I have driven hundreds of kilometers in this car (in the 4 and 6 wheeler) and got them usually from AMP Thun, Hinwil or Frauenfeld. Funny to see it overseas.
Done my first rear wheel in a couple of hours. It was pretty easy apart from knowing when to stop tightening the spokes once trued. I took my other wheels as a benchmark and left the spokes reasonably loose
Cool. A couple of hours sounds good for a first build. Personally I try and get my spokes as tight as I can, maybe 2-3mm of movement if I squeeze a pair of crossing spokes. I feel this makes a slightly stiffer wheel. It's all personal preference, and arguably once the wheel is straight and true it's better to super tight. Edit: I was planning a set of off the shelf wheels for my road bike in the spring, but may now build my own. Cheers. Edit 2: I saw your comment above about crossed on the drive side for stress; I don't know the ins & outs of engineering, or how all the force gets applied. I was also in France battling a mountain, so didn't respond sooner.
Very technical question but does anybody know if longer spoke nipples also have longer threads or the extra sleeve is smooth?
Great, thanks. Although I hear that if the spoke is not all the way in, down to the base of the nipple, it may cause the nipple to crack. Will use brass ones next time in any case which should be stronger
That's right. Also there is a problem if the nipples themselves pulling through the rim depending on the lacing and the hub flange configuration. Full disclosure: I never built wheels but I did a lot of the development testing for some very well known wheel manufacturers and I ended up learning more than I ever wanted to about wheel building. For instance, when they would experiment with ultra light weight carbon fiber low profile rims, the spoke lacing and nipple construction had to be completely different in order to not constantly break spokes (non drive side rears, mostly). The other issue were things like nipple angles and all the rest. The ideal was always to have high flanges and short spokes for stiff and responsive wheels but the incredibly sharp angles and inevitably high spoke tensions always created problems that needed solving in "the real world." Spoke fatigue is a real thing.
35+ years ago I used to build my own race-only wheels because "ideal" combinations of pattern+rim+hubs were best achieved by having your bike outfitter build them for you or do it yourself. Bike shops that carried racing equipment sold top end as well as training rims as regular inventory, you wouldn't need to special order them as there weren't that many to chose from. It was also cheaper doing it yourself if you were on a tight budget. Nowadays IMO unless you simply enjoy the process, if you are trying to put together "killer" wheels for your bike, the big leaps in technology since my heydays now make it very difficult if not impossible for you to build better rims than specialized wheel suppliers. If it were different, they wouldn't be able to stay in business very long. Instead, I think it's enough and perhaps more rewarding as a rider to just maintain your favourite wheels at home. Aside from servicing the gear on the rest of your bike, just making sure your wheels are always perfectly true, roll with minimum resistance and properly tensioned/clean/lubed will already take a big enough bite out of your pocket change and free time. Just like our cars, technology has a way of making backyard projects redundant unless you just enjoy doing it yourself. ...my 2¢'s worth.
Here's a tip for folks getting used to rollers. Place your rollers and ride them in a doorway, using the door jambs to steady yourself if you experience "a moment". I am also not crazy about the fancy hi-tech rollers. I think metal rollers work better than plastic ones. Metal ones are normally built by turning the drums on a lathe so they should spin perfectly "flat". I believe the e-Motion ones also feature a "troughed" profile whereby the middle of the roller is narrower than the sides. They apparently do this to "help" the rider stay in the middle of the roller but I think this is not a good idea at all. Obviously nobody rides on road surfaces which would do that. It should be up to the rider's proper bike setup and pedaling skills to keep his bike in the middle of the rollers. I also think the turned up edges of the e-Motion rollers may actually cause the bike to sway side-to-side more rather than lessen it. Combining power training with roller training is also a bad idea. Have you ever watched the bunch sprints in top races? NOBODY rides with their wheels quietly and perfectly straight in a sprint. Their bikes are literally ripped side to side from lower and upper body efforts. You cannot sprint quietly. IMO, it's bad training to force a rider to do that. You might also watch some of the strongest riders when they are motoring in a breakaway. Most of them are not pedaling that elegantly, lots of side-to-side motion. "Quiet" body position and pedaling are great to have when you are pedaling at 40-50 and even 60% effort but at 75-100% effort, I think it's impossible to be truly "quiet" on your bike because you are using a lot of arm and body in addition to legs muscles. That's how our bodies work. It's wrong to tell a rider that he has to be perfectly "quiet" when making serious power efforts. It just doesn't work that way. Rollers are useful for finessing your pedaling motion and riding position but they shouldn't be used for power training because of the reasons I pointed out above. Stationary trainers like Tacx and Wahoo are far better suited and much safer for developing power. ...my 3¢'s worth.
The e-motion 'trough' doesn't really exist like that -- 95% of the roller is dead smooth. The difference is a very slight 'bump' on the outside edges. After a little practice on the rollers, I agree that the 'bump' is a bit of a gimmick, because if you're still running off the rollers after a few sessions, then you've got more significant bike control issues to address anyway. In terms of power training, I 100% agree -- rollers are not about power. They are about core strength, cadence, and pedal smoothness. Those are three issues that I absolutely wanted to address in my riding. I know my L/R balance, and needed to specifically work on building some left-leg power. For me, I think the rollers are helping. I still have my stationary trainer which indeed is better suited for overall growth of power. In terms of sprints and rocking the bike, again you're correct. But remember, I'm not sprinting or racing. I'm an old wannabe. My primary interest is climbing steep stuff. In those efforts, I'm trying to develop calm, consistent cadence, at specific resistance, without a bunch of noise on the bike. When I sprint with friends, sure I jump up and the bike rocks L/R. But, climbing a 10%-12% grade for an hour straight? Believe me... I'm seating and focused only on smooth movements. Finally, I suppose I like the rollers simply because they're different. Now, I can mix up my indoor training! Does all if it still become a bit boring when I'm dripping with sweat and going literally nowhere? Sure. But if there's anything I can do to keep myself engaged when the family is upstairs sleeping or the weather is horrible outside, then why not?
The original emotion rollers have four inch diameter metal drums. The drums are the same diameter from end to end. They don't have a trough. Most plastic rollers do have a significant trough. I ve been using them for a month with a crank based power meter. Most of the trainer road work outs are endurance training below 80% which I enjoy doing on the rollers rather than a stationary.
Thanks for your feedback. I wanted to point out possibly misleading impressions from the marketing hype of the e-Motion rollers and I'm glad I see you have a good idea about the benefits to extract from rollers and trainers. It's great that you love to climb. The ability to steadily climb while seated is indeed the only effective way to tackle long steady climbs but it's also good to develop a smooth out-of-saddle technique and rhythm, which you can use to alternate muscles and pace. You can only do that on the road but you might find that it can help you detect potential issues with your bike setup as well as exercise other muscles you need for cycling. Good luck with your training!
Plastic rollers are generally not favoured because they potentially do not work or wear as well as metal rollers. However, I'm not familiar with how the e-Motion rollers apply resistance to facilitate power training. My experience is that aerobic training is best achieved with long rides at 50-75% on the road. Power workouts on indoor trainers are better suited (and potentially safer) for workouts above 70%. Rollers help you develop suppleness, tweak pedaling technique and bike setup.
FWIW, I used a pair of cheap plastic Performance brand roller for my entire career. They fit in my duffle bag and traveled the world with me. At races like World Cups and World Champs, you have you do your entire warm up on rollers. At National Championships, there is a morning and evening warm up session but you use your rollers to keep warm. I'm not saying plastic is as good as metal but I am saying that plastic rollers are plenty "good enough." I think that those rollers are still in my basement. I'll have to dig them out.
The original inside ride rollers have a 5 pound flywheel and 4 position magnet. I haven't tested the rollers on a 50/11, position 4 at 25+ kph but I bet it's over 400 watts. Saying that rollers are not safe. As soon as I feel fatigued I take 1 minute off the rollers. It gives me an opportunity to drink water and eat. During a 2 hrs session, I take break every 15 minutes after the first hour. I know that rollers are not recommended for most training but I love them. It's a long winter and I enjoy "riding".
The heavy flywheel probably helps to make the plastic roller feel smoother, less sensitive to small changes in effort. It would be the magnets that impart resistance. I'm impressed that you do serious 2-hour sessions on your rollers. As for feeding, you can do that on the bike. I used to suck on "Lifesavers" on fast group rides. Your body just wants glucose for immediate fuel when you do short hard efforts. The granola, power bars and bananas take a bit more processing to get ATP into your system, though they last longer so we would eat those when we take our mid-ride stopover. In the Winter, when I feel like it I take my Scott cyclocross bike on my favourite 12-km suburban loop if it's not too cold and the roads are not too sloppy. It's fun but I have to clean the bike if it got wet. Otherwise I just try to stay fit on my Wahoo KICKR and do the odd track session at the Milton velo to stay alert.
There is a bicycle thread! Well here she is all finished. 1996 Cannondale SuperV 900 $400 RockShox Silver Recon fork Head reducer new brakes 60mm riser and wider handlebars New seat Flynn large pedals Total with labor: $420 Wow, what a bike for that price. I just took it over the roughest road here a mix of pea gravel, fist sized smooth rocks, and perpendicular gullies, and she was rock solid. No issues whatsoever with the different rake and trail. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Here's a crappy update. Crashed today. Badly. At mile 30 of a 65 mile route. Paceline was averaging 22-23, hard corner into a climbing segment. I was perhaps 10 back from the front, and it was clear the leaders were trying to break on the early part of the climb. Those that saw the break obviously accelerated out of the corner; those that missed it were flat-footed. Big discrepancies in speed = problems. I felt the rear wheel of my bike "wash out" (that's the only way I can describe it), and the next thing I knew I was slammed hard to the pavement, then run-over by another rider. I **think** in my acceleration I moved leftward and the rider behind me was doing the same, or maybe moving right... I don't really know. My Lazer helmet saved my life. No question about it. It is not cracked -- but really looks bad. My Pinarello is destroyed. It cracked cleanly on the right chainstay and one seatstay was severely broken. Handlebars cracked. But I was lucky.... another rider broke a collar bone. I walked away. My leg is completely chewed up, I have a 4 inch gash on my forehead, my shoulder is raw, and my elbow is pretty bad. Nothing broken, but surely some bruising, because deep breaths are a bit painful. I've already got my LBS ordering a new frame and (fingers crossed) we'll have something built back in a few days. Bottom line? I'm angry. My wife is a hero, and said basically "if you want to run fast, this stuff will happen. You look like shlt, but you'll be stronger tomorrow because of this".
Sorry to hear, Daniel. I'll tell you right now that there are two kinds of bike riders: those have crashed and those that will crash. It happens and I'm glad that you're okay. If you need the run down on how to heal quickly and properly from extensive road rash and crashing, just shoot me a pm. There's a lot to it and it's probably more involved than you imagine.
Wow. Sorry Dan. It was raining here today and I had a bad feeling about going out. So I stayed in for the first time. Get well soon.
