I LOVE tubulars. Are they faster in a lab setting? No. But they are sooooo much more comfortable for a given width. I have had far fewer flats on tubulars, and have successfully used sealant in them if I do flat. Lately, the Donnelly cross tubulars have become my go-to durable tire, because they are constructed like tubeless, as are at least one of the Continentals, and are perfectly true. Perfectly. Also, they hold air beautifully, work perfectly with sealant, and while not as glorious as FMBs to ride, are super reliable.
@@twatts4436 I have to strongly disagree. I'm not saying alloy bikes are bad by any means. They are great value and high-end alloy bikes are very nice. But there's no comparison to a quality carbon frame. Once you ride a carbon bike there's simply no going back to aluminum. The difference is highly noticeable and makes a big difference.
Catchcamatian interesting. I saw Blake on GMBN briefly mention and show a can of muc off for a few seconds on the gear list video for his cider farm bike packing.
but looking good n feelin greeeeeeee8! is just as important and I refuse to cancel that order with Lightweight and Ceramicspeed even if it does mean a 2nd mortgage! :p
Well, if you gone to a point where you have the feeling that you have maxed out your bike, that gets you a sense of achievement. And If you like to show off some bling, that certainly makes you want to ride, which is essentially good. Having said that, I think the most cost ineffective upgrade that I've done on my bike are titanium screws. Apart from the big brake bolts they save you next to nothing and cost a premium. Funny enough another not so great "upgrade" was to change my Ultegra 6600 to a Dura Ace 7900 (with used levers). It actually shifts worse, so I'm not overly happy with it. Lever actuation is heavier and happens later on the Dura Ace, but it's lighter, looks so much better and cleaner and it's a lot of work to mount back, so I think I will just get used to it.
I agree with all of this. I upgraded my mid range Tarmac to Ultegra Di2. About a year ago in Italy I was able to rent a Pinarello F10 with DuraAce mechanical. It was an amazing bike and would cost more than double my Tarmac (even with the Di2 upgrade), although the geometry was quite similar. The F10 was lighter and it was Italy. BUT, when I got back home I was glad to be back on my Tarmac. The shifting performance of Di2 is just superior. Yesterday I waxed my chain, it took 30 min, of which about 5 min were spent on my bike, and 25 min in my kitchen watching UA-cam and drinking coffee.
@rollinrat4850My 16 speed is easily as trou le free as any single speed. And I can outperform it on the flats and uphill to boot. Mechanical shifting never breaks.
To add to the list of carbon crazy parts, I have a carbon pocket sized pump. I won it in a preme sprint. You know, that part of the race where the sponsor shop unloads something of dubious value priced at $50. As an aside, the best part of winning that mid race sprint is that it served as a test to know where to attack for the win in the only road race I ever won, so for that the carbon pump has great sentimental value.
Waxing chain yourself is much cheaper than using off the shelf lubes. To be honest I don't care about minute watt savings, but the ever-clean drivetrain is well worth the hassle (hassle = spending 30 minutes cooking 3 chains once per month)
Yup. I wax all of my chains, including those for the fat bike. I use paraffin wax and PTFE-powder mix. I usually wait untilI have 3 or 4 chains to wax as the crock pot takes quite a while to heat. But I really love the clean drive trains.
@@Murgoh Okay so its best to buy at least three chains at once for the same bike then just rotate their use ?? Every month or every 1000k???? Whats best?
I concur with you. It is easy to do. I do not agree with the statement that you lose the wax in the rain. You don’t, it is internal to the rollers on the chain. Wax does not pick up sand and grit. Every other lube is a magnet for sand and grit.
Ha! I had just purchased a custom mtb, and thought I’d put Ti water bottle bolts on only to have one break off in the frame. It’s still there 25 years later as a reminder!!
Ceramic bearings ...100% recommend. I lost the use of half of my left leg in a bike accident (plus some other stuff, broken back t12-l5). Since changing over to ceramic bearings (which were donated to me) I really can feel the difference in both peak power and speed, and I can ride farther. Don't see how that can be placebo lol. Added side effect, when the bike gets stored for a while whilst I use my other bikes, I don't have to re-pack or worry about corrosion.
I have recently moved to a waxed chain after following the DIY instructions on UA-cam from ozcycle. I am very happy - its quiet and clean and is not expensive.
In terms of bearings I’d be happy just with very well made steel bearings. When I used to skate, a set of bones redz abec 5’s were a huge upgrade over standard bearings, without having to fork out for Bones Swiss Ceramics
I was going to detach my head and put it on a carbon fibre body and secure it with titanium neck bolts. Sure am glad I watched this video! Thanks, GCN!
@@hughbriz just wiping the chain seems to clean everything off. Then the occasional sponge wash to remove stubborn dirt. I haven't used degreaser on these bikes since I started using the stuff!
I've got a bottle of that laying around but can't seem to get my finger out and clean the drivetrain thoroughly enough to make the switch. Is it really worth it?
Absolute bullshit about wax chains and rain. I wax my chain and would trust that to be there longer than the overpriced mucoff rubbish. GCN can’t go through a video without having a sponsor plug. Where has the cycling weekly Ollie gone? By now he seems to be another GCN clone.
@@idaf5244 absolutely worth it. I made the swap mid summer on a partly used chain. Only used mucoffs ceramic lube before swapping to squirt. Squirt lasted better in the rain (no squeaking), stayed cleaner, and i haven't had to degrease the chain since first applying it. A wipe with a damp cloth is enough to get most dirt off, otherwise a sponge wash. Unfortunately i haven't been able to ride outdoors in winter so far due to an injury BUT i was riding throughout autumn, which was pretty wet, and it stood up well to the water and spray. Best value bottle of chain lube I've used, both on road and off.
I've done most of them, I did a full build from ground up inc. custom painting myself. Full Ultegra, Ti Bolts throughout, carbon bottle cages, computer mount, integral stem and bars, waxed chain (Ozcycle for the how to there!) ceramic bottom bracket. I think it goes pretty well and for the most part if it looks good, you feel good. Full aero frame and 50mm carbon clincher rim wheels with carbon hubs and she is a tick over 7.4kg. waxed chain lasts about 250km, but also have made my own wax lube in a bottle with IPA and wax from the pot.....which also has PTFE powder in for a chain wax better than Molten speedwax! Bottom line though, if you love the look....you're sure to go faster! :-)
If you never had one and you have a slight feeling that your riding position isn't ideal. Get a bike fit! I spent 3 about hours for 140€, the fitter pretty much changed everything from cleat position and riser pads, to saddle, stem height and handlebar. Boom, 5 seconds on my favorite 5-minute climb, and pretty sure at least +1 kph on my average ride speed. I never went into the high 28's or above on routes with 1% of elevation gain over the full distance. Also, I never had a ride on which Strava estimated 160+ watts avg without any tailwinds. The explanation given was that my left hip was somehow 'locked' because I couldn't really turn my ankle outwards and pedal comfortably/fluidly in my position. Could have spent much more a new wheelset but if you're that much off with your setup (I did a big 1500k tour on this bike, though), it's more than marginal gains.
@@gcntech Thing is, I didn't have real issues and went with it for 1 1/2 years (including some serious rides and tours), maybe occasionally some pain in the right knee if it had to compensate for longer. Also learned that my current size 54 frame is on the larger end of the spectrum for me (1,75m) , even though pretty much every calculator would suggest that size, and so did the road bike dealer Anyway, I estimate, this has easily unlocked 10-15 watts and I didn't even have to change a single part.
Love my carbon chainrings, they’re still going strong, the Di2 rear mech fitted at the same time, toast, simply died, out of warranty and an expensive replacement. You pay your money and make your choices.
Sorry, I’m an American...Does that mean drop a major deuce in the morning? That’ll save a pound or two. Müsli: THE best and cheapest way to save weight on a bike.
Anyone remember the ‘Hairsine ratio’. Created by Jon Hairsine in the 90’s. Found by dividing mass in grams by cost in £. It was the benchmark for all weight weenies at the time. I remember 1.9” tyres pumped up to 60psi on my Stumpjumper to save a few grams.
I love my waxed chain! I have been using Molten Speed Wax for about a year. Sheds water and dirt so it's super clean. I get about 200 miles out of a fresh wax job and use 2 chains for batch processing. Way less time than cleaning and lubing every other ride and WAY better performance in terms of less wear and watts.
a waxed chain with PTFE powder won't lose the wax in the rain. there's no way. I can't even get the stuff off with warm water and soap. It only comes off with gasoline (or some other strong solvent) or boiling water.
Yep got ceramic BB and ceramic jockey wheels and notice zero benefits. Also had a pair of tubular wheels until I realised you had to carry an entire tubular tyre with you which do not fold up very well in your pocket!
Love this video. So many people waste tons of cash on upgrades, and for what? I'll tell you what, it's so they can show them off to their cycling buddies. It has to be the only reason, because as Ollie points out and as research will support, they don't make you any faster. The one big one he left out is high priced carbon wheels. I did upgrade my aluminum wheels to a set of Super Team Chinese carbon wheels for the whopping price of $225, and they are fantastic. Several thousand miles on them now and they're still true and in perfect condition. And at that price, I can buy a 38mm set, a 50mm set, an 80mm set, and even a full disc set and still only spend a third of what Zipp wants for one set of wheels.
Campagnolo was concentrating on the top end - being the solely maker for TdF winners for a long time - that they not only lost the hobby riders sector but also most of the pro peloton with it. Now they introduced a cheaper Centaur, but is way too late, they just went out of the radar of most ordinary bike riders. People now think should I buy 105 or Ultegra? Or perhaps Rival or Force? But many people won't even realize there is also Campagnolo available, most OEM companies never used Campagnolo, Campagnolo mostly only served bike builders and small companies and now people are buying from large brands like Specialized, Canyon, Giant,... and Campagnolo lost the game when they did not concentrate on these.
Chris Chevalier.......Although I have used Campagnolo Super Record group-sets for over 20 years - Campagnolo's 'second tier' group-set [Chorus] is excellent. I used it when I first got into cycling and never had any issues. I believe some pro teams use Chorus too - and not just on their training bikes.
Ah, cycling: the working man's transport, the simple and cheap hobby that uses minimal resources and is good for the environment. It's amazing how complicated an expensive it is possible to make something so simple and cheap.
@Murican Ignorance a single flight from Europe to New York burns as much fossil fuel energy per person as is required to produce about 300 steaks. I'll keep eating my beef thanks man.
@Murican Ignorance I never thought I'd hear someone say getting exercise is bad for the environment and as bad as fossil fuels. I think just starting up your car and driving for 5 minutes is worse for the environment than cycling 100 miles and eating a great feast when you get home, even if you factor in the carbon emissions involved with producing, packaging and distributing the food. If your goal is to highlight the existential threat climate change poses to us all, you failed utterly when you chose to come for cyclists. Using our legs to travel daily and keep the car at home/get rid of it all together is the most efficient and easily realised way to start to solve this problem. Plus agree with others, I hardly eat any meat at this point for this very reason (not vegetarian) and what you are saying is based on a false assumption.
Clinchers do not have a significant rolling resistance advantage over tubulars. A very good clincher has a marginal advantage over a tubular but less feel. The vast majority of clinchers are significantly slower due to lack of tyre wall suppleness on tarmac.
I ordered a set of custom bar plugs a few years ago. They were far too heavy so I replaced them with the plastic ones that came with the bar tape. I think it was light weight “carbon pattern” bar tape
Totally agree about Ceramic bearings. Hambini also does a good comparison video about them. Cannot for the life of me understand why people buy mega expensive headrace bearings either. How are they going to make your bike better?
Regarding tubular tires vs clinchers - Tubeless is better in terms of safety, weight, and rolling resistance to both of them, and is less faff than tubs.
I'm not having any experience with tubeless on a road bike. But on mtb I once had a tubeless tire literally jumping off my front rim on a very steep and rocky downhill section. Wasn't very fast, so nothing happened. But if I think of that happening at high speed I'm getting pretty sweaty hands. How exactly does a tubeless tire behave on a road bike when loosing the air? How is it safer then a tubular tire?
Waxed chains are Great, squirt chain lube, costs £10 a bottle and I get 20 generous applications, each lasting 150km(so 3.3p per 10km)also in practice gets an extra 700km in each chain, and up to 2000km more in a cassette
You are definitely right on all counts. Some stuff is just for the pros, since seconds count on major tours, and sponsors can pay for it. I'm just too poor even to consider some of these options. I have a rich friend, he has pinarellas with carbon everything (except the crank chain rings), but he can afford, so no big deal. Shimano 105 is more than adequate for a current groupo, and i do have some 105 parts on some older bikes. My next bike will be a 105 bike, carbon or titanium, i'm not sure. Old men need light bikes in winter, it's too tough with the old steel bikes fighting the wet roads, cold, and wind. My next 105 bike will cost as much as my dura ace from 2005. I have a Dura Ace bike (Felt F25, bought in, circa 2005), that i bought after coming back from deployment to iraq. Shifting and braking is still pretty amazing even now. The Felt F1C and F1B (carbon) were top end road bikes from felt that year, but they were exotic carbon, and 5 grand (USD), so i passed.
Sorry but I can change a tubular tire out just as fast as a guy with a clencher. The cost is well worth the rotating inertia savings during acceleration as well as the ride feel.
Love having a waxed chain. I went 100 miles on my mountain bike between waxe and it was still clean and slippery. Technically can go 200-300 if you want. I use MSPEEDWAX.
I've had mixed results with Ti bolts. First of all, its more like 2g (or more) per bolt, which adds up. Second, yes some have 'the material properties of cheese' and round-out. Others on the other hand, I have had for a decade or more, and I move them from bike to bike as I get new ones.
Squirt chain wax requires a bit of work on the first application (fully degreasing your chain, not anywhere near as much effort as the typical wax job shown in this video) but essentially saves you from cleaning your chain ever again and avoids all the messiness of regular lubes. Holds up better in the wet than dry lube, less messy and mucky than wet lube, self cleaning and relatively cheap. Highly recommend. As for titanium bolts: get decent quality ones and use them where required torque is low enough (the torque they can take should be noted on the site that sells them. If not: hands off) and they will work a treat and are a cheap way to customise, bling up and lighten your bike (a tiny bit). Roadies should be used to using a torque wrench/bit anyways with all the fancy carbon everywhere these days.
I’ve never heard of any titanium alloy behaving in a way described in this video. That anecdotal guy either had an aluminum alloy bolt or the wrong size Allen wrench (SAE mixed with metric).
Waxed chains I would say are way cheaper than most lubes and it's not time consuming in the slightest. The lack of cleanup of the chain, cassette, chainrings and jockey wheels more than makes up for the time it takes to heat up wax once a month or so. It becomes extra beneficial when doing multiple chains. A box of paraffin wax cost me $6 Canadian 2 years ago and I'm still using it. Way cheaper, I'm guessing however once their sponsor starts selling wax though the story will be different
Great hairstyle! Yes, most upgrades people are just do to feel good, not really for going faster. It’s the feel that matters to the most, including me, no exception. ;)
Ollie looks very suave today. Has he just come back from a screen test to be the new James Bond? ... or Oddbod, in the reboot of Carry On Screaming ;-)
The claims around rolling resistance for clincher tires only exist in the labs of Specialized; it does not materialize in the real world. Note also the comfort disadvantage of clinchers.
I have to admit, I have Titanium bolts holding the bars on the stem... not for any 'Weight Weenie' reasons mind you: I was sick to the teeth of them rusting every time the humidity rose above 3%.
I remember once having to buy a bottle cage. I got a cheap aluminum one; I still have it after many, many years. I saw a cage that was 4x the price of the one I bought and I asked “why”? The sales guy said basically it is carbon and weighs less. I am overweight. I will not overpay to get really light stuff on my bike. Riding my bike, a lot, takes care of the weight issue.
I’d agree with all of this apart from the notion that clinchers roll better than tubs. I’m very interested in this and would like to know where this data has come from? Been riding for 30+ years and never heard this before. Which clinchers is Ollie referring to? I want some, pronto!!!
The best tubeless tyres are more supple than tubulars ( with butyl innertubes ) especially at slightly lower pressures. But tubs with latex innertubes ( Michelin ) are hard to beat in my experience.
Please tell me what is raising the cost of tubulars? You get tubular wheels often cheaper (for sure second hand), and a good tubular costsaround 60, so marginally more than a good clincher tire (around 40). So you get a lighter, cheaper tubular wheelset and 2 pairs of tubulars for the price of a clincher set with a pair of clinchers. You'll have 10000K of better riding with those tubulars before they get more costly. And clinchers don't have vastly superior rolling resistance. Forget that marketing talk. And if anything helps, it is a good clean chain. It's actually the most important cause of friction of all parts turning on your bike. One more advice: the one thing causing drag in your bearings are your seals. If you ride in dry weather, get all the seals out and clean / re-lube once a month. That's a night and day difference with sealed bearings. If you are afraid of dirt getting in your bearings and think it's foolish to take out the seals, think of all dirt that can freely reach your chain, which is, as said, the number one friction part on your bike.
I have got to disagree with the tubular wheels and tyres. When buying used components tubular wheels are such bargains and save around 33% of the price compared to clinchers/tubeless wheelsets. And the tyres themselves are not that much more expensive (Continental Competition 60€; GP 5000 35€ plus 10€ inner tube) plus some tyre sealant in there and they are puncture resistant, like tubeless tyres. Apart from that very good Video, really enjoy your content. P.S.:As a German I always love hearing Ollie speak it.
yes carbon tubular wheels are much cheaper and less likely to fail than clinchers, especially when braking. I stopped carrying spare inner tubes and pump (weight and aero saving) ages ago so at least if I get a puncture I can ride it home with tubulars.
I remain convinced tubulars are superior BUT as for riding home - you must be joking. IF you puncture within a mile of home and you have to be back urgently maybe, otherwise definitely not. A glued on tub may allow you to come to a safe and controlled stop but riding more than a few hundred metres will almost certainly result in rim damage- at least on the roads I'm familiar with in England. Pit stop or similar will seal a small hole and allow you to get home no problem- as long as you do not have a latex inner (which the fastest ones tend to have). Otherwise carry a spare, they're generally under 300g. They do ruin the aesthetics of a nice machine when lashed on with some strap or other. It's almost unheard of to get a pinch flat on tubs you really have to have a big impact. I HAVE experienced this on numerous occasions so it's not impossible but have had WAY more impact blow outs riding clinchers, including some very hair raising ones as rims are not renowned for their grip on tarmac....
My mate spent a lot of $$ on some carbon fibre bits for his bike, knocked about 250g off the weight, factoring in he weighs 110kg just seemed completely pointless when a light breakfast would save him more weight for nothing.
waxing chains (at home) is not more expensive than lubing it ;-) my first (and probably the only) reason to do it is... how clean it is oh, and I never ride in rain
Never ride in rain... you must live in the sahara, otherwise you're not a serious cyclist. Let me guess, you probably ride on a very expensive carbon frame, electronic shifting kind of bike, the ones the mamals ride on that I take over every day
@@024416664 I live in UK. When it rains I prefer to run. Or turbo. My bike is 2011 with Ultegra 6700. So you did not guess anything ;-) Maybe one: I am not serious cyclist - just around 10 000 km/year so not really serious
Tubulars are both actually faster and waaaay cheaper, that is when you buy super high-end wheels for one-quarter of the price from someone with too much money who bought them as "race day wheels" rode them in two races and realized that they do not have the confidence to glue them themselves and do not know how to change them and it is going to be a pain to call UBER every flat and pay the shop to do it for them. Had a great pair of tubular Zipp 303 for a while that I got with a used Litespeed, sold them used and build meself new wheels for the money... By the way, tubulars are fast to change by the road side when you know what you are doing...
Hard disagree on ceramic bearings... in some cases. I swapped to a ceramic-bearing bottom bracket on my race bike in November 2015, and it's still rolling butter smooth after 20K+ miles. Every 5K miles or so, I tear the whole thing down and re-grease it, but it's lasted longer and spins better than the BB's on ANYTHING else in my toybox. I wouldn't waste the effort on any other part of the bike, though.
I keep hearing about waxed chains be bad in the wet. Have you ever tried to rinse paraffin wax off of anything with water? It's not possible. I wax the chain on my commuter because it holds up well in the rain.
Did your mate have titanium or aluminium fasteners - both exist, aluminium is lighter and would be more likely to behave the way you said. Ti bolts are more likely to be brittle and snap instead, but are usually much stronger than aluminium (still a bit off some grades of steel / stainless steel though)
6:20 it's not just that the tyres are expensive, you obviously need new wheels (or at the very least new rims lacing onto your old hub) as well. In practice it's probably new wheelset time and if you're at the level where you're looking at tubulars in the first place you're probably into four figures...
Great video. I got some tips that certain components are a waste of money at a certain level and train train. I'd guess adjusting crank arms changing handlebars and pedles is up there. I like my £30 Tri bars bargain. It would be interesting to see what wattage total you could save with all upgrades and how it relates to performance on a pro and say the average Joe cyclists know it all.
Any upgrade is bad, if you don't work on your health and weight. If you got the money to blow on a $10k bike, though then complain it's too slow, news flash it ain't the bike. Some riders tend to forget, you're the engine on a bicycle
I still buy the best mechanical shifter from any of three major brands and use lesser stuff like Ultegra, 105 across the rest of the bike. I've time I've used Ultegra, Force or Centaur I've been very disappointed. Stuff like cranks or brakes I've never noticed a difference
I was wondering about that. I wish he had gone into more detail on it, because titanium is supposed to be harder than steel per unit weight, so that made no sense.
@@tonyk8368 not really, most steels are stronger and particularly harder than titanium, still, titanium performing better per unit weight and not unit volume means that you would need a 2x bigger bolt of titanium to outperform a steel bolt.
Yeah, I’ve upgraded my saddle clamp bolts to Ti and they’ve been great. You need to be careful not to source them off shady sites. And always make sure they’re grade 5 Ti. Even better is if the threads are roll-forged.
@@tonyk8368 I expect it's another case of grade 2 titanium. Also known as commercially pure, it's pure titanium that hasn't been mixed into any useful alloy. It's cheaper than a higher grade alloy so people keep getting swindled into buying stuff made out of it thinking they're getting a great price on titanium.
If there's one thing here i would dissagree with, it's waxed chains. I wax my chains and i don't do it for performance gains, i do it to reduce the need for cleaning as it's way easier to clean aswell as less to clean, even after a ride in a muddy forest trail.
Fyll ceramic bearing dont need lubrication. So cycling trough water or pressure washing them will not wash out the lubrication from the bearings. And the hunt for saving a few grams is ridiculous. The same people that spend big buck on saving a few grams on the bike don't really seem to care about ho much their water weighs or if they ate some food before riding weighing them down...
Hi Ollie, biggest safety feature of tubular wheels (apart from ability to roll with a puncture) is more solid brake track structure of the rim itself. Clincher wheel brake track is also used to seat the tyre, if carbon resin overheats you risk blowouts/melting the rim - check following video m.ua-cam.com/video/7O95Cd-aogk/v-deo.html Alaphilippe won on clinchers, but using disc wheel setup, which makes clincher rims safer (braking with disc not rim) and prolongs the lifespan of them. Talking about brakes, check out this... m.ua-cam.com/video/sqf2rE9PYgM/v-deo.html James May, the car guru, shows us cyclists how to correctly setup brake pads, he does a pretty good job.
What did we miss? What do you think is the worst value bike upgrade? Let us know in the comments below!
I LOVE tubulars. Are they faster in a lab setting? No. But they are sooooo much more comfortable for a given width. I have had far fewer flats on tubulars, and have successfully used sealant in them if I do flat. Lately, the Donnelly cross tubulars have become my go-to durable tire, because they are constructed like tubeless, as are at least one of the Continentals, and are perfectly true. Perfectly. Also, they hold air beautifully, work perfectly with sealant, and while not as glorious as FMBs to ride, are super reliable.
∅
Carbon bikes?
Not significantly faster or better than aluminium but dramatically more expensive and almost impossible to recycle.
@@twatts4436 I have to strongly disagree. I'm not saying alloy bikes are bad by any means. They are great value and high-end alloy bikes are very nice. But there's no comparison to a quality carbon frame. Once you ride a carbon bike there's simply no going back to aluminum. The difference is highly noticeable and makes a big difference.
Carbon handlebars (not the integraded ones)
I see Ollie you use those ceramic lube on your hair too
Hahahaha. Ironically, his hair actually costs him 7-10 watts.
You should do a video about hair aerodynamics!! Should we all be bald to save some watts, or is a teardrop hairstyle better?
@@Heleninhalinda176 hairodynamics
@@Heleninhalinda176 Bald with oiled up head lmao
I can only see advantages.
Free aero gains
Free Testosterone boost
Free wheight saving
I'm shaving right now!!!
Number 1: Ceramicspeed clearly not sponsoring GCN anymore 😄
replaced by muc-off apperantly
@@Catchcamatian 😄😄😄
Catchcamatian interesting. I saw Blake on GMBN briefly mention and show a can of muc off for a few seconds on the gear list video for his cider farm bike packing.
@@KandiKlover GMBN is sponsored by Muc-off
I call them "placebo upgrades". They don't give me more watts but they do make me feel and look faster. If you look fast you are fast.
thats what its all about, looking faster on the bike than the next person!!!!😂
but looking good n feelin greeeeeeee8! is just as important and I refuse to cancel that order with Lightweight and Ceramicspeed even if it does mean a 2nd mortgage! :p
I've put some Swiss Side Classic 800s on my Cervelo R5 which is a climbing bike. Now it's a Frankenbike but I do feel really fast on the flats :))
Bendersnatchling lookin good n feelin great hasn’t got any price Enjoy them pb’s
Well, if you gone to a point where you have the feeling that you have maxed out your bike, that gets you a sense of achievement.
And If you like to show off some bling, that certainly makes you want to ride, which is essentially good.
Having said that, I think the most cost ineffective upgrade that I've done on my bike are titanium screws. Apart from the big brake bolts they save you next to nothing and cost a premium.
Funny enough another not so great "upgrade" was to change my Ultegra 6600 to a Dura Ace 7900 (with used levers). It actually shifts worse, so I'm not overly happy with it. Lever actuation is heavier and happens later on the Dura Ace, but it's lighter, looks so much better and cleaner and it's a lot of work to mount back, so I think I will just get used to it.
The most cost effective addition to your bike is to learn how to fix it yourself.
@@dsdf_fdp1858 haha, spoken like someone who understands the struggle.
Yeah but now I just want more tools....
@@kylemeister4893 And that is called being a man, nothing to be ashamed of.
@@dsdf_fdp1858 nahh
I agree with all of this. I upgraded my mid range Tarmac to Ultegra Di2. About a year ago in Italy I was able to rent a Pinarello F10 with DuraAce mechanical. It was an amazing bike and would cost more than double my Tarmac (even with the Di2 upgrade), although the geometry was quite similar. The F10 was lighter and it was Italy. BUT, when I got back home I was glad to be back on my Tarmac. The shifting performance of Di2 is just superior. Yesterday I waxed my chain, it took 30 min, of which about 5 min were spent on my bike, and 25 min in my kitchen watching UA-cam and drinking coffee.
Never going back to mechanical if I can help it. Electronic shifting is the way to go. Hassle free shifts.
@@Timtimzi and IMO is less fiddling and maintenance with Electronic shifting
@rollinrat4850My 16 speed is easily as trou le free as any single speed. And I can outperform it on the flats and uphill to boot. Mechanical shifting never breaks.
To add to the list of carbon crazy parts, I have a carbon pocket sized pump. I won it in a preme sprint. You know, that part of the race where the sponsor shop unloads something of dubious value priced at $50. As an aside, the best part of winning that mid race sprint is that it served as a test to know where to attack for the win in the only road race I ever won, so for that the carbon pump has great sentimental value.
“Please don’t”
Ollie’s hair before wherever happened today
he dropped a bucket of olive oil on his head :C
That lube seems to work great in hair also.
Waxing chain yourself is much cheaper than using off the shelf lubes.
To be honest I don't care about minute watt savings, but the ever-clean drivetrain is well worth the hassle (hassle = spending 30 minutes cooking 3 chains once per month)
Yup. I wax all of my chains, including those for the fat bike. I use paraffin wax and PTFE-powder mix. I usually wait untilI have 3 or 4 chains to wax as the crock pot takes quite a while to heat. But I really love the clean drive trains.
@@Murgoh I use a rice cooker instead. Very fast to heat up.
I also haven't had any issues with wax not lasting in the wet, in fact I would say it is less prone to de-lubing in wet conditions.
@@Murgoh Okay so its best to buy at least three chains at once for the same bike then just rotate their use ?? Every month or every 1000k???? Whats best?
I concur with you. It is easy to do. I do not agree with the statement that you lose the wax in the rain. You don’t, it is internal to the rollers on the chain. Wax does not pick up sand and grit. Every other lube is a magnet for sand and grit.
Ha! I had just purchased a custom mtb, and thought I’d put Ti water bottle bolts on only to have one break off in the frame. It’s still there 25 years later as a reminder!!
Ceramic bearings ...100% recommend. I lost the use of half of my left leg in a bike accident (plus some other stuff, broken back t12-l5). Since changing over to ceramic bearings (which were donated to me) I really can feel the difference in both peak power and speed, and I can ride farther. Don't see how that can be placebo lol.
Added side effect, when the bike gets stored for a while whilst I use my other bikes, I don't have to re-pack or worry about corrosion.
I have recently moved to a waxed chain after following the DIY instructions on UA-cam from ozcycle. I am very happy - its quiet and clean and is not expensive.
I wanted to upgrade my Colnago with ceramic bearings and my bikeshop advised me not to do for the same reason Ollie gave. Wise advise !
In terms of bearings I’d be happy just with very well made steel bearings. When I used to skate, a set of bones redz abec 5’s were a huge upgrade over standard bearings, without having to fork out for Bones Swiss Ceramics
I was going to detach my head and put it on a carbon fibre body and secure it with titanium neck bolts. Sure am glad I watched this video! Thanks, GCN!
I used plastic bolts. They're even lighter than titanium. Just use a torque wrench.
nice to see a GCN video that is supported by actual engineering knowledge as opposed to marketing rhetoric, first of many I hope
Nothing like a well groomed presenter, never mind ceramic bearings got my attention.
You're right - Ollie is nothing like a well groomed presenter.
Wax lube is very good and stands up to the rain in my experience. I use Squirt lube - very good stuff.
I agree - seems good in the wet, and the chain is always going to run better without all that dirt and grit sticking to it
@@hughbriz just wiping the chain seems to clean everything off. Then the occasional sponge wash to remove stubborn dirt.
I haven't used degreaser on these bikes since I started using the stuff!
I've got a bottle of that laying around but can't seem to get my finger out and clean the drivetrain thoroughly enough to make the switch. Is it really worth it?
Absolute bullshit about wax chains and rain. I wax my chain and would trust that to be there longer than the overpriced mucoff rubbish. GCN can’t go through a video without having a sponsor plug.
Where has the cycling weekly Ollie gone? By now he seems to be another GCN clone.
@@idaf5244 absolutely worth it.
I made the swap mid summer on a partly used chain.
Only used mucoffs ceramic lube before swapping to squirt.
Squirt lasted better in the rain (no squeaking), stayed cleaner, and i haven't had to degrease the chain since first applying it.
A wipe with a damp cloth is enough to get most dirt off, otherwise a sponge wash.
Unfortunately i haven't been able to ride outdoors in winter so far due to an injury BUT i was riding throughout autumn, which was pretty wet, and it stood up well to the water and spray.
Best value bottle of chain lube I've used, both on road and off.
Ollie looks like a werewolf mid-transition when the Sun rises.
Top end upgrades make your wallet lighter, therefore you'll go faster. Q.E.D.
Yesterday someone helped me lighten my bike - they stole my rack bag.
I've done most of them, I did a full build from ground up inc. custom painting myself. Full Ultegra, Ti Bolts throughout, carbon bottle cages, computer mount, integral stem and bars, waxed chain (Ozcycle for the how to there!) ceramic bottom bracket. I think it goes pretty well and for the most part if it looks good, you feel good. Full aero frame and 50mm carbon clincher rim wheels with carbon hubs and she is a tick over 7.4kg. waxed chain lasts about 250km, but also have made my own wax lube in a bottle with IPA and wax from the pot.....which also has PTFE powder in for a chain wax better than Molten speedwax!
Bottom line though, if you love the look....you're sure to go faster! :-)
If you never had one and you have a slight feeling that your riding position isn't ideal. Get a bike fit!
I spent 3 about hours for 140€, the fitter pretty much changed everything from cleat position and riser pads, to saddle, stem height and handlebar. Boom, 5 seconds on my favorite 5-minute climb, and pretty sure at least +1 kph on my average ride speed. I never went into the high 28's or above on routes with 1% of elevation gain over the full distance. Also, I never had a ride on which Strava estimated 160+ watts avg without any tailwinds.
The explanation given was that my left hip was somehow 'locked' because I couldn't really turn my ankle outwards and pedal comfortably/fluidly in my position. Could have spent much more a new wheelset but if you're that much off with your setup (I did a big 1500k tour on this bike, though), it's more than marginal gains.
Bike fits are great value for money - especially if you have issues with your position that cause discomfort or pain!
@@gcntech Thing is, I didn't have real issues and went with it for 1 1/2 years (including some serious rides and tours), maybe occasionally some pain in the right knee if it had to compensate for longer. Also learned that my current size 54 frame is on the larger end of the spectrum for me (1,75m) , even though pretty much every calculator would suggest that size, and so did the road bike dealer Anyway, I estimate, this has easily unlocked 10-15 watts and I didn't even have to change a single part.
Second tier group set -- Ultegra has always ben awesome. Now it is the same as a couple year old Dura-ace
Carbon fiber riding shorts, that should make all the difference
Genius idea🤣🤣
The idea of "stiffness" in your shorts is pretty unappealing
Just don't put resin on it. Then you just have carbon woven fabric shorts.
Don’t worry, we can build some compliance into them.
Love my carbon chainrings, they’re still going strong, the Di2 rear mech fitted at the same time, toast, simply died, out of warranty and an expensive replacement. You pay your money and make your choices.
wait.....carbon fiber computer mounts ?!?........I'm on it !
Ollie you forgot 1 way to save watt : Always use Washroom in morning to save a few pounds of weight off you bike 😉😉
Sorry, I’m an American...Does that mean drop a major deuce in the morning? That’ll save a pound or two. Müsli: THE best and cheapest way to save weight on a bike.
Anyone remember the ‘Hairsine ratio’. Created by Jon Hairsine in the 90’s. Found by dividing mass in grams by cost in £. It was the benchmark for all weight weenies at the time. I remember 1.9” tyres pumped up to 60psi on my Stumpjumper to save a few grams.
I feel this episode basically said no one should buy stuff from ceramic speed lol
all range of products from Ceramic Speed ))
I love my waxed chain! I have been using Molten Speed Wax for about a year. Sheds water and dirt so it's super clean. I get about 200 miles out of a fresh wax job and use 2 chains for batch processing. Way less time than cleaning and lubing every other ride and WAY better performance in terms of less wear and watts.
a waxed chain with PTFE powder won't lose the wax in the rain. there's no way. I can't even get the stuff off with warm water and soap. It only comes off with gasoline (or some other strong solvent) or boiling water.
Ceramic speed obviously no longer a sponsor but MucOff is definitely onboard
@@davidmarshall2399 Global Commercial Network.
Yep got ceramic BB and ceramic jockey wheels and notice zero benefits. Also had a pair of tubular wheels until I realised you had to carry an entire tubular tyre with you which do not fold up very well in your pocket!
Love this video. So many people waste tons of cash on upgrades, and for what? I'll tell you what, it's so they can show them off to their cycling buddies. It has to be the only reason, because as Ollie points out and as research will support, they don't make you any faster. The one big one he left out is high priced carbon wheels. I did upgrade my aluminum wheels to a set of Super Team Chinese carbon wheels for the whopping price of $225, and they are fantastic. Several thousand miles on them now and they're still true and in perfect condition. And at that price, I can buy a 38mm set, a 50mm set, an 80mm set, and even a full disc set and still only spend a third of what Zipp wants for one set of wheels.
Campagnolo does have second tier groupsets but does not have "sponsored content" on GCN. Guess they do not exist
They will be bought by SRAM at some point...
Campagnolo was concentrating on the top end - being the solely maker for TdF winners for a long time - that they not only lost the hobby riders sector but also most of the pro peloton with it. Now they introduced a cheaper Centaur, but is way too late, they just went out of the radar of most ordinary bike riders. People now think should I buy 105 or Ultegra? Or perhaps Rival or Force? But many people won't even realize there is also Campagnolo available, most OEM companies never used Campagnolo, Campagnolo mostly only served bike builders and small companies and now people are buying from large brands like Specialized, Canyon, Giant,... and Campagnolo lost the game when they did not concentrate on these.
Chris Chevalier.......Although I have used Campagnolo Super Record group-sets for over 20 years - Campagnolo's 'second tier' group-set [Chorus] is excellent. I used it when I first got into cycling and never had any issues. I believe some pro teams use Chorus too - and not just on their training bikes.
Ah, cycling: the working man's transport, the simple and cheap hobby that uses minimal resources and is good for the environment. It's amazing how complicated an expensive it is possible to make something so simple and cheap.
@Murican Ignorance enjoy your night mate.
@Murican Ignorance a single flight from Europe to New York burns as much fossil fuel energy per person as is required to produce about 300 steaks. I'll keep eating my beef thanks man.
@Murican Ignorance I can guarantee you that we won't all start dying in 2030
@Murican Ignorance I never thought I'd hear someone say getting exercise is bad for the environment and as bad as fossil fuels. I think just starting up your car and driving for 5 minutes is worse for the environment than cycling 100 miles and eating a great feast when you get home, even if you factor in the carbon emissions involved with producing, packaging and distributing the food. If your goal is to highlight the existential threat climate change poses to us all, you failed utterly when you chose to come for cyclists. Using our legs to travel daily and keep the car at home/get rid of it all together is the most efficient and easily realised way to start to solve this problem. Plus agree with others, I hardly eat any meat at this point for this very reason (not vegetarian) and what you are saying is based on a false assumption.
Road cycling is for suckers
Clinchers do not have a significant rolling resistance advantage over tubulars. A very good clincher has a marginal advantage over a tubular but less feel. The vast majority of clinchers are significantly slower due to lack of tyre wall suppleness on tarmac.
Ollie was your "uni friend" really you?
Perhaps they should put a poll on the app and let people vote, but I am sure I would guess in the affirmative on that.
'all the material properties of metallic cheese' - my fave of the year. Go Ollie!
I ordered a set of custom bar plugs a few years ago. They were far too heavy so I replaced them with the plastic ones that came with the bar tape. I think it was light weight “carbon pattern” bar tape
An aero specific jersey and shorts when like me you're 100kg and still lumpy in the wrong places 😄
Wow, this is like a description of my hill climb bike 😂
Ollie looking as slick as a vampire with his new 'do.
Or a doorman at a methadone clinic.
1:39 that's a very decorated cake :D
7:01 ha ha ha. titanium slices on top of a pizza?
Totally agree about Ceramic bearings. Hambini also does a good comparison video about them. Cannot for the life of me understand why people buy mega expensive headrace bearings either. How are they going to make your bike better?
Regarding tubular tires vs clinchers - Tubeless is better in terms of safety, weight, and rolling resistance to both of them, and is less faff than tubs.
I'm not having any experience with tubeless on a road bike. But on mtb I once had a tubeless tire literally jumping off my front rim on a very steep and rocky downhill section. Wasn't very fast, so nothing happened. But if I think of that happening at high speed I'm getting pretty sweaty hands.
How exactly does a tubeless tire behave on a road bike when loosing the air? How is it safer then a tubular tire?
Waxed chains are Great, squirt chain lube, costs £10 a bottle and I get 20 generous applications, each lasting 150km(so 3.3p per 10km)also in practice gets an extra 700km in each chain, and up to 2000km more in a cassette
You are definitely right on all counts. Some stuff is just for the pros, since seconds count on major tours, and sponsors can pay for it. I'm just too poor even to consider some of these options. I have a rich friend, he has pinarellas with carbon everything (except the crank chain rings), but he can afford, so no big deal.
Shimano 105 is more than adequate for a current groupo, and i do have some 105 parts on some older bikes. My next bike will be a 105 bike, carbon or titanium, i'm not sure. Old men need light bikes in winter, it's too tough with the old steel bikes fighting the wet roads, cold, and wind. My next 105 bike will cost as much as my dura ace from 2005.
I have a Dura Ace bike (Felt F25, bought in, circa 2005), that i bought after coming back from deployment to iraq. Shifting and braking is still pretty amazing even now. The Felt F1C and F1B (carbon) were top end road bikes from felt that year, but they were exotic carbon, and 5 grand (USD), so i passed.
The law of diminishing returns definitely applies on bicycles! But it sure is fun !!
Since I mounted tubulars 4 years ago, never any flat tyre
Sorry but I can change a tubular tire out just as fast as a guy with a clencher. The cost is well worth the rotating inertia savings during acceleration as well as the ride feel.
Love having a waxed chain. I went 100 miles on my mountain bike between waxe and it was still clean and slippery. Technically can go 200-300 if you want. I use MSPEEDWAX.
I'm ashamed to say that I also fell foul of the Ti seat post bolt. They're a bugger to drill out, too.
Such epic hair. That is definitely worth the upgrade!
Sensah Empire 11S groupset.Very interesting Chinese groupset: lightweight and it's shift very crisp!
Shimano 105 is the dog’s knob..👍
I've had mixed results with Ti bolts. First of all, its more like 2g (or more) per bolt, which adds up. Second, yes some have 'the material properties of cheese' and round-out. Others on the other hand, I have had for a decade or more, and I move them from bike to bike as I get new ones.
You've made it in life if you're upgrading your headset bearings to Ceramic - one can only dream.
Actually I think you lost in Life if you use headset bearings to ceramic because it proves you're a complete sucker.
Gustav Meyrink have you had a sense of humour transplant pal?
Squirt chain wax requires a bit of work on the first application (fully degreasing your chain, not anywhere near as much effort as the typical wax job shown in this video) but essentially saves you from cleaning your chain ever again and avoids all the messiness of regular lubes. Holds up better in the wet than dry lube, less messy and mucky than wet lube, self cleaning and relatively cheap. Highly recommend.
As for titanium bolts: get decent quality ones and use them where required torque is low enough (the torque they can take should be noted on the site that sells them. If not: hands off) and they will work a treat and are a cheap way to customise, bling up and lighten your bike (a tiny bit). Roadies should be used to using a torque wrench/bit anyways with all the fancy carbon everywhere these days.
7:00 You crack me up ollie
Ollie saying "carbon" without also "lay-up" is frankly shocking. I didn't know he could do that.
I’ve never heard of any titanium alloy behaving in a way described in this video. That anecdotal guy either had an aluminum alloy bolt or the wrong size Allen wrench (SAE mixed with metric).
Carbon Everything- well apart from BB shells with poor manufacturing tolerances on many carbon frames
Hambini will tell you all about miss aligned BB's
How smug did Ollie look after the titanium screw story?
Titanium isn't soft as cheese so it sounds like some someone cheated him.
@@stevek8829 More than likely there was no antiseize lube on it and he bashed up the head. It's quite easy to over tighten ti bolts.
Waxed chains I would say are way cheaper than most lubes and it's not time consuming in the slightest. The lack of cleanup of the chain, cassette, chainrings and jockey wheels more than makes up for the time it takes to heat up wax once a month or so. It becomes extra beneficial when doing multiple chains. A box of paraffin wax cost me $6 Canadian 2 years ago and I'm still using it. Way cheaper, I'm guessing however once their sponsor starts selling wax though the story will be different
Great hairstyle!
Yes, most upgrades people are just do to feel good, not really for going faster. It’s the feel that matters to the most, including me, no exception. ;)
Carbon bottle cages. They are like 5g lighter than plastic ones but cost three times as much.
My carbon fibre bottle cages cost $4 each on Aliexpress and have lasted for 2 years already. Enjoy your cycling
Ollie looks very suave today.
Has he just come back from a screen test to be the new James Bond?
... or Oddbod, in the reboot of Carry On Screaming ;-)
The claims around rolling resistance for clincher tires only exist in the labs of Specialized; it does not materialize in the real world. Note also the comfort disadvantage of clinchers.
I have to admit, I have Titanium bolts holding the bars on the stem... not for any 'Weight Weenie' reasons mind you: I was sick to the teeth of them rusting every time the humidity rose above 3%.
I remember once having to buy a bottle cage. I got a cheap aluminum one; I still have it after many, many years. I saw a cage that was 4x the price of the one I bought and I asked “why”? The sales guy said basically it is carbon and weighs less.
I am overweight. I will not overpay to get really light stuff on my bike. Riding my bike, a lot, takes care of the weight issue.
Titanium bolts are better for winter riding!
I’d agree with all of this apart from the notion that clinchers roll better than tubs. I’m very interested in this and would like to know where this data has come from? Been riding for 30+ years and never heard this before. Which clinchers is Ollie referring to? I want some, pronto!!!
For me also first time. Really interesting bit on the safety, didn't know that. But yeah, is there a link that shows a proper comparison?
The best tubeless tyres are more supple than tubulars ( with butyl innertubes ) especially at slightly lower pressures. But tubs with latex innertubes ( Michelin ) are hard to beat in my experience.
Please tell me what is raising the cost of tubulars? You get tubular wheels often cheaper (for sure second hand), and a good tubular costsaround 60, so marginally more than a good clincher tire (around 40). So you get a lighter, cheaper tubular wheelset and 2 pairs of tubulars for the price of a clincher set with a pair of clinchers. You'll have 10000K of better riding with those tubulars before they get more costly.
And clinchers don't have vastly superior rolling resistance. Forget that marketing talk.
And if anything helps, it is a good clean chain. It's actually the most important cause of friction of all parts turning on your bike.
One more advice: the one thing causing drag in your bearings are your seals. If you ride in dry weather, get all the seals out and clean / re-lube once a month. That's a night and day difference with sealed bearings. If you are afraid of dirt getting in your bearings and think it's foolish to take out the seals, think of all dirt that can freely reach your chain, which is, as said, the number one friction part on your bike.
Good quality product. Correct, fast transport service.
I have got to disagree with the tubular wheels and tyres. When buying used components tubular wheels are such bargains and save around 33% of the price compared to clinchers/tubeless wheelsets. And the tyres themselves are not that much more expensive (Continental Competition 60€; GP 5000 35€ plus 10€ inner tube) plus some tyre sealant in there and they are puncture resistant, like tubeless tyres.
Apart from that very good Video, really enjoy your content.
P.S.:As a German I always love hearing Ollie speak it.
yes carbon tubular wheels are much cheaper and less likely to fail than clinchers, especially when braking. I stopped carrying spare inner tubes and pump (weight and aero saving) ages ago so at least if I get a puncture I can ride it home with tubulars.
How can you still ride on tubulars with a puncture? Won't it damage your rims?
@@timscott3027 no, because there is no lip sticking out like on clincher rims, you just ride on the flattened tyres. The rubber protects the rims.
I remain convinced tubulars are superior BUT as for riding home - you must be joking. IF you puncture within a mile of home and you have to be back urgently maybe, otherwise definitely not. A glued on tub may allow you to come to a safe and controlled stop but riding more than a few hundred metres will almost certainly result in rim damage- at least on the roads I'm familiar with in England. Pit stop or similar will seal a small hole and allow you to get home no problem- as long as you do not have a latex inner (which the fastest ones tend to have). Otherwise carry a spare, they're generally under 300g. They do ruin the aesthetics of a nice machine when lashed on with some strap or other. It's almost unheard of to get a pinch flat on tubs you really have to have a big impact. I HAVE experienced this on numerous occasions so it's not impossible but have had WAY more impact blow outs riding clinchers, including some very hair raising ones as rims are not renowned for their grip on tarmac....
My mate spent a lot of $$ on some carbon fibre bits for his bike, knocked about 250g off the weight, factoring in he weighs 110kg just seemed completely pointless when a light breakfast would save him more weight for nothing.
waxing chains (at home) is not more expensive than lubing it ;-)
my first (and probably the only) reason to do it is... how clean it is
oh, and I never ride in rain
Never ride in rain... you must live in the sahara, otherwise you're not a serious cyclist. Let me guess, you probably ride on a very expensive carbon frame, electronic shifting kind of bike, the ones the mamals ride on that I take over every day
@@024416664 I live in UK. When it rains I prefer to run. Or turbo. My bike is 2011 with Ultegra 6700. So you did not guess anything ;-)
Maybe one: I am not serious cyclist - just around 10 000 km/year so not really serious
@@zyghom Good for you. But mind you, serious cyclists don't run. So at least I had that part right.
@@024416664 buhahahaha ;-)
Zygfryd Homonto laugh all you want. Serious cyclists ride their bikes and refrain from running at all costs. Heck, you probably swim too
Least cost-effective upgrade: girlfriend.
Unless you go tandem bike or make her ride into the headwind while you draft.
Upgrade not downgrade
A girlfriend is not aero and there’s a weight penalty
Girlfriends are not cost effective..
@@bobby7220 itts high cost upgrade for me :(
Tubulars are both actually faster and waaaay cheaper, that is when you buy super high-end wheels for one-quarter of the price from someone with too much money who bought them as "race day wheels" rode them in two races and realized that they do not have the confidence to glue them themselves and do not know how to change them and it is going to be a pain to call UBER every flat and pay the shop to do it for them. Had a great pair of tubular Zipp 303 for a while that I got with a used Litespeed, sold them used and build meself new wheels for the money... By the way, tubulars are fast to change by the road side when you know what you are doing...
I love how this is a surreptitious advertisement for (other) high-cost products (that are, perhaps, also with dubious efficiency gains).
Hard disagree on ceramic bearings... in some cases. I swapped to a ceramic-bearing bottom bracket on my race bike in November 2015, and it's still rolling butter smooth after 20K+ miles. Every 5K miles or so, I tear the whole thing down and re-grease it, but it's lasted longer and spins better than the BB's on ANYTHING else in my toybox. I wouldn't waste the effort on any other part of the bike, though.
Love my Ultegra Di2!
I keep hearing about waxed chains be bad in the wet. Have you ever tried to rinse paraffin wax off of anything with water? It's not possible. I wax the chain on my commuter because it holds up well in the rain.
apparently no one at GCN has heard of vittoria pit stop
"Gold leaf on the cherry on the top of the cake of upgrades"...............brilliant...
Did your mate have titanium or aluminium fasteners - both exist, aluminium is lighter and would be more likely to behave the way you said. Ti bolts are more likely to be brittle and snap instead, but are usually much stronger than aluminium (still a bit off some grades of steel / stainless steel though)
Titanium can be RIDICULOUSLY soft, or very hard. If you're going to use it, learn about grade 2, 5, 23, etc so you don't waste your money or time
Very important to look after your pride and joy.
6:20 it's not just that the tyres are expensive, you obviously need new wheels (or at the very least new rims lacing onto your old hub) as well. In practice it's probably new wheelset time and if you're at the level where you're looking at tubulars in the first place you're probably into four figures...
Great video. I got some tips that certain components are a waste of money at a certain level and train train. I'd guess adjusting crank arms changing handlebars and pedles is up there. I like my £30 Tri bars bargain. It would be interesting to see what wattage total you could save with all upgrades and how it relates to performance on a pro and say the average Joe cyclists know it all.
Any upgrade is bad, if you don't work on your health and weight. If you got the money to blow on a $10k bike, though then complain it's too slow, news flash it ain't the bike. Some riders tend to forget, you're the engine on a bicycle
I assume your Titanium bolt “friend” was yourself Ollie......???? Fantastic description of the bolts😂😂😂😂😍 very informative video all the same 👌🏻
The instructions in the GCN wax your chain video are not complete, because the paraffine oil component is missing.
I still buy the best mechanical shifter from any of three major brands and use lesser stuff like Ultegra, 105 across the rest of the bike. I've time I've used Ultegra, Force or Centaur I've been very disappointed. Stuff like cranks or brakes I've never noticed a difference
The "titanium" bolts where probably tinted aluminium Chinese fakes..
I was wondering about that. I wish he had gone into more detail on it, because titanium is supposed to be harder than steel per unit weight, so that made no sense.
@@tonyk8368 not really, most steels are stronger and particularly harder than titanium, still, titanium performing better per unit weight and not unit volume means that you would need a 2x bigger bolt of titanium to outperform a steel bolt.
Likely so, I've had some Ti bolts for over a decade and never rounded one
Yeah, I’ve upgraded my saddle clamp bolts to Ti and they’ve been great. You need to be careful not to source them off shady sites. And always make sure they’re grade 5 Ti. Even better is if the threads are roll-forged.
@@tonyk8368 I expect it's another case of grade 2 titanium. Also known as commercially pure, it's pure titanium that hasn't been mixed into any useful alloy. It's cheaper than a higher grade alloy so people keep getting swindled into buying stuff made out of it thinking they're getting a great price on titanium.
If there's one thing here i would dissagree with, it's waxed chains.
I wax my chains and i don't do it for performance gains, i do it to reduce the need for cleaning as it's way easier to clean aswell as less to clean, even after a ride in a muddy forest trail.
Fyll ceramic bearing dont need lubrication. So cycling trough water or pressure washing them will not wash out the lubrication from the bearings.
And the hunt for saving a few grams is ridiculous. The same people that spend big buck on saving a few grams on the bike don't really seem to care about ho much their water weighs or if they ate some food before riding weighing them down...
Hi Ollie, biggest safety feature of tubular wheels (apart from ability to roll with a puncture) is more solid brake track structure of the rim itself. Clincher wheel brake track is also used to seat the tyre, if carbon resin overheats you risk blowouts/melting the rim - check following video
m.ua-cam.com/video/7O95Cd-aogk/v-deo.html
Alaphilippe won on clinchers, but using disc wheel setup, which makes clincher rims safer (braking with disc not rim) and prolongs the lifespan of them.
Talking about brakes, check out this...
m.ua-cam.com/video/sqf2rE9PYgM/v-deo.html
James May, the car guru, shows us cyclists how to correctly setup brake pads, he does a pretty good job.