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2019 Road Bike Standards Guide + New Podcast Episode!

gregkgregk Member
edited January 2019 in Main
Howdy, Roosters! While I try to avoid subjecting you to too much ear-beating with my various work and projects, I hope/think this one might actually help some of you. I started writing for Bikerumor.com recently, and just published a super-mega-huge guide for getting up to speed on road bikes:
https://bikerumor.com/2019/01/29/2019-road-bike-standards-guide-all-you-need-to-know-to-buy-a-new-bike/#comment-3241043

The idea is to help new-ish folks, or those who are just struggling to keep up with all of the constant changing of "standards" in the bike industry. If you're shopping for a road bike this year, we're trying to help you future-proof as much as possible. I'm working on two more similar guides, for gravel bikes and mountain bikes.

I'll note that there are two things in the Road buyer's guide that I don't *quite* think apply to the average busy triathlete, and that's tubeless tires and disc brakes. I see a LOT of industry support for these (from companies that need new things to sell), but I have honestly never heard it coming from someone that actively trains and races triathlons (and also has a family, kids, etc). It tends to come from tech-focused bike guys that love working on their bikes, and don't have the time constraints of also trying to swim, run, and get to the gym. It's not that tubeless + discs are bad necessarily, there are just a lot of different executions of them, and they tend to take more of your time... and can make traveling with a bike box more difficult. I always err towards simplicity for busy triathletes, and something like a Cervelo P2 (with rim brakes and tubes) is about as simple as it gets these days. If you're techy and know how to deal with the latest gadgets - I'm not here to stop you. I'm just trying to give a heads-up for those who don't have the time or inclination to deal with any new equipment baggage.

Also, I released my latest episode of the Minimal Multisport Podcast a few days ago - with none other than Tyler Benedict of Bikerumor! He's very sharp, and it's the conversation that actually led to me writing for them.
https://www.minimalmultisport.com/blog/episode15
https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/minimal-multisport-athlete-podcast/id1419762273
The Dude at Minimal Multisport Podcast, Blog, and YouTube.
MY PATREON!
MattAaron WebsteyM_WareNHetroTad_Mellsworth53t1_Hot_PretzelRobert RankinKenElPescadoPeladohaywarmi

Comments

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    MattMatt Member, Administrator, Rooster Endurance Member
    edited January 2019
    Great write-up!
    Tubeless and Discs are definitely coming to Tri. Maybe not the entry level just yet, but by 2020 for sure.
    gregk
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    Matt said:

    Great write-up!
    Tubeless and Discs are definitely coming to Tri. Maybe not the entry level just yet, but by 2020 for sure.

    @Matt thanks! Yes, you could argue that tubeless and disc brakes are already here - Quintana Roo just released a $3,000 tri bike with discs. As far as I know, that's the first mass-market disc tri bike (though still too expensive for first-timers, college kids, etc).

    I'm just saying that I've tested a lot of different tubeless and disc setups over the years. 10 times out of 10 they required more maintenance than a bike with standard rim brakes and inner tubes. When I was racing a lot and flying around trying to race pro while working full-time, there's no way I had time for tubeless/disc on my personal bike. It's a somewhat nuanced viewpoint that the performance road cycling crowd doesn't tend to see.
    MattAaron Webstey
    The Dude at Minimal Multisport Podcast, Blog, and YouTube.
    MY PATREON!
  • Options
    Tad_MTad_M Member, Rooster Endurance Member, Level 2 Supporter, POTM

    Great, great writeup!

    Totally agree on the tubeless disc "issue" of maintenance time drain. Also, tubeless costs more over time. Someone can do a great math equation in the marketing department to tell me I'm wrong, but the real world cash drain on sealant, rim strip replacement, etc. is bigger than with tubes.

    However, I ride 97% rough gravel roads. I'm hooked on the tubeless drug.
    Aaron Websteygregk
    visit Michigan July 19th to 24th 2023 - The Sworry Trials Impossibleman and Ode to Laz
    https://www.facebook.com/sworrytrials/
    https://www.facebook.com/OdetoLaz/
  • Options
    Tad_M said:


    Great, great writeup!

    Totally agree on the tubeless disc "issue" of maintenance time drain. Also, tubeless costs more over time. Someone can do a great math equation in the marketing department to tell me I'm wrong, but the real world cash drain on sealant, rim strip replacement, etc. is bigger than with tubes.

    However, I ride 97% rough gravel roads. I'm hooked on the tubeless drug.

    @Tad_M yes, cost is an issue for sure. My favorite tubeless gravel setup so far was Stan's Arch 29er rims with Michelin Mud 2's - a non-tubeless-specific tire. They pumped up with a floor pump, and the tires weren't too tight to change (though they were tight). They rode like handmade tubulars and never flatted. But I've also had the opposite... a set of Hutchinson 35mm tires that wouldn't even fit on those wheels, so I put them on a set of UST Shimano wheels. They inflated, rode okay, and then I quickly flatted on a tiny piece of sharp gravel... and the Hutchinson sealant didn't seal. Tire was so tight I couldn't put a tube in and had to get a ride home. Had to CUT the tire off the wheel. The Hutchinson beads are SO tight and inflexible, and I've had problems on more than one wheel set. This was 5 years ago, so maybe they've improved.

    I think more of the modern setups are getting better, and easier to install. My problem is that I am a tire geek and like the ability to change tires often... so tubeless becomes a pain. When I lived with a real winter, I'd do studded tires in the winter, light tread CX tires for fall/spring, and essentially road tires for summer. Tubes are just easier.
    The Dude at Minimal Multisport Podcast, Blog, and YouTube.
    MY PATREON!
  • Options
    MattMatt Member, Administrator, Rooster Endurance Member
    Mavic AllRoad Pro with 40mm Yksion tires to come on my soon-to-be gravel bike.
  • Options
    @Matt from what I've heard, their latest stuff is great in terms of ease-of-installation. And they were one of the first with a fully sealed spoke bed that doesn't even require tubeless tape (pretty sure they're still doing that).
    Matt
    The Dude at Minimal Multisport Podcast, Blog, and YouTube.
    MY PATREON!
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    MattMatt Member, Administrator, Rooster Endurance Member
    Their tech has come a long way and is fantastic. Can't wait to try it out.
    gregk
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    MartinMartin Member, Rooster Endurance Member
    Spesh Roubaix on Shimano Ultegra. The ones without spoke holes. No tape ever. Warm tires in the sun for a while thanks to a tip from someone here.

    Schwalbe Pro Ones fit more tightly and don't seal as well, but that might be my fault at installation.

    I can't imagine going back to clinchers.





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    Craig_DCraig_D Member, Rooster Endurance Member, POTM
    Bringing this back from the dead I know but its seems the best place to put this question - I have a set of Bontrager Race wheels on my Trek Tri bike (2011 model). Can I mount a set of tubeless tires on these or do the rim hooks need to be specific for a tubeless set up? No rim tape is required as there are no spoke holes. Planning on buying a set of wheels next yet but would like to play around with the tubeless setup a bit.
    Martin
    Canadian Division
  • Options
    MartinMartin Member, Rooster Endurance Member
    . Can I mount a set of tubeless tires on these or do the rim hooks need to be specific for a tubeless set up? No rim tape is required as there are no spoke holes. Planning on buying a set of wheels next yet but would like to play around with the tubeless setup a bit.
    I would use rim tape in this set up, or the Stan's strips.



    Craig_D
  • Options
    gregkgregk Member
    edited September 2019
    Craig_D said:

    Bringing this back from the dead I know but its seems the best place to put this question - I have a set of Bontrager Race wheels on my Trek Tri bike (2011 model). Can I mount a set of tubeless tires on these or do the rim hooks need to be specific for a tubeless set up? No rim tape is required as there are no spoke holes. Planning on buying a set of wheels next yet but would like to play around with the tubeless setup a bit.

    @Craig_D It's not that rim bead hooks are really specific to being tubeless, it's the inner bed of the rim (also called a rim channel). This explains. Some tubeless-ready rims have bead hooks, some don't... and some even do 'tweener' style mini bead hooks.

    Bontrager's old wheels weren't tubeless-ready, so you'd need a conversion kit... Like Stan's conversion rim strips, though these were recently taken out of production due to lack-of-demand (since so many newer rims are tubeless-ready). Here's a review of some Bonty wheels I did in 2013... and I believe this was the first year that they were tubeless-ready from the factory (using their special TLR rim strips). If you don't use the TLR strips, they're effectively tube-tube rims.

    So - then long story short is that tubeless compatibility depends entirely on the rim. Pretty much every old rim "can" be converted to tubeless, but the process often becomes a time-consuming science experiment to get the right amount of tape built up for an adequate seal.
    Craig_D
    The Dude at Minimal Multisport Podcast, Blog, and YouTube.
    MY PATREON!
  • Options
    Craig_DCraig_D Member, Rooster Endurance Member, POTM
    Thanks @Martin and @gregk. This points me in the right direction. Appreciate the lengthy response Greg.
    gregk
    Canadian Division
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    Tad_MTad_M Member, Rooster Endurance Member, Level 2 Supporter, POTM
    @Craig_D , I have two of those conversion products mentioned. Let me know what your rim width is (give me both internal and external at the brake surfaces, I can't remember how they are specd)
    Craig_D
    visit Michigan July 19th to 24th 2023 - The Sworry Trials Impossibleman and Ode to Laz
    https://www.facebook.com/sworrytrials/
    https://www.facebook.com/OdetoLaz/

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