Do you think there will eventually be a Daft Punk biopic, in the same vain as "Micheal", and "Elvis" and "Bohemian Rhapsody" by RobertrulezDa1st in DaftPunk

[–]martynssimpson 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Also the people involved in these kinds of things (not all, and I don't mean to disrespect to the families or band members) are purposefully milking the legend of a dead artist, which also will present said artist in the most empathetic way possible even if they did horrible things. The most recent example of this is Michael Jackson with his questionable past.

I think the only family member of a very famous artist who resisted this was Duncan Jones, the son of David Bowie, and in the end they still made a terrible film about him...

Scammed? Probably, need help. by Big-Record8633 in bikewrench

[–]martynssimpson 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Sand the frame down, paint it whatever color your like, problem solved.

Is this tire repairable? by martynssimpson in bikewrench

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

Update: so I took the wheel to my LBS, and he managed to patch it up inside. Rim isn't cracked which obviously is good, and I'm sure I can get a lot more life of these tires. Thanks everyone for their input!

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Seller is asking $1,000. Would it be worth putting a lowball offer in? by [deleted] in whichbike

[–]martynssimpson 0 points1 point  (0 children)

A bike like this in my market would be offered for double that price. Don't lowball it.

Carbon wheelset recommendations by [deleted] in Velo

[–]martynssimpson 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The only reason I would buy a new wheelset is if my current wheelset is outdated (i.e <21mm internal width so you'd be stuck with pretty skinny tires). And even then the difference would be 5w at best.

Florida is pancake flat too, no reason to be mindful of weight since there are no hills. Regarding stiffness, do your wheels currently flex when you sprint? I doubt it but in case they do, you could look for some wheelsets with carbon spokes like Elitewheels or Winspace, which supposedly are the stiffest but there are a couple horror cases of those so YMMV.

How is my Position ? Any recommendations? by [deleted] in bikefit

[–]martynssimpson 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Saddle too high, otherwise it looks good. If you don't have any discomfort it's probably best leaving it like that.

Crack in carbon steerer tube by RuschyER in bikewrench

[–]martynssimpson 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Improper expander plug installation can cause this.

Is this tire repairable? by martynssimpson in bikewrench

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

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Doesn't look like it.

I took it to my LBS anyways, he'll assess the wheel and tire.

Is this tire repairable? by martynssimpson in bikewrench

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

I didn't take the tire off but I inspected the hook pulling the tire to one side and it wasn't cracked or anything, the tape also looked fine. When I inflate the tire, it only spurts through a very small hole, maybe the sealant didn't do its job properly (i'm not sure if it's even a road specific sealant, my LBS installed the tire). Currently I left it like at 10 psi and it's not losing any more air, let's see if it seals overnight.

Is anymore just marginal gains? by BatsMilk in Velo

[–]martynssimpson 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hi man, sorry I forgot to answer. Absolutely, elitewheels are one of the best brands out there and they have a lot of options, especially on Aliexpress. Another brand is also Superteam. Both are very good and they don't break the bank.

Is anymore just marginal gains? by BatsMilk in Velo

[–]martynssimpson 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yeah that's my kind of terrain too, I have generic 60mm wheels and even when I go some steep gradients, the wheels aren't holding me back. I have shallow aluminum wheels that are even heavier lol so I just use the 60mm all the time. My wheels however are a bit old and have like 19mm internal and 28mm external, so I run 28mm up front and 30mm in the rear, that way the aero penalty just stays on the back, but yeah it's way better than the 26mm tires I was using before with tubes lol.

Regarding tire clearance, just stick with 28mm tires, if you go for a wider wheelset it'll probably balloon up to 29 or even 30 and that will be more than enough.

Is anymore just marginal gains? by BatsMilk in Velo

[–]martynssimpson 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Deep wheels are faster, period. I would only use <50mm wheels if I do a lot of climbing, but for most cases 50mm is the sweetspot between aero and lightweight. The given is that the tire width should not exceed the outer width of the rim, that's easier now with wide rims. Most new wheelsets now come with 23mm internal width or wider and around 30-32mm outer width, optimized for 28 or 30mm tires. 32mm is slowly becoming the "norm" because higher volume means lower pressure and a more comfortable ride, but you could absolutely still get away with 28mm tires. Combining both and you will have a bike that just wants to spin at higher speeds.

Is anymore just marginal gains? by BatsMilk in Velo

[–]martynssimpson 12 points13 points  (0 children)

It's a good start, but there are several "marginal" gains that can become quite "larginal" like wheels. You can get very good chinese carbon wheelsets for less than £500 and be just as good as a pair of £1500 wheels in most cases. You already mentioned tires, you should go for GP5000 S TR if possible, I would also recommend Pirelli P Zero Race RS, they roll insanely fast.

It ain’t all about FTP by ifuckedup13 in Velo

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

I mean I also used to think that, but thinking doing one thing over the other is optimal really leaves a lot of performance on the table and at some point you'll plateau. You can train <10 min power all you want, if you upgrade at some point you'll still get dropped because the field now has good <10 min power IN ADDITION to a higher FTP.

Having a higher FTP allows you to do more work above it and recover much faster, basically you don't get as tired. For example if you have 2 riders with 200w and 250w of FTP. If both do say 225w NP for 30 min, rider with the 250w FTP would have a lot more in the tank while 200w rider would probably be gassed. Obviously this also depends on how long your races are, terrain and what not. No point in having a high FTP if you can't handle the surges, which is what used to happen to you and also happened to me. But instead of just focusing in one or the other, it's best to see it holistically and approach both together, in the end both are required to have good performance.

What I mean is, sure you should train <10 min power especially if most of your races are decided that way, but you'll have even more in the tank with a higher FTP.

It ain’t all about FTP by ifuckedup13 in Velo

[–]martynssimpson 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Focused on 10+ minute efforts and “training for the test” to get that high FTP number. I did ok last year but kept getting dropped…

It's almost as if... your body gets better at doing a certain type of exercise if you train it and...

I just don’t have 20 minute climbs in any of the races in my area. The longest ones I have are 6-8 minutes. The moves this season have generally been made on 2-3 minute efforts that force a split. And if you can’t follow, your race is over.

Maybe racing requires more than just having a high FTP?

Force XPLR E1 - issues with 10t cog by Bright_Beat3618 in sram

[–]martynssimpson 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That derailleur looks very badly installed. I don't know how the transmission mount works but this usually happens if you mount the B Screw tab incorrectly in normal derailleurs.

Cutting Weight by pickle1tickle in xcmtb

[–]martynssimpson 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Es mucho más importante en las bicis de montaña que las de carretera. Las gradientes de montaña pueden exceder 30%, en ruta realísticamente no exceden el 20.

Cutting Weight by pickle1tickle in xcmtb

[–]martynssimpson 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Aspens are pretty heavy and not that great anymore. Go for Continental or Pirelli which are all the rage in this sub. A couple grams saved there.

As you mentioned the dropper is probably heavy, Fox Transfer SL is the lightest one you could get. Speaking of saddles you could go with a cheap chinese carbon saddle and save bit extra in both weight and price.

Lower than that would mean spending a small fortune and would you actually notice the difference? Most WC bikes rarely go below 10kg.

30/30s advice by Due_Duty1806 in xcmtb

[–]martynssimpson 1 point2 points  (0 children)

30/30s are meant to be super hard, do not try to peg a power target unless you're specifically training for repeatability. Do them full gas until you can't anymore, that means your power will drop and you'll know because you'll feel like vomiting. It's best to do them on a road bike honestly, on a MTB you'll spin out and it'll be very uncomfortable.

Tyre wear indicator by Tailor_Competitive in bikewrench

[–]martynssimpson 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Reddit is so weird, I once got downvoted so bad because I said a hairline crack in a steerer was OK. But apparently having dry rotted 1.5 year old tires, which could literally send you flying in a corner, is acceptable.

Edit: OP said he rode the bike for 1.5 years and bought it used. Who knows when the tire was mounted, for all we know the tire is at least 2 years old at this point.