All Things Bikes and Tacos! (...and every vehicle imaginable)

Does he want a pair? Tell him to pay $10 and he can have a set I have. Anybody for that matter

 

what kind of clamp do they have? will they work with matchmaker?

 

He's got more pieces of everything already at his work station than any one mechanic needs.

 

Well I just learned there are 13 speed cassettes.
https://rotoramerica.com/products/13-speed-cassette?variant=29479312588879

 

The early fix seemed to be replacing internals, but all of the recent ones I've seen have been complete lever replacements. It may depend on the shop or parts availability though.

 

I dropped a completely seized up pair off with my sister last year. She took them to her local bike wizard (Sincere Cycles in Santa Fe NM) and Bailey had the confidence to dig in there and set 'em right. She's been riding with them since and is happy as can be. As am I, as they aren't anywhere near one of my bikes...

 

The Rotor system is a strange design (hydraulic) and prohibitively expensive. It's been out for a few years now but I've never seen one in person and haven't really seen any companies selling it specced on anything.

Campagnolo makes a very solid 13 speed mechanical groupset that's at least half the price of the Rotor 13. Easier to find via the usual channels, easier to work on, lighter, and likely works much better.

I was hoping to get a bike this year with the Campy Ekar 13 speed but couldn't find any that were exactly what I want and would be available before the end of April. "Settled" for a Force/Eagle AXS 12 speed setup for the season. Campy nailed the gearing on the 13 for gravel and road. Sram didn't nail it on the 12 in my opinion.

 

For gravel SRAM 12 speed, XPLR is the way to go. The 10-44T cassette has perfect jumps compared to putting Eagle on a gravel bike.

 

I thought long and hard on this

Sram made the smallest jump at the very bottom of the cassette with 10-11 vs Eagle's 10-12 (on a 10-50) and the rest of the jumps are pretty much the same until the three lowest cogs. I don't worry about small jumps while going downhill which is mainly where I'd use a 10 or 11.

So the jumps in the gears that you use the majority of the time are barely different between the two. It's mostly a 1% difference on the middle cogs which is 1rpm. Negligible. Eagle just gives you a few more bailout gears. And even then the actual percentage of jumps isn't as much as it seems between. When you're that far up the cassette you're not so worried about cadence as you are about just getting up the damn hill.

You also have the option of a 9-46 cassette, 11-46, an 11-50, and others that run with Eagle. Xplr you're limited to 10-44 or 10-36. Just two options. I found it was going to be easier to fine tune my gearing with the extra options compatible with an Eagle rear derailleur.

The 11-46 is nearly the same jumps and range as the Xplr 10-44.

Xplr is also tied to the flat top road chain which are always tougher to find than a regular 12 speed in a pinch. Most shops will have mountain bike parts. Not everyone has higher end road parts. My shop included. We don't have any customers that would need a flat top chain.

I'll probably run 44 or 46 tooth chainring and 11-46 for the majority of my riding and use a 10-50 while travelling or racing depending on the course.

This is why I was interested in the Campy. Their cassettes have one tooth jumps on the first six cogs vs Xplr's one and Eagle's none.

There's my early morning thesis on Eagle vs Xplr.

 

Idk they're $10

Same. I've been running low-end Shimanos on my bikes for years now and swear by them. Even the cheapest Shimano brakes are better than most

 

We are the few that love Shimano brakes. Ease of maintenance and install/reliability and decent performance and ergo's just kind of make it the best all around. I'm not crazy about the TRP Slates on the Chameleon.

 

interesting break down. I would like to upgrade my drivetrain on my warbird for racing this year. I've been curious whether eagle vs xplr would be the move. Sounds like eagle might be the way, especially since I can match it to my mountain bike haha.

 

Cross-compatibility with bikes is always something I look at. The more stuff you can swap the better in my opinion.

Here's a good video on the comparisons of a 10-44 vs 10-50: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pQdEFGbYhI

It always depends what you want to get out of your bike and what kind of riding you do. But the benefits of Xplr just weren't there for me. If an Eagle/mullet setup weren't an option I'd be totally happy with Xplr though. Overall it's a very solid option. It just didn't make as much sense to me once you really got down to it.

 

What is everyone's go to helmet? Looking to pick up a Fox speedframe (non pro), to replace my Align helmet. Bought the Align as a quick grab out the door when I purchased my bike, but now I'm looking for an upgrade with better protection, but not overkill. (Casual trail rides)

 

Been very happy with my Smith helmets. Session for trail, Mainline for more than trail. I just got a Speedframe Pro to replace the Session since it's a a couple years old now.

Hard to go wrong with any of the big brands. Pick the one that fits and has the colors you like.

 

Mine's a Scott. I've had it a few years, I bought it because it was on the shelf and comfortable. It's just a basic helmet and all I really do is trail riding so it's plenty of protection for me. I don't know what model it is, but it looks like the Vivo on their website.

 

I usually start at the top of this list and work my way down until one fits.
https://www.helmet.beam.vt.edu/bicycle-helmet-ratings.html

 

Helmets are very specific to the shape of your head. I recommend trying a few on before buying. My head shape fits POC Tectal.

 

Agreed. I was having problems with my SRAM Level TL levers not returning in hot weather, and my mechanic replaced the plastic pistons with metal, and it solved the issue for me.

 

Since we are on the subject I figured I fight as well share a pic of my current build. I was going to wait till I was finished to post pics but I’ll give a sneak peak of my drivetrain in front of a nice background. All I have left to do are the brakes. Never worked on hydro so it should be interesting. I went with the Eagle setup because I want to start getting into bike packing and it seems like the gear range is very helpful when climbing hills and loaded with gear. Also the shifting is buttery smooth. I have the 10-50 cassette paired with a 42t chainring. It was a very long wait for these parts and I’m super excited to finally ride this thing!