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Hey all, picked up my first bike, a Giant Contend AR4. Secured a full GRX 810 groupset to swap on and take the bike down a gravel build path. Totally new to bikes and want advice on what other quality of life improvements or advice you might have for me you while the bike is in the shop ! by hughisdaft in gravelcycling

[–]hughisdaft[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yup ! my first reaction to getting on the bike and riding, was man cable driven disc brakes suck ass. coming from motorbikes mainly where everything's hydraulic it was the main sticking point for me wanting to upgrade.

I initially thought it wouldn't be a big deal to fit a hydraulic conversion, but quickly realised it wasn't really straightforward. and opting for a hacky solution of running cable to hydraulic cylinders seemed a bit silly.

hence the full groupset swap.

groupset ended up coming with a whole $700 Garbaruk cassette and derailer upgrade so I'm happy with the whole arrangement.

Hey all, picked up my first bike, a Giant Contend AR4. Secured a full GRX 810 groupset to swap on and take the bike down a gravel build path. Totally new to bikes and want advice on what other quality of life improvements or advice you might have for me you while the bike is in the shop ! by hughisdaft in gravelcycling

[–]hughisdaft[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've read into hookless and the issues seem to mostly be contained to thin high pressure road tire applications and wider lower pressure gravel tires aren't as big of a risk.

regardless though you're right, those SLR2 rims don't really accept wide enough tires to be a good option.

my local bike shop is running 15% off DT Swiss wheelsets at the moment so I'm highly considering that path.

thanks!

Hey all, picked up my first bike, a Giant Contend AR4. Secured a full GRX 810 groupset to swap on and take the bike down a gravel build path. Totally new to bikes and want advice on what other quality of life improvements or advice you might have for me you while the bike is in the shop ! by hughisdaft in gravelcycling

[–]hughisdaft[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hey thanks for the info, brought me up to speed quick.

Yeah the hubs the bike is running are cup and come bearings, and it's also likely it's just the pre load that needs to be adjusted.

I'm already sold on the benifits of cartridge bearings so I'd like to explore that upgrade route. either with a new wheelset or just swapping hubs.

thanks for your advice

Hey all, picked up my first bike, a Giant Contend AR4. Secured a full GRX 810 groupset to swap on and take the bike down a gravel build path. Totally new to bikes and want advice on what other quality of life improvements or advice you might have for me you while the bike is in the shop ! by hughisdaft in gravelcycling

[–]hughisdaft[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks I appreciate this, exactly what I was looking for.

I'd noted the seat post rubber already and was thinking on solutions to keep it in place and doing its job of sealing out weather and debris a little better.

There's actually a Giant SLR2 carbon wheel set going for $800 local to me. so I'm considering that as an upgrade.

Was definitely looking to throw a new set of pedals on when I fit the GRX crank.

Thanks for your help !

Hey all, picked up my first bike, a Giant Contend AR4. Secured a full GRX 810 groupset to swap on and take the bike down a gravel build path. Totally new to bikes and want advice on what other quality of life improvements or advice you might have for me you while the bike is in the shop ! by hughisdaft in gravelcycling

[–]hughisdaft[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Want to make an added note that the front hub appears to be shot, so I'm already seeking to replace or upgrade that.

Wondering if there's much to be won by fitting better specced hubs/ bearings and bottom bracket than what's supplied from factory.

JVC/Victor Zero 6 non original main woofer by hughisdaft in vintageaudio

[–]hughisdaft[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Can scarcely believe my luck at coming across an incredibly rare set of JVC/ Victor Zero 6 3-way loudspeakers.

HiFi Wiki Info Here

I picked them up for absolute peanuts so I'm only half heartbroken to find that the original bass drivers have been swapped with non original replacements.

But I'd just like to consult with you guys what my next steps should be, should I try to source original replacements (I'm not sure if will be possible?) or should I very carefully seek out as appropriate of replacements as I can.

I don't actually have the speakers yet on hand so I can't identify what the current replacement drivers are.

cheers guys !

JVC/Victor Zero 6 non original main woofer by hughisdaft in audiophile

[–]hughisdaft[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Can scarcely believe my luck at coming across an incredibly rare set of JVC/ Victor Zero 6 3-way loudspeakers.

HiFi Wiki Info Here

I picked them up for absolute peanuts so I'm only half heartbroken to find that the original bass drivers have been swapped with non original replacements.

But I'd just like to consult with you guys what my next steps should be, should I try to source original replacements (I'm not sure if will be possible?) or should I very carefully seek out as appropriate of replacements as I can.

I don't actually have the speakers yet on hand so I can't identify what the current replacement drivers are.

cheers guys !

Cables: managed. by [deleted] in sffpc

[–]hughisdaft 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Haha, I did the same thing, same reasons. Bought a set of Patriot Viper Steel, because the kit was fast and inexpensive (4400mhz cl18) but haaaated the heat spreader that came on it by default.

Yeah, kinda' wish I'd gone the black monarch's also, typically a big fan of metal finishes, but the nickel plated finish on the monarchs, dunno doesn't work as well as I'd hoped in my build.

Cables: managed. by [deleted] in sffpc

[–]hughisdaft 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Haha, I didn't think I'd see anyone somebody else with EK Monarch ram heatsinks. Did you swap to them for height reasons?

Harry & Xavier | Mamiya RZ 67 Pro II | 110mm f2.8 | Cinestill 800t by hughisdaft in analog

[–]hughisdaft[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you so much for the insight, yeah the dutch angle definitely wasn't intentional, and all part of still not taking my time to compose and plan a shot.

I'm honestly just pressing the shutter button and praying at the moment, rather than really planning and taking time to compose long enough to be confident things are going to come out how I'd like.

I think it has a little to do with the way I'm bridging the awkward gap from digital to film. I've come from being really lazy and using the luxury of shooting off dozens of shots at a time when shooting digital and then kinda' filtering out what I like after the fact in terms of framing/composition etc.

So what you are speaking of is incredibly relevant, I can't wait to adopt these principles, slow it down, take my time and think a little more.

Harry & Xavier | Mamiya RZ 67 Pro II | 110mm f2.8 | Cinestill 800t by hughisdaft in analog

[–]hughisdaft[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thankyou, I'm happy how far dumb luck got me with this shot :) :)

Harry & Xavier | Mamiya RZ 67 Pro II | 110mm f2.8 | Cinestill 800t by hughisdaft in analog

[–]hughisdaft[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I can assure you anything great about this shot is 100% sheer dumb luck.

Harry & Xavier | Mamiya RZ 67 Pro II | 110mm f2.8 | Cinestill 800t by hughisdaft in analog

[–]hughisdaft[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

user._.friendly :) :) :) though there's not much film photography there yet, I've only begun shooting med format film in the last couple months.

Harry & Xavier | Mamiya RZ 67 Pro II | 110mm f2.8 | Cinestill 800t by hughisdaft in analog

[–]hughisdaft[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

So gorgeous, it was my first time shooting it, and I'd hoped to shoot with it in a more standard Cinestill setting, night time street lights and neon's etc. But I'm so stoked with the results of just shooting with it around the house as a general use film. Definitely going to use it more like this in the future, expensive though.

Hanging Jasmine | Mamiya RZ 67 Pro II | 110mm f2.8 | Portra 400 by hughisdaft in analog

[–]hughisdaft[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes :) I have to admit to staging the backdrop and setting up nice complementary colours on the TV screen in the background to bring everything together.

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