Category Archives: Bike

As the sun sets. Went for a ride today to test out the new tyres and 160mm cranks. I’m a spinner, and well… I was spinning! Can’t say I can felt any dramatic difference between 165mm and 160mm cranks though. Same goes for the Aero 111 tyre. Can’t say that the bike felt any faster, but I definitely noticed a difference with crosswinds which really took me by surprise (I’m pretty pesimistic when it comes to marketing talk). Wasn’t the windiest day out but the front definitely felt more planted.

UPDATED SPECS: 2022 Specialized Allez Sprint Comp (size 49) in Tarmac Black/Brushed Foil

GROUPSET: SRAM RED AXS E1 rear derailleur, shifters and calipers, SRAM DUB BB, SRAM Red AXS E1 chain, SRAM RED AXS E1 cassette (10-36), SRAM RED AXS E1 crankset (160mm), SRAM X-SYNC chainring (50T).

WHEELS & TYRES: ENVE 65 Foundation wheelset, Continental AERO 111 front (29), Continental GP 5000 S TR rear (32), Galfer rotors (160mm front 140mm rear).

COMPONENTS: S-Works Tarmac SL7 stem (110mm -12 degree), Tarmac SL7 stem cable bat and stem cover kit, RaceWare 3D printed spacer, Specialized Roval Rapide handlebars (380mm), Burgh Lightning Bar Tape, Berk Lupina Short (132mm), Specialized carbon rail clamp, Hylix 0 offset seatpost, Xpedo Thrust SL titanium pedals, Specialized front derailleur mount cover, S-WORKS bottle cage bolts.

WEIGHT: 7.56kg.

NERO Show Canyon Aeroad spotted at CCACHE.

Oops, we made a mess.

No compressor needed to seat the tyre.

Sam adding sealant.

Actual width of the GP 5000’s fitted. Would be way wider on a rim with wider internal width (the ENVE 65’s are only 21mm internal). PLENTY of room in the rear chainstays.

Happy that the fat 32 in the rear has closed the huge gap between the tyre and seat post by around 5mm.

As reported by others on Weight Weenies forum, the 111’s come in a bit narrower.

Sam’s Factor. We’re twins!

Sam’s running CADENCE wheels on his Factor which are made by a guy in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney (they’ve got a great reputation out there!).

165mm SRAM RED crankarm weight.

I really wanted 160mm cranks but SRAM didn’t make 160mm RED cranks, turns out the new SRAM RED E1 cranks come in 160mm and there was a set at CCACHE so I nabbed them! Happy days!

The carbon shows through a lot more on the E1 crankarms.

Thought I’d weigh the Xpedo Thrust pedals whist they were off. Crazy light!

Dura Ace pedals weight.

Sad face. Bit of a weight gain but that was expected as the new tyres are way fatter than the ENVE SES tyres I had on there.

Hung out at CCACHE with Sam today to get my new tyres installed. Also splurged on 160mm SRAM RED E1 crankarms! Really happy with how fat the rear tyre looks, but the Aero 111’s look a little thin on the front in comparison. It’s Sunday tomorrow, worst day to ride at the park (Sunday drivers AND Sunday riders!), but I’m too keen to test out the new crankarms and tyres so I’ll have to go out and endure!

280g as advertised, but heaver than the 27mm ENVE SES tyres I have on atm (245g).

Marketing talk: Specially designed aero cavities in the patented tread pattern function as vortex generators, creating turbulent airflow on the surface that enables the air to stick to the rim shape of the front wheel. The result is a maximization of the sailing effect by delaying the flow separation from the rim, resulting in the ultimate aero wheel tire system.

I was just looking to get some wider tyres, especially for the rear as I’d like to close the gap between the rear tyre and the seattube. I was looking at some 32mm Conti GP5000’s as they seem to be arguably the world’s most loved and used tyre right now, but then I came across these Continental AERO 111’s so I thought I’d get one for the front (29mm) and will stick a 32mm Grand Prix 5000 S TR on the rear.

OEM SL7 seatpost weight.

The Hylix seatpost is MUCH longer. I don’t have a carbon saw though, so will chop it down when I next drop into my LBS.

Happy with the quality. Setting up the saddle is more fiddly than the single bolt OEM design but I’m AOK with that.

Now 7.5 flat (with pedals).

My Hylix zero setback seatpost finally arrived (took almost 1 month). Was very well packed, seller (on eBay) also sent through some very specific instructions.

UPDATED SPECS: 2022 Specialized Allez Sprint Comp Size 49 in Tarmac Black/Brushed Foil

GROUPSET: SRAM RED AXS E1 rear derailleur, shifters and calipers, SRAM DUB BB, SRAM Red AXS E1 chain, SRAM RED AXS E1 cassette 10-36, SRAM RED 1 AXS crankset 165mm, 50t SRAM X-SYNC chainring.

WHEELS & TYRES: ENVE 65 Foundation wheelset, ENVE SES 27mm tyres, Galfer rotors (160mm front 140mm rear).

COMPONENTS: S-Works Tarmac SL7 stem 110mm -12 degree, Tarmac SL7 stem cable bat and stem cover kit, RaceWare 3D printed spacer, Specialized Roval Rapide handlebars 380mm, Burgh Lightning Bar Tape, Berk Lupina Short 132mm, Specialized carbon rail clamp, Hylix 0 offset seatpost, Xpedo Thrust SL titanium pedals, Specialized front derailleur mount cover, S-WORKS bottle cage bolts.

WEIGHT: 7.50kg.

Day made!

Link: https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=506414898786481&id=100082539260437&mibextid=oFDknk&rdid=ZRtftM6dYK02EBr1

#myzen

100% listening to music helps when riding solo. Obsessed with bikes (again!), the fitness is just a bonus!

Music whilst riding is a revelation!

No issues with the Galfer rotors and the Berk saddle felt instantly comfortable. It’s noticeably harder than the S-WORKS saddle, but it’s definitely comfortable enough!

I’ve been struggling with riding solo as I just get bored 2 laps in so I thought I’d look into an MP3 player, seems like Apple don’t make them anymore (lol). I found plenty of cheap China ones on eBay but then I came across these “Bone Conduction Headphones” which allow you to hear music and the outside world at the same time, making them a pretty safe candidate for cycling! They don’t actually go in your ears which is awesome (I am an over ear headphone guy for sure and have always hated ear buds), and they’re advertised as having good bass, but yeah I fucking doubted that but I thought I’d give them a go.

Pairing them up to my phone was easy as, and today’s ride with Spotify randomly selecting Daft Punk, Basement Jaxx and Groove Armada definitely helped push me to do one more lap. The sound, as expected, is super tinny. If you turn the volume up too much the bass ends up vibrating on your skin, but hey I’m just happy to have music for my solo rides now. 100% will put together a cycling specific playlist ASAP!

My Berk Lupina Short 132mm came in the mail today. Great packaging, quality and so light in the hands.

Came in under the advertised weight of 95g.

Galfer rotors.

160mm front (advertised weight 98g).

140mm rear (advertised weight 76g).

I’ve been wanting to try out a Berk Lupina Short saddle for a while. They get rave reviews for being super comfortable despite being so silly light in weight. I’m really happy with my S-WORKS Power saddle as is, but when I spotted the Berk saddle on sale at Creative Cycles Workshop in Victoria I had to pull the trigger.

Packaging was super sexy (came in a nice box and Berk pouch too), the saddle is SO light in the hands and quality is amazing. I test fitted it on the Allez just to see what it would look like (still waiting for a zero offset Hylix seatpost to come in the mail from China). If I’m being honest I think the S-WORKS Power saddle (visually) suits the bike much more than the dainty looking Berk saddle. Looking forward to trying it out when my seatpost arrives in any case.

Also picked up a pair of Galfer rotors. Nothing at all wrong with the Shimano rotors I have on the bike (again I think the existing rotors look better), but they’re lighter and they were on the Creative Cycles Workshop online shop so I thought I’d try them out as I’ve read many great reviews on them (some people even suggesting they’re better than Shimano and SRAM rotors).

UPDATED SPECS: 2022 Specialized Allez Sprint Comp Size 49 in Tarmac Black/Brushed Foil

GROUPSET: SRAM RED AXS E1 rear derailleur, shifters and calipers, SRAM DUB BB, SRAM Red AXS E1 chain, SRAM RED AXS E1 cassette 10-36, SRAM RED 1 AXS crankset 165mm, 50t SRAM X-SYNC chainring.

WHEELS & TYRES: ENVE 65 Foundation wheelset, ENVE SES 27mm tyres, Galfer rotors (160mm front 140mm rear).

COMPONENTS: S-Works Tarmac SL7 stem 110mm -12 degree, Tarmac SL7 stem cable bat and stem cover kit, RaceWare 3D printed spacer, Specialized Roval Rapide handlebars 380mm, Burgh Lightning Bar Tape, Berk Lupina Short 132mm, Specialized carbon rail clamp, S-Works Tarmac FACT Carbon seatpost 20mm offset, Xpedo Thrust SL titanium pedals, Specialized front derailleur mount cover, S-WORKS bottle cage bolts.

WEIGHT: 7.52kg.

This morning’s ride.

Legit parking the Allez in the lounge room so I can stare at it whilst on the couch lol.