วีดีโอ

I have a power meter crank that reads the power

@cyclingwithwatts can you post link please and thank you 😊

@@wolvesdengaming9358 happy to help, but what do you want a link of? The crank I use?

@@cyclingwithwatts yes please and thank you

@@wolvesdengaming9358 it's a Stages Power meter. It's a Shimano ultegra crank fitted with a Stages power meter. Crank is 170mm long. Stages went out of business so no link anymore

Have you tried this before?? I would be curious to see how it went. I would be too afraid to do that with carbon. I've drilled into alloy before with zero issues but have never done anything with carbon

@@cyclingwithwatts have seen others like youtuber travevello do it. Not diffcult with a hand file. Sand the endes so they are not sharp

​@@cornelhughesmaybe you could sand the edges, but the holes were too small and not cut well in the carbon. To me that seems dangerous to make bigger, but I guess I need to do some more digging on TH-cam! Thanks for the tip!

@@cyclingwithwatts I did alongside a mechanic years ago on my set of Easton EC70 carbon aero bars. We only made the holes a tiny bit bigger to accomodate shifter and hydraulic housing together. Since then I've raced them countless times, ridden daily and probably crashed at some point. More recently I did this on a set of $35 carbon bars which I bought just because I was curious and so far, those even seem to do just fine. You can always ad a drop of resin over the area you've sanded just in case.

@@thhorwitz1 that is super interesting and I appreciate you sharing this tip, so helpful to learn from others experience

Maybe for gears, but I couldn't fit the hydraulic cables through which they should be designed to hold those hoses. Even if it was a rim brake bike the brake cables would not have fit.

😀😀😀

Glad to hear it! Did you get the internal routing to work??? I agreed they do feel good on the ride!

@@cyclingwithwatts yes. It was no issue because of Di2. So only 2 cables total.

@@cyclingwithwatts also I put a shim underneath the outfront mount so that will be level

​@@mudonsundayinteresting I couldn't even get the brake hose in there though, so even 1 cable wouldn't fit

​@@mudonsundaysmart

I think the wider tires give more comfort and they give our bikes more versatility with terrain. I see that as a win for all cyclists.

@@cyclingwithwatts yes, but if I am looking above all for comfort, then I'm not road cycling anymore. I usually do a lot of ascent and always been slower with wide tires on...wide meant 28c. I can't even imagine with 30c. I think we have lost the meaning of what a road bike is.. :-)

I may end up racing it! I haven't decided yet. It's a great bike and honestly I'm afraid of crashing it, so we will see what I decide be cause I really do love riding it

@@cyclingwithwatts I've seen enough crit crashes to know that you could race this and if it ever breaks you could easily repair it and have it painted to look exactly as it did before. This bike will have more snap, it will make a difference. But it also depends on how much you love racing versus just riding and training. I love racing, so I'm happy to use my better equipment in races.

I definitely agree with you more now after writing discs on the road for a while. I wasn't fully convinced until this year but I really enjoyed the braking power of the disc brakes. I think they're phenomenal and even though rim brakes are still great, The future will be centered around disc brakes because they are better

@cyclingwithwatts the best thing is if one needs more brake power swapping to a bigger rotor and an adapter isn't a King's ransom. Late braking on my trail/enduro MTBs keeps me happy 😊 I recently switched to waxing my chains and that has been excellent. My buddies want in too.

Just trying things out really! I do TikTok videos and in those vids it works well if you hold it. It was a test so I appreciate the feedback

@@cyclingwithwatts It seems to be a weird trend that started on TikTok about a year ago. Buying a lav mic...but holding it 🥴 It's a bit like getting up from the couch and walking over to the TV to hold the remote up against it to change channel 🤔 All the best though. Gotta try new things, like you say ✌️

@@jamesf8864 I don't disagree but I will work to clean it up for the future, so thanks for the call out!

@@cyclingwithwatts 🫶

I'm pretty sure Visma uses 29mm as they had custom Vittorias made for their reserve wheels. And it 100% increases cornering performance! If you have a bigger tire and lower pressure that means your contact patch of tire on the road surface is greater. If you have more contact with the ground it means you will haveore grip and more grip will lead to more stability in corners. All of that equals better cornering.

@@cyclingwithwatts Ah my mistake, I knew they weren't standard. Still, almost every rider in the peloton is on 28mm tyres. You can get that using standard Ultegra R8000 rim brakes. The specialized is a great colour btw! Would be a cool project to upgrade it to some wider wheels/tyres and see how it compares to your new disc crit bike.

@@thomasparkins6749 I think, they are 29's. Nero show just said that a couple weeks ago, but yes not standard. So the brakes may be able to handle it but IDK if the frame can handle much bigger and I think that's my issue as well. While I don't disagree that you can be very good on 28's, I'm trying to pick up marginal gains where I can from going with a bigger tire. I have a lot of ground to make up with the top guys in the 1/2 categories so I feel like I need to try and stack on every marginal gain I can. I do love the color as well, and it will be missed. If I have the money I would love to test something like that as well, we will see what happens over the winter and if I can score some deals.

Haha I could use some @durianrider comments on this vid!! I love disc for off road and I really only want disc brakes on the road to run bigger tires!

@@cyclingwithwatts you probably can't just fit a mtb vbrake on a roadbike? The most common ones handle 2.1" tyres but in the end u just want something that works reliably with whatever setup ur running. But another durianrider comment would be: wider tyres are slower, but somehow a 28mm tyre is the #1 beating some 25mm ones.

@@X41N3 I cant fit V brakes on a road bike as they take a different mounting system and the frame has to have those mounts. So unfortunately that is not an option. Haha yeah with testing we are seeing wider tires are the same speed if not faster than skinnier versions.

There are certainly good American brands, but the cost of some China brands are so good right now. Some of these brands are producing frames that stack up with the big companies and half or a 3rd of the price.

Haha that's a fair point!!

Dang really that's actually a killer price for that build!

@@cyclingwithwatts i crashed mine rough and its SOLID still even had a mechanic take it apart and check. saying because you seem worried about carbon frame crash vrs alu.

@@paintballer4055 Dang, glad its all good though. Alloy can just take more crashing than carbon. With carbon it has a better chance of cracking in a crash. Alloy can dent and still be safe to ride. Just playing the odds alloy is more likely to survive a crash. Carbon can for sure survive a crash just less likely.

I do love my indoor set up! But it's still not as great as outdoors. Because if the weather and family life indoor riding has become one of my only options so it's more of necessity, but I've set it up to be an enjoyable experience

I assume this is sarcasm?? Or is this a serious question

For sure that bike has been a solid race bike for over a decade. I've definitely thought about that or a disc version of the Allez Sprint. It's definitely a good option

Totally agree in part with your take. It just the fact that the brakes themselves don't always clear 28mm and the frame on my bike. So that's why I think disc is the way to go. But your set up for sure gets very close to solving what I want!

@@cyclingwithwatts I did switch the Ultegra calipers for the Cane Creek ones, massive breaking power and wider clearance, much lighter too!

@@csarcpab What's the widest clearance you can get on the ee brakes?

@@cyclingwithwatts it's 28 to 30mm when all the brake pad spacers are removed. I had 28mm Contis GP5000 but on those wheels they went up to 30mm measured when inflated and the brakes took them perfectly fine, that's why I went to the 25mm Michelin tires 30mm were just too much for me, these ones go up to 28mm and roll amazingly fine and smooth.

I know this is true for a lot of people. Racing, I feel like I want more precise braking and I think I would get that with disc brakes.

What you mean like van aert in the vuelta? Lol

Haha I laughed so hard this!!!! 🤣🤣🤣

I'll definitely look into this. However I don't think my frame in the back can take auch bigger tires, but I will look into it. Thanks!

So we race a lot at the state fairgrounds here in MN and those roads are not the smoothest haha. I agree with all of your takes and riding wide tires on my Felt AR has just been so nice, why not bring that luxury over to my race bike and probably improve cornering at the same time.

rolling resistance is not holding you back. bicyclerollingresistance did a test between 23mm and all the way up to 32mm gp 5000 and the largest difference possible (23mm at high pressure vs 32mm at low pressure) was 1.8 watts (8.5 watts of rolling resistance vs 10.3 watts of rolling resistance). From the test it's also clear that at the same air pressure, a bigger road bike tire has a lower rolling resistance. But the wider tires are significantly more puncture resistant, corner better and are more comfortable. Keep in mind that the test is done in a lab setting, meaning the surface is perfect. If you translate it to the road, the wider tire will probably end up with lower rolling resistance due to bumps and the non-perfect road surface

Basically in my research on the matter is wider tires are basically the same in rolling resistance and in some cases faster. The lower pressure leaves you with a more comfortable ride and the ability to have more grip in corners. Wider tires only seem like a win-win in my research.

​@@cyclingwithwatts There is one downside, weight. Wider tires of the same quality will always be heavier.

@@independentthought3390 you're right but I doubt that weight will matter much. Unless you're doing hill climbs I assume the weight won't matter.

Likely they are trying to increase the value of their old bikes. So they are bringing up again and again how hard it is to maintain a disc brake bike.

faster braking? if you want to win, you dont brake easier braking? sounds like you are leisure rider with very limited braking skill destroy carbon rim? pro would tell you how to rim brake by ABS skill , only junior rider would their destroy carbon rim roll faster? it depends on FTP not tire width stable corning?thats junior rider always scare of more comfortable? yes it, but if you want comfort, ride gravel bike in the first place, racers need speed not comfort minor weight penalty? dont tell a lie, haha

There are other downsides. It's more expensive, maintaining it is more complicated and costly, and before you come at me saying it's easy, it's just not true, once you have a rubbing disc brake, there are many things that could cause the misalignment and it's a lot more tricky to adjust than a rim brake. Not to mention, servicing disc brakes is more difficult that switching calipers and cables. Lastly, the braking performance. The only real advantage is in the wet, because let's face it, in the dry, disc brakes are so powerful that if you brake hear, you'll go over your handlebars. And tbh, most road cyclists tend to ride a lot less in rainy weather. And even when they do, you're going to approach turns/ corners / intersections much slower anyway, so the brakes aren't really the thing holding you back. So I 100% get it and support it for gravel and MTB, but for road ? 100% forced by the industry to justify another price increase.

​@chutony7802 its insane how confident stupid people are

@@chutony7802 you’re the person I’m talking about😂 but I’m not gonna argue. You’re right, being able to brake faster in any condition with one finger is for noobs. Also, Wider tires and rims dont have any significant advantage beyond comfort. Change is a scam, so don’t do it!

If rim brakes could take wider tires I would agree, but today disc allow for greater size of tires.

Good clarification!!! I should have said that right!!!

winspace is definitely on my radar. They are sweet looking

Thanks a lot I really appreciate it!!! What do you want for a shout-out??

@@cyclingwithwatts anyt i will appreciate i cant believe u replied to my comment

Anyt i will appreciate as i cant believe u replied

Nice, do you bike a lot?

Hey!!!

Thank you!!!

That's interesting to know about the patches as I haven't needed to use them yet. I will definitely keep that in mind the first time I have to use the patch. I'm super interested how you like the tubes for mountain biking? On the road though you're down to 45 PSI. That is super interesting My tires are 28s but blow up to 30s. Maybe I should experiment with going a little bit lower.

@@cyclingwithwatts I love my 32s. They not only ride better and can handle bad pavement better, but they are much more secure in the corners. A little more detail: 45 PSI front. 50 psi rear. If I were competing or going for a personal best, I’d probably do 50 and 55.

Yeah wider tires are awesome!! I want to get up to 32s but not 100% sure if my frame can fit them. Thanks for the background in the shared experience though I appreciate it. I usually do 65 fry 70 in the back but maybe I'll try going 55 front 60 back and see how that feels.

Regarding my mountain bike, tubeless is great. But I just don’t like the hassle. Where I ride in San Diego, rocks tend to be round, and I stay clear of cactus, and TPU has worked fine for me. BTW, I talked to the people at Orangeseal, and you CAN put orange seal inside a TPU tube.

@@cyclingwithwatts Right. My previous bike couldn’t manage 24s. That’s one of the reasons I sold it.

Thank you!!!

Nah that takes to long to diet haha

I really appreciate the response. I've never had somebody lay it out like this to me and I think that's super clear and makes sense for sure. I agree with you on the weight portion that it's better to buy something in your budget and not 100% care about weight. The only portion of it that I really care about is the ability to speed up quicker with a lighter setup, coming from criterium racing I definitely think the ability to speed up quicker is more important than a lot of other factors that we get sold in the bike industry. You come out of so many corners and you need that ability to kick quickly in a lighter setup does allow for that. Otherwise for crit racing I don't really care about lightweight only the ability to speed up quickly and the feeling of speeding up quickly. Another factor that I definitely consider though it's just how the bike feels underneath of you. And taking a pound off of my bike going from tubeless to TPU tubes I can feel the difference and it felt nicer and more enjoyable. So although data may not be different between the two setups I think feeling is important as well. I really like the way you explained your argument though and think your spot on. So I super appreciate this feedback!! I'll advocate for TPU tubes as opposed to buying super lightweight carbon wheels, because everybody needs tubes or some system to inflate their wheels, and it feels like TPU tubes are a cheap option these days which is great. So it's kind of a win-win where you get to lose some weight plus you Don't have to spend an arm and a leg. I also like the way they roll and they feel on the road which again is just another benefit.

My fear of it bursting really comes from latex tubes which can burst if heated up too high. I've never had a latex tube burst on a full carbon rim since it disepates the heat better. But on a rim with an alloy brake track I've had latex tubes burst. When TPU tubes first came out there wasn't strong confidence in using them on rim brakes this is a couple years ago, but now from the reading I've done it seems like most TPU companies have solved that issue and it should be fine to run with rim brakes. I just wanted to call it out more as a caution and to do your research to make sure the company says that you can run these with rim brakes. Because with latex tubes there is the possibility of them exploding if you're using an alloy rim on rim brakes. This brakes your completely fine with any tube but just confirm if you're running rim breaks that the website says you can run TPU with rim brakes. Does that help or do you want me to clear anything else up?

​@@cyclingwithwatts That's super clear, thanks for the explanation! I'm hoping a quick win with the TPU's to shave some weight off a rim brake build. Running carbon spokes on a carbon rim but either way under braking I still conscious of the heat generating through the pads. Appreciate that and keep up the great content!

Thanks a lot, just make sure to read the site and some reviews first. Otherwise you should be safe.

I really appreciate the kind words!! It's a slow growth thing so I'm happy to keep making videos and hopefully over time they grow. But definitely comments like this give me motivation to keep making them!

Haha nope this on a closed course away from traffic! So it's impossible to impede traffic in this race

Hahaha 🤣🤣🤣

I know it's social media but that comment is ridiculous! You realize you're joking about manslaughter...

@@cyclingwithwatts who said i’m joking

Hahaha let's hope!!!

Haha they are kinda dead!!! They aren't my first choice but you can find the wheels so cheap these days. So for this year at least I'm still rocking the tubulars

I like the taste! But I've been using them for a long time. Some gels suck for taste so you gotta try a couple and see what you like. Try out different brands and flavors cause they all vary. Basically tells are straight sugar, so for nutrition they are packed with all carbs. Which is exactly what you need biking. Does that help answer your question?

@cyclingwithwatts sorta but that brand of gel you were using in the video, what are the flavors and what do those flavors taste like

@@Largemen1 carbs fuel gels are technically unflavored more just a sweet gel. They're supposed to be a neutral flavor. And I know that sounds kind of weird but it actually does taste pretty good.

I've tried other spots but I just can't seem to get the footage to work correctly so yes I'll take whatever aero penalty there is to get the best footage