My first project on the forum: EXS Track

Im... almost speechless. That's a lot of marketing hype for the promise of a better mousetrap. The big flaw being it only works in single speed. The chain doesn't just go round and round like the computer animated video clip shows, it gets pushed and pulled and forced into mesh.

I don't know, the basic parts of the bicycle were perfected a long time ago. Materials and manufacturing are great, but don't try to convince me you've revolutionized the fundamental components with a trick new design, especially something as dubiously beneficial as a skip tooth arrangement.
 
This is pretty much what I thought :grin: I would like to see those “miracle sprockets” put into test by Zero Friction Cycling.
 
For the past couple of days, I’ve been enjoying the beautiful spring weather and some nice (but rough) gravel roads.

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What the bike needs now is a proper wash :grin:
 
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Not a lot has been going on with the bike lately. This is because I traded the Mavic wheelset for another one and the lockring from the previous wheelset didn’t fit. I had to order a suitable lockring from Shimano and it took over a month to arrive :congratulate:

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I went for a short ride this evening and took a quick snap of the current build :geek:

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The new wheelset has Shimano Dura-Ace 7600 hubs laced to Mavic CXP-14 rims. The hubs are superb, but I’m not sure if I like the rims. I might swap the rims to 45mm deep carbon ones at some point :cool 3:

Also all of the brake parts have now arrived. I’m volunteering for a local bike kitchen (Länsi-Vantaan Pyöräpaja) on Tuesdays and if there’s slack, I might be able to install the brake next Tuesday.
 
Mauzinette said:
The bike also needs a brake, but I haven’t found one just yet. I currently hold the highest bid on a Dura-Ace BR-7700 front brake, which would perfectly match the chainset. Let’s see where the final price settles :geek:
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After some hassle, I got the BR-7700! It pairs nicely with this silver Ultegra R780 brake lever and since the handlebar is so wide, I had to get some ridiculously expensive Yokozuna compressionless cable housing too :wink: The (cable) cherry on top of the the cake is made of brass by Forager Cycles :grin:

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The brake couldn't be installed without removing the grips and I just wasn't able to remove the Lizard Skins DSPs without damaging them. The grips were attached to the handlebar with a proprietary double sided adhesive tape and they didn't come off despite soaking them in soapy water overnight. I also tried to spray adhesive remover under the grips, but this caused the grips itself to dissolve :distress: What a shame, the DSPs were super comfortable compared to lock-on grips, as they didn't have a plastic shell inside them.
 
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Since a bike does need a pair of grips, I got it some. For now I value reusability more than comfort and that's why I went with these Race Face Grippler lock-on grips. With the grips, I added some matching what the kids today would probably call Skibidi Toilet Ohio Rizz :excitement:

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Also, what a beautiful night for some horseshit slalom a.k.a. tracklocross!

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The Race Face grips were a tremendous mistake. I couldn’t ride with those for any more than 10 miles without developing pain in my palms and wrists. I will go back to the “single-use” Lizard Skins DSPs if I have to, but before that I will give these a go:

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These are the new ODI F-1 series Float grips, built using a proprietary elastomer compound. Bulky grips don’t fit me and according to online reviews these are supposed to provide the rider with maximal comfort without increasing the grip diameter by too much.

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The grips installed very easily with IPA, which in my experience is not the usual case with chunkier grips. I will leave them to dry for a while to avoid slipping. With these grips (unlike the Gripplers) I am once again able to use the sexy af Hope Grip Doctor bar end plugs :grin:

The grips were slightly shorter than the previous ones, so I had to reposition the brake lever. While doing this, I noticed that the headset had developed a slight play. Luckily, it was a quick fix :encourage:

P.S. I moved the topic under the moderator projects section :geek:
 
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