Recent content by rgmerk

Built up, happy so far As a brief update, I've had the Breakaway built up with a mixture of Shimano drivetrain bits (Ultegra 6700 compact cranks and RD, Dura-Ace 7800 shifters and FD, 105 cassette and chain), Shimano BR-R650 brakes (you need long drop brakes for this bike), the Lynskey full...

I wear contact lenses and they dry out in the wind, even on a freezing morning. By the way, thanks to all replies; most useful!

For us Southern Hemisphere types, it's now the time of year when you start rides off in darkness and then get an eyeful of sunshine on the horizon when the sun goes up. I'm considering investing in some glasses with photochromic lenses. Anybody got experience with these? Do they have...

I think his implication is that as one successful doper retires, another one is rising through the ranks. Hence the balance stays the same.

Fair enough. In my limited experience reliability and durability of wheelsets depends on a large extent to how well they're screwed together and how well the manufacturer supports them post-sale; I can't comment on either in this case but I'd be checking the warranty carefully.

Question: what do you want out of a new set of wheels? And what, in rough figures, is your budget?

You've really got to give the shifters a try. I couldn't stand the thumb switches on Sora, and had to upgrade to Tiagra. These days that upgrade is a lot more costly because Sora is 9 speed and Tiagra 10. At this price range you might also consider second-hand.

Other options If you need even lower gears than that, Shimano have now released the RD-5701 rear derailleur (105-level), which officially supports running a 10-speed 11-32 (or 12-32) rear cassette. It should work with any Shimano 10-speed road setup. Might be useful if you need even lower...

I'm not sure elaborate conspiracy theories are necessary to explain this. Rider from Eastern Europe desperate for a paycheque, doesn't have the money and/or contacts to pay for the advice you'd need to dope without being caught, tests positive. Not ruling out that there's something more...

And to my knowledge didn't come back to Australia this summer (and certainly didn't race) at a time when the cycling press, and the sporting press more generally, were on the warpath. His performance in the service of Contador at the 2013 Tour will be most enlightening.

Lynskey are doing a new "Silver Series" of low-cost ($1100) titanium frames. Made in USA, lifetime warranty. They look pretty old-school -round tubes welded together - but I'm thinking of mating on of the Breakaway (road) frames with a good-quality fork and seatpost and existing drivetrain...

There are a couple of factors that might change this in the future. There's a company which is commercializing a new process to refine titanium. If they succeed, the cost will be a fraction of the present costs. The second thing is that titanium can be 3D printed. At the moment, it's...

I've owned this helmet for a couple of years, and the pads are due for a replacement. However, searching online hasn't turned up anything so far. Does anybody know where I can get some? It would be a shame to throw away an otherwise perfectly sound helmet because I can't get some tiny...

Doesn't even need to be at that level. Could be somebody from one of the lower-level non-UCI teams in the NRS - "professional" tends to be thrown around fairly loosely in Australian cycling sometimes.

I don't think Stephens lives in Melbourne (when not in Europe, of course). Not that that completely rules him out (Dank had connections with Sydney-based rugby league teams as well), but it makes it somewhat less likely. Ditto Matt White. I guess we'll find out soon enough.