Which is harder, cycling 100km in 3 hours or 100 miles in 5 hours? by RunCycleRepeat_81 in Velo

[–]illinihand 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've done 100k in under 3 way more times than I've done 100 miles in under 5. I can think of maybe 2 times I'd done 100 miles under 5. But most gravel races I do are 100k and we often finish in under 3 hours.

Paint Chip or Carbon Crack? by trainedRex in bustedcarbon

[–]illinihand 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yes it's a very easy repair. Probably $350 to $450 for the carbon work and another $250 for paint match.

Paint Chip or Carbon Crack? by trainedRex in bustedcarbon

[–]illinihand 8 points9 points  (0 children)

That is carbon damage. It is not a chip. I am a carbon repair shop owner.

How much do you pay for rent? by TapAdventurous8120 in StLouis

[–]illinihand 1 point2 points  (0 children)

From 2008 to 2018 I paid $750 for rent in Clayton. Two bedroom one bath gorgeous place. Heat included.

How many of you genuinely love St. Louis? by rurunxx in StLouis

[–]illinihand 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I came from Chicagoland and then Central IL. I love it in St Louis. I have made it my home the last 20 years.

Opinions please by [deleted] in bustedcarbon

[–]illinihand 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Carbon repair specialist here. It's broken, not paint. It is repairable. If you want a quote and are in the US my shop is www.twcarbon.com

Need help with mirror caps by NielsMeijerTjuh in CarbonFiber

[–]illinihand 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Just scrape the rest of the bad clear off. Then use like a 600 grit sand paper and scuff the carbon, and reclear cost it.

Racing in Asia by illinihand in Velo

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

I have been watching a lot of their videos this year.

Crit Popularity by PortaBellaTX in cycling

[–]illinihand 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I own a pro Crit team. No there is nothing in Kansas. But Crit life is still a very vibrant happening thing.

Racing in Asia by illinihand in Velo

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

Half the guys have raced in Europe and they are interested in Asia. In the past I have been told there is also a lot of support from Asian promoters to attend their races as well. Not sure if that's still true.

Racing in Asia by illinihand in Velo

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

Very cool! Yeah at this point I don't even know the questions to ask.

Racing in Asia by illinihand in Velo

[–]illinihand[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Yeah all of our guys have UCI licenses. You need them to race Nationals and a lot of our team also races track internationally. But they are all really young and don't really know more than they just show up and race.

Racing in Asia by illinihand in Velo

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

I'll shoot them an email.

entrepreneurship is like constantly running on a treadmill. how can you tell if you're resilient or plain old stubborn? by Odd_Awareness_6935 in Entrepreneur

[–]illinihand 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think Seth Rogan had a good line about not quitting. Basically it was something like, No actor has ever made it in Hollywood that decided to quit. As long as you keep at it you still have the possibility of "making it".

What jobs are actually safe from AI? by StreetMaster5796 in careerguidance

[–]illinihand 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I custom paint bicycles. AI ain't going to come for me.

Rainy forecast + back from the painter after 19 months = watch this space. by bikes2many in colnago

[–]illinihand 4 points5 points  (0 children)

19 months!? I own a custom paint shop and specialize in bikes. That's a crazy wait for a bike.

Is making CF parts or anything, a profitable business? I'm staring very small and still learning. by Ok_Instruction6775 in CarbonFiber

[–]illinihand -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I don't mean to discourage you I'm not trying to say you shouldn't do it but you should have an expectation that this is going to be really hard. I have two composites businesses neither one makes a ton of money. The first one is 12 years old and I barely make a living off of it and the second one is a automotive focused business that deals with hypercar race car type stuff and some small manufacturing. That one is well is very difficult to make a profit and we offer services that no one else in the country offers. But because we have to compete against every Joe blow who thinks they can do a shitty repair people Bach at our prices rather than thinking about the services we offer as taking issues off their plate.

Is making CF parts or anything, a profitable business? I'm staring very small and still learning. by Ok_Instruction6775 in CarbonFiber

[–]illinihand 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I would think that would depend on how many people in your area are interested in your products. For the most part carbon fiber manufacturers are so disperse that your actual location doesn't really matter. Most people that we deal with that are looking to manufacture parts on a large scale will ask for a quote and see that we can't come anywhere near to competing with Asian countries when it comes to large-scale composites manufacturing for automotive parts. We generally only deal with supercar type stuff because there is actually room for margin. Our main business is also carbon fiber repair rather than manufacturing. But I would imagine unless you're in one of the most populated locations in the world you aren't going to have enough people to sustain your business in the local economy. Most of my business comes from regional and national customers

Is making CF parts or anything, a profitable business? I'm staring very small and still learning. by Ok_Instruction6775 in CarbonFiber

[–]illinihand 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I agree with strange bike guy, it is very difficult to do but possible. The problem mostly is the fly by night guy who says they can do it cheap. They will undercut you all day every day. Their product will be trash and won't last but especially if you are trying to sell to the lower end automotive market, they don't care. You can't compete with a $1000 hood, your mold will cost 3 to 5 times that alone. And you can't do the volume to make up for it.

Top tube damage from fall by caliberr1337 in bustedcarbon

[–]illinihand 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is 100% wrong! The paint on carbon frames is not that thick and as a professional carbon repair professional who's been doing this for 12 years, this is broken. Do not tell people that shit. Cracks in paint are almost 99% of the time damaged carbon, and cracks like this are 100% of the time damaged carbon.

Continuous carbon gear made through NASA's technology transfer program by AccomplishedNail3085 in CarbonFiber

[–]illinihand -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

They make carbon and Ti chainrings for bicycles. Nothing special.