Boardman CX Owners Thread

arthur_scrimshaw

EKE_38BPM wrote:

alexul wrote:

...
I discovered another issue with a too low position. I am shortsighted so I have to wear glasses all the time. When I'm going too low and keeping my neck in line with the spine I am looking over the frames. So I have to raise and tense my neck, of course for short periods of time it's not a problem but it's not something I can handle for hours. So I hope by changing the angle I will be a little more upright.

Or new glasses that sit higher on you face so that you don't have to look over the frame?

Get a short reach, adjustable stem and keep your tyres at the recommended pressures to avoid pinch flats on the terrible roads.

Yes it's an attractive option

fret

Tyler Farrar will definitely need some of those.
Especially to find his drugs.

fret

I am short sighted, but wear contacts to get over the bins problem. However, I always wear some form of eye protection to keep debris from getting in. Mine are simple wraparound safety specs (Cos I get them free from work) in a variety of styles and shades from clear to yellow to dark tinted. Even when I wear glasses I don't find it a problem as you aren't that low on a 'cross bike compared to a roadie. Your neck muscles soon stretch and adapt.

alexul

Actually I decided not to change anything yet. I started doing some toning and stretching exercises. For the last 5 months my life was more of sit in the car to work, sit at the desk, sit in the car back from work, sit at the home office. No wonder the bike was feeling totally wrong. After doing the exercises and a proper warm-up before each ride I could do a 2 hours ride and two 1 our in the last three days. Besides a little tiresome in the upper muscles, I don't feel anything aching, sore or numb. I'll wait a few weeks, or a few hundred km's to let my muscles get fit and keep working out. By then I should be in shape and if I still find something wrong at least I'll change it because I really need it not because I'm a couch potato.

However I'm sad today. When going out, the front door of the building I live in, got stucked and I reached to force it close and the bike fell from my hand. The top tube got a scratch, about 3 cm. It looks like this http://s150.photobucket.com/user/alexul/media/CIMG8157_zpsfab9024f.jpg.html

I really loved so much the glossy paint and I hope it won't get any rust inside the scratch until I find a good paint to cover it. Do you know what should I be looking for to be of good quality? Thank you.

bendertherobot

alexul wrote:

Actually I decided not to change anything yet. I started doing some toning and stretching exercises. For the last 5 months my life was more of sit in the car to work, sit at the desk, sit in the car back from work, sit at the home office. No wonder the bike was feeling totally wrong. After doing the exercises and a proper warm-up before each ride I could do a 2 hours ride and two 1 our in the last three days. Besides a little tiresome in the upper muscles, I don't feel anything aching, sore or numb. I'll wait a few weeks, or a few hundred km's to let my muscles get fit and keep working out. By then I should be in shape and if I still find something wrong at least I'll change it because I really need it not because I'm a couch potato.

However I'm sad today. When going out, the front door of the building I live in, got stucked and I reached to force it close and the bike fell from my hand. The top tube got a scratch, about 3 cm. It looks like this http://s150.photobucket.com/user/alexul/media/CIMG8157_zpsfab9024f.jpg.html

I really loved so much the glossy paint and I hope it won't get any rust inside the scratch until I find a good paint to cover it. Do you know what should I be looking for to be of good quality? Thank you.

It's aluminium alloy. It won't rust. Alu can corrode but I wouldn't worry about that scratch at all.

fret

Put a layer of lacquer (clearcoat) on it to help prevent any ingress of dirt. Pinch the wife/girlfriends nail varnish as it's the same stuff.

alexul

I guess it's time for me to thank you guys for all the things you share.

fret

I have just tried out my new wheelset on the way to work. You can tell instantly they are lighter as you get up to speed quicker and maintain it.


They are Kinesis Crosslight discs. http://www.kinesisbikes.co.uk/products/ ... ght-cxdisc
Don't believe the garbage about the weight though as I weighed them, without skewers etc when they arrived on Thursday at work. The weight of 1800 is, in fact 1819g
With Gatorskin 28 tyres, tubes, discs, speedo weight etc the weight is 1604 for the front and 1940 for the rear, a total of 2544, which is still far ighter than the 3861 that I weighed the OEM with Gatorskins.
Woohoo. 1317g lighter.

I will weight the bike at lunch to see what I have now got it down to.

apreading

Quick maths check - 1604+1940 = 3544

So 'only' 317g lighter...

fret

Just seeing if anyone was on the ball and actually reading the post. I wish it was 1.3kg.

Hmm, just weighed the bike. 11.50kg with everything fitted, pumps, lights 'guards, seat pack.
Weight without lights, seat pack and lights, 10.70kg! Take off the 'guards at 500g, front light (cable tied to stem) @100g, computer and bottle cages, 150g(?) and that's still just shy of 10kg, which is what it allegedly weighed in the first instance.

Back to the scales and weight saving goodies I guess.

Burndust

still not to bad weight wise fret...imo but then i was used to pushing a heavy hybrid about...this bike thing is getting bloody addictive you've got me drooling over the di2 which has led me onto drooling over a specialized tarmac

fret

I love the Di2, but if you're a weight weenie then the Mechanical Ultegra is lighter.......................and SRAM is even lighter again
I'm not sure if the amount of cycling I do at my age warrants it though..........................sod it, of course it does. :oops:
I'll still keep the Boardman mechanical at present and try to lose weight on the chainset/crank next as the FSA Gossamer item is very heavy at 938g. SRAM Force is 300g lighter and RED is 557g.

I'm just under 8kg on the Ribble, but can lose about 4-500g still by changing wheels, forks, groupset, seatpost and stem, but at a huge cost.
If I go on the Ribble bike builder then I am just over £2000 for mine :oops:
These are the wheels I have, or actually the old SLR version which look like these. I wish I could get some disc wheels the same.http://www.mavic.com/en/product/wheels/ ... SLS#325694

This compares the groupset weights. I love Shimano, but if you want to save weight then it's SRAM or Campy. http://www.totalcycling.com/component-weights.html

diliff

Silly question but... How exactly do you remove the top bar brake levers? Just can't see from looking at them exactly what is required to get them off. I know how to remove the levers themselves, but not sure of what the implications are for the brake cabling.

veronese68

diliff wrote:

Silly question but... How exactly do you remove the top bar brake levers? Just can't see from looking at them exactly what is required to get them off. I know how to remove the levers themselves, but not sure of what the implications are for the brake cabling.

The easiest way to do it would be to get some inline cable adjusters then just remove the inner cable, remove the levers then put the inline adjusters where the levers were. Otherwise you'll have to change the outer cables and rewrap your bar tape.

ElliottDavo

Someone said to me removing them improves braking performance with the levers, don't know if this is true or not

veronese68

ElliottDavo wrote:

Someone said to me removing them improves braking performance with the levers, don't know if this is true or not

Can't imagine why. It's only a break in the outer cable, no different to putting in an inline adjuster. Removing them won't give any advantage from the main levers, unless the interruptors or cables are badly fitted in the first place causing movement in the cable outers.

fret

If it is just one piece of outer casing then there is less flex and "give" so braking will consequently be better.
But as to whether you will actually notice is a different bouilloir des poissons.
Or is it "Du Poissons"?

Burndust

ok so further to my issue with the left crank....turns out its actually the headset thats creaking noticed it today on my 50 miler..rekon it just needs some grease....was convinced it was coming fron my pedals goes to show you

fret

I have just cleaned the bike and noticed that I have Gator Hardshell 28's on (With wire bead), which are 410g apiece, extra puncture protection over the Gatorskins at 360g, so they are 100g more than the OEM Ritchey Excadavers.
So there's 180g to lose when I get replacement Gatorskin folders road tyres, or more if I go for 25's

alexul

Who can help me troubleshooting a mysterious squishing sound? I recorded it here: http://snd.sc/16FoPln. The squishing starts at around second 5 until 10.
It comes from the front wheel but I can't find where. I've put my ears on the front hub, not from there, the brakes, neither. But I can hear it clearly at the top of the fork, seems like it is made by actually the fork itself !?! But the fork rotates smoothly without a sound. It is also curious that it's there only when the wheel spins fast so I can't take it inch by inch. I took out the wheel, the quick release, put them back, didn't work. Deflated and inflated the tire, thought that maybe it was misplaced on the rim. Also the wheel seems to spin freely, nothing slows it down.
I'm out of clues.
Thanks for any help

LE: the mentioned site has a problem when the line is first requested. Refreshing with F5, seems to open the page

fret

Sounds like a mouse caught in the wheel!!

umm, no idea.
Bearings too tight?
Quick release too tight? Which can cause above.
Brakes rubbing, back them all the way off to eliminate that.
Sounds a bit like something rubbing on the tyre actually.

ElliottDavo

Are the spokes on your wheel tight?

alexul

Yes, but the tire has a lot of clearance so it's not rubbing against anything, although it definitively sounds like it is.
I believe the spokes are alright. The wheel does seem a bit un-true, but very, very little, or maybe the tire is not perfectly uniform. So I don't want to true the wheel, I may overdo it and untrue it even more.
Although I tried with 2 different tensions in the quick release it didn't stop but I could try it more. I took them out and noticed some grease on the skewer, more on the release side. Should I try to spread the grease all over it's length or maybe apply more?
What could make the bearings be over-tight? I never changed anything at them. Could different shocks tighten them more than they initially were?

The sound appeared, or at least, I noticed it, when going over a road with cubic stones but with low speed, like 6-9 mph. At first I though I have a puncture or leak and the air coming out was causing this like a whistle ). Also my wife thought it was made by the wind going through my fork
I believe something was displaced from all the vibrations
It's not related to the pressure of the wheel because it still happens when the bike is upside down. It is only when the wheel spins over a certain speed but if the speed increases even more the sound is still the same level. Something creates vibrations and they echo in the fork.
I will take out the wheel again and inspect it more carefully. I didn't want to pay too much attention yesterday and ruin a great family bike ride. But now, that I know it is there, it's getting more and more annoying, it's more psychological than actually functional
Thanks

Ouija

Sounds like either disk rub or bearings. Easiest way to find out is to take the wheel off and spin it when holding either side of the axle (not the quick release skewers... you want the axle to remain stationary as the outer wheel rotates, rather than have the axle and wheel rotate on the skewer). If it still sqeaks, it's bearings. If it doesn't, it was the brakes.

alexul

Thanks for the troubleshooting method Ouija, looks simple enough.

fret

A small sound will be amplified by the hollow forks etc.

alexul

It could be an explanation. On the rear I could immediately tell when a noise was coming from the brakes, for example. I guess aluminium, being heavier isolates the sound better.
I have never done an operation to open a hub. But I'd really like to learn to, if this is really needed. I read and watched video tutorials so I think I got the idea. All of them mentioned about using 1 or 2 special (cone?) wrenches but they are different sizes, and also different between front and back. What kind and sizes do I need for this bike? So I can ask at the shop for these tools.
Thanks

heez29

There's a rubber seal outside of the cone. It's that. Bit of grease around that will fix it. No need to open it.

alexul

Well, I hope it is fixed although I didn't apply anything to it. I took the wheel and removed the rubber seal. It looked greased enough but I tried to spread the existing grease all around. Put all together again and all is quite now. I hope it stays like that when I go on the road too.
Thanks for the help

alexul

What are the minimum dimensions for the tires I can put on this bike?
Thanks