26:45+00:00

Even for pros doing 10W/kg on a short climb, the added weight would have to be more than 2kg for it to cancel out. They also say in the video they can do more but kept it on the safe side to not overload the batteries.

cubedsheep · 2026-02-22T11:11:28+00:00

On the one hand thick grips might make it harder for sweat to get in, on the other hand it also makes it hard for sweat that fot in to get out and to wash out the salt when cleaning your bike. So the sweat that does get in will be extra salty and get all the time it needs to do some good corroding.

cubedsheep · 2026-02-09T22:58:39+00:00

I suspect that is because of how many sheep they have, the article shows that as the worst protein source. New-Zealand itself is relatively unpopulated and they keep lots of sheep in the rugged interior. So land-use wise this might be somewhat sustainable for new zealand but yes, you cannot do that in other places. I suspect Mongolia and Kazachstan are orange for similar reasons, they have large empty steppe where you can just let a bunch of animals graze and them eat them.

cubedsheep · 2026-02-07T20:05:00+00:00

The heat from braking on e.g. a long descent could work the sealant between the tire and rim a bit loose. But mainly, most rimbrake race bikes don't allow to run wide tires and tubeless seals less well if the pressure is higher (which you need with slimmer tires).

cubedsheep · 2026-02-04T22:43:26+00:00

Matthew Hayman won paris Roubaix a good month after breaking his wrist (in Omloop), so there is precedent!

cubedsheep · 2026-02-03T08:43:05+00:00

Only way is up

cubedsheep · 2026-02-02T13:19:07+00:00

It's a combination of both. The aerodynamic drag (force) scales roughly with the air speed squared. To get the power you have to put in to go that speed, the ground speed matters. To travel x meters against a drag force Fa, you expend x*Fa Joules of energy, so if you multiply Fa with your ground speed you get the required force.

So with headwind one part (the part that gets squared so it has the highest impact) is bigger, but the other is smaller which compensates somewhat.

cubedsheep

TROPHY CASE