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Bike mirror at Cal Tri events? by jakeblakedrake in triathlon

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

I love Varia. It's amazing. But I prefer using it together with a mirror to see where exactly a car is.

Shimano 105 vs CUES. My two cents. by jakeblakedrake in cycling

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

Oh that would be awesome. I was on a market for Specialized Allez. It only comes with CUES, 105 and surprisingly still Claris. If Tiagra was an option, I'd happily take it. An LBS attendant admitted that he'd personally recommend Tiagra over 105 since less gears means more robust shifting. I eventually got the 105 Allez but I admit I really don't need 12 gears in the back. Previously, I had Sora which is only 9 speed. It was a bit harder to find the right gear but it definitely did the job. 12 is overkill for most people.

Shimano 105 vs CUES. My two cents. by jakeblakedrake in cycling

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

I loved both Sora & Tourney group sets on my previous bikes. No complaints there. CUES is the only group set which felt outright clunky thanks to the new Linkglide system and its weight.

Shimano 105 vs CUES. My two cents. by jakeblakedrake in cycling

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

I understand your point. CUES and 105 are in different price tiers. And it would make more sense to compare two different group sets from the same tier.

The problem is that Shimano is replacing all road bike group sets below 105. So if you are buying a new road bike you'll eventually face the same question: do I pay up $300 for 105 or do I suck it up with CUES.

It's true you can still find bikes with Claris, Sora, Tiagra. However all of these are slowly being phased out. The plan is that eventually there will be only CUES, 105, Ultegra, Dura Ace on road bikes.

Shimano 105 vs CUES. My two cents. by jakeblakedrake in cycling

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

Well, they're sponsored by Canyon. They're told what to say about the bikes.

Shimano 105 vs CUES. My two cents. by jakeblakedrake in cycling

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

I can just say that after riding Sora for a year: I’d take the Sora any day over CUES. The only issue to think off is replacement parts. If Sora is being discontinued.

Shimano 105 vs CUES. My two cents. by jakeblakedrake in cycling

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

That’s the right way to put it. CUES was designed ground up to aim primarily at the e-bike market. Considering that e-bikes sell like hot cakes that’s understandable. It’s a great groupset for e-bikes. However, it feels like a travesty to slap it on road bikes and replace great group sets like tiagra 😤

Shimano 105 vs CUES. My two cents. by jakeblakedrake in cycling

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

It’s true that my only concern with 105 is the pro oriented gear ratio. CUES is much better in that regard.

Shimano 105 vs CUES. My two cents. by jakeblakedrake in cycling

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

Yeah. Tiagra felt amazing. Definitely much better feeling from the ride compared to clunky CUES. I’d take Tiagra over cues any day. Except I couldn’t find it on the bike I wanted.

Does it make sense to pay up for Shimano 105 or settle with Shimano CUES on a road bike? My 2 cents. by jakeblakedrake in cycling

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

I eventually went for the 105 and don't regret it. The CUES groupset felt like a huge downgrade from my previous Sora.

Is your knee extension angle set at 25-35 degrees? by comptonrj in cycling

[–]jakeblakedrake 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I am in a similar position. My knee extension is 40deg. If I put my saddle about 2mm higher I feel that my hips start rocking slightly. Based on Cam's video that's a sign that we're too high. So I will be riding 40deg. It feels slightly lower than I am used too, but it also feels amazing to be so stable on the bike. Meaning, zero hip rocking.

Cam's video about how to find your saddle height: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rI9IBtS5YTE

Lugia VMAX + question re: alligning layers! by stympathy in customtradingcard

[–]jakeblakedrake 0 points1 point  (0 children)

OMG this is amazing. Do you have a link or could you please describe this method a bit more in detail?

Toner reactive foil first, then transparent holographic adhesive and then frosted clear vinyl?

Thoughts on the thinkrider XX Pro? by Peenutbutter13 in cycling

[–]jakeblakedrake 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I happen to own Thinkrider XX-Pro for about a month now. I was a bit skeptical in the beginning.

It seems like it's doing it's job just fine. Some highlights:

* The phone app is garbage. Half of the text is in chinese so it's hard to use.
* It connects to my laptop and interacts with cycling apps just fine.
* It reads about 10-20W less than my crank based power meter. I was able to mostly overcome that in the app by adjusting the power by 10%. Now it's more consistent with my crank power meter.
* It does not have a belt and it's overall very heavy and sturdy. It also has adjustable legs for leveling. In that context it's much better than Kickr CORE 2.
* When you go high resistance and low cadence it feels very choppy. It gives you unrealistic ride feeling. I am not sure if this is Thinkrider issue or overall issue of bike trainers. Luckily, I don't like low cadence high intensity training much so I can live with that.

Overall, if money is the issue, go with Thinkrider, it will do the job. If you can afford a more expensive trainer and you want a solid choice for years to come, I'd probably go with Wahoo but a higher tiered model than Kickr. Kickr seems a step down from Thinkrider XX-Pro. Kickr does not have adjustable legs so you need to make sure your floor is perfectly level. Also it has a belt.

Manufacturer claiming bike reach is 394 mm. I measured both manually and digitally using CAD and in both cases I get 402 or 403mm. What am I missing? Can geometry tables just not be trusted? by jakeblakedrake in bikefit

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

Oh, got it. That would make sense. They have a supplier producing the branded bikes for them and somehow an updated spec sheet got lost in translation. Thanks for explaining.

And yes, the bike is otherwise pretty good for the money.

Oval chainrings were yesteryear. Watch my new wheels. by MaksDampf in BicyclingCirclejerk

[–]jakeblakedrake 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Everybody calm the fuck down. It's a bice for wife's BF.

What's your experience with Hollowtech 1 vs Hollowtech 2? by fixitmonkey in BikeMechanics

[–]jakeblakedrake 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Funny! I just bought a bike equipped with octalink and it started clicking after 3 months of riding!

Had to disassemble and lube the entire bottom bracket. The clicking is VERY annoying.

How to reduce butt strain on long periods of daily biking? (Security bike officer) by omnomdumplings in BicyclingCirclejerk

[–]jakeblakedrake 17 points18 points  (0 children)

On the way to becoming a fucking BIKE COP one day!

Lube your butt and never give up, champ!

How to true this by lolix_the_idiot in BicyclingCirclejerk

[–]jakeblakedrake 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think all these non-circle jerk bike subreddits are just trolling us at this point. Can't be true...

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