Last Update: December 13, 2008 - Modifications

This post provides a review, a service history and details of modifications of Chase, my 2007 Giant CRX 1 Flatbar which is currently my commuter and wet weather bike. Photos of Chase can be found here.

Maintenance Schedule | Modifications | Specifications

Maintenance

November 5, 2008 - km

• Only got a few kilometres up the road this morning en-route to the office before the front went down. I have had a good run with this tire, a Vittoria Zaffiro so okay with this.

November 3, 2008 - 8,801 km

Arose this morning for commute north to Joondalup only to find the rear flat. Another battle with the Vittoria Randonneur ensured, one PBK tyre lever bit the dust and I found that what I suspect was a kink in the tube resulting in a small hole above the valve. Application of a Park Tools Super Patch was not successful so I bunged in a new tube. In the process I found a crack in the rim and then on further inspection more cracks. After speaking to Ric Churchill at Churchill Cycles I have a new rear Shimano WH-RS10 on the way and Churchill Cycles will lend me a rim (and swap over the cluster etc) while I wait for it to come in.  A couple of photos of the cracks appear below.

November 2, 2008 - 8,782 km

• Removed the Continental Gatorskin from the rear (done 3,506 km - still okay as spare) and fitted a Vittoria Randonneur. Will see if they live up to the hype.

October 30, 2008 - 8,714 km

• Broke a spoke on my Shimano WH-R550 rear wheel en-route to work this morning. Dropped the bike into Joondalup City Cycles for the installation of a replacement spoke and to re-true the rear wheel. $42.00 later all is good, other than the new spoke is silver instead of black. Mind you this is apparently in with BMX riders, so maybe I am cool after all. This is the second rear spoke I have broken on this bike, with 3,967 km between incidents. I would suggest for 8,714 km, my weight, and riding on often less than ideal bike paths, this is not a bad run and the Shimano WH-R550s are holding up well.

October 20, 2008 -8,314 km

• Retired the Duro Stinger 28 mm rear tyre to the big green rubbish bin and fitted a Continental Gatorskin which has done about 2,972 km on the front. Really a stop-gap measure until I get a Vittoria Randonneur or similar tyre.

October 16, 2008 - 8,173 km

• Puncture in the rear whilst commuting to Joondalup this morning. This is the third puncture with the Duro Stinger 28 mm which has now done 935 km at a rate of 312 km per puncture.

October 15, 2008 - 8,146 km

• Puncture in the rear whilst commuting along the coast to Joondalup this morning. This is the second puncture with the Duro Stinger 28 mm which has now done 908 km at a rate of 454 km per puncture.

October 10, 2008 - 8,032 km

• 500 km service
  • Cleaned drive chain and lubed chain with Rock n’ Roll Gold;
  • Lubed other moving parts;
  • Cleaned and polished Chase using Turtle Wax products;
  • Adjusted L and H screws on front derailleur;
  • Released air pressure from tyres and went over them with a magnifying glass, removing glass and debris from cuts;
  • Removed and reinstalled seat post with Ritchey Liquid Torque to hopefully remove squeak;
  • Checked all fittings for tightness.

October 6, 2008 - 7,771 km

• Puncture in the rear. As I was at Anne’s I took the opportunity to patch the tube. This is the first puncture with the Duro Stinger 28 mm which has done 575 km.

September 19, 2008 - 7,374 km:

• Replaced front Deore pads with a pair of Fibrax salmon pads (life span - 962 km);
• Replaced Shimano 105 chain (life span 1,874 km) with a KMC X 10 chain;
• Cleaned and polished the bike.

September 7, 2008 - 7,264 km: Rear derailleur adjusted to hopefully improve shifting. The rear 105 derailleur appears to be pretty sensitive, therefore requiring quite regular adjustment.

September, 1 2008 - 7, 238 km: Replaced the Continental Gatorskin which was on the rear with a Duro Stinger 28 mm. A cheaper I picked up at Joondalup Cycle City to get me home as the wall of the Gatorskin came away from the bead.

July 7, 2008 - 6,540 km: I have had a chance to ride a little bit (128 km) with the new front brake. My first impressions on a 20 km ride was that the new combination was not ideal, with a lack of moderation, but with another 100 km of riding I no longer have that feel and the pads appear to have bedded down and the new brakes are working effectively. Better than the Tektros? I am not sure I would go that far, but they are working effectively.

June 29, 2008 - 6,412 km: Took on replacing the Tektro RX-5 85mm mini v-brakes on the front this morning, replacing them with a Shimano Deore M-530 front v-brake. Having not done this before, I thought it would be a pretty straight forward job and I know it will be next time! Removal and re-installation of the arms was straight forward. However, when I went to set the adjustment, I found one arm did not have spring tension at the correct pad gap. Of course, I didn’t read the manuals did I! Some a spent a fair bit of frustrating time trying different things to sort the problem before clicking to the fact that the braze on has three different spring holes, which assist with getting the spring tension correct. Funny that! Once I move the offending arm to the correct spring hole, the rest was plain sailing. I do however now have the arms in different spring holes, whereas the Park Tools Big Blue Book of Cycle Repair suggests that they should be mirrored. I will see how this works and adjust as necessary. The other issue is the cable length really needs adjusting as the v-brake arms are longer with the Deore brakes and hence the cable can be shorter, but I don’t have the necessary tools or cable at present so will fix this down the track.

Initial impressions in terms of braking, are that there is a significant improvement in braking. Further riding will confirm or otherwise of course.

June 28, 2008 - 6,412 km: Removed the FSA (”Faulty Stuff Attached”) MegaExo bottom bracket (BB) and replaced it with a Shimano Ultegra SM-FC6600 BB [68 mm British thread] which I purchased from Chain Reaction Cycles for $22.00. I used a Park Tools BBT-19 BB Tool to install the new BB. All up a pretty straight forward job and the new BB seems to have fitted okay. Hopefully I will get a lot more than 6400 km out of it!

On the downside I also took the opportunity to replace the front brake pads and in the process stripped the thread on the fine adjuster on one of the front Tektro RX-5 85mm mini v-brakes arms! Called into Bike Force Fremantle and have picked up a Shimano Deore M-530 v-brake as a replacement. Hopefully this will fit okay and provide much better braking than the Tektro.

June 16, 2008: Chase is currently off the road (June 16, 2008) due to a bottom bracket failure at 6400 kilometres. A replacement BB has been obtained from Chain Reaction Cycles and awaits installation.

Modifications

December 13, 2008 -9,452.8 km

• Shimano WH-RS10 now fitted to the rear thanks to Churchill Cycles, Booragoon.

October 20, 2008 -8, 314 km

• The Categye BM-300g mirror was driving me up the wall as it had to sit up and the curved nature of the mirror along with the short horizontal connection meant it intruded into my hand space on the bars. Even moving all the controls inward a bit did not really help. I just found it frustrating to use, so have replaced with a Zefal Cyclop mirror which is a different shape. It has solved my hand placement issues, but it does not tighten as well as I would like and hence can be shaken out of its position fairly easily. Need to add a washer to get more tension.

Update - October 5, 2008 - 7,750 km

• Fitted a Cateye BM-300g mirror.

Update June 29, 2008 - 6,412 km

• Replaced front Tektro RX-5 85mm mini v-brake arms with a Shimano Deore M-530 v-brake.

Update: June 4, 2008 - 6,218 km

• The Blackburn Quadrant light and the Sigma Sport Mirage EVO + EVO X Pro lights have now been removed and replaced by two Fenix L2D Premium Q5 torches mounted via two TwoFish Lockblocks.

May 26, 2008 - 6,000 km

• Fitted a new 700c x 23 Vittoria Zaffiro tyre to the front, removing Continental Ultra GatorSkin with the intention of preserving its life for later fitting to the rear.
• Let the chain wear too much but now replaced it at 5,500 km with a new Shimano 105 chain which I picked up off e-Bay for a reasonable price. I suspect that I should have replaced the chain at around 4,000 km.
• Cleaned the chain at 6,000 km. Over winter will adopt a 500 km service interval.

November 11, 2007

Well chase has some new accessories today from ChainReactionCycles.com. They are:

• Brooks England B17 STD Steel Saddle in black. A bit retro but hey after 35 km already showing signs of being more comfortable than the OEM Velo seat;
• Blackburn Quadrant 4 LED Front Wide Beam

Specifications

The specifications for Chase, a 2007 Giant CRX 1 can be found on Giant Australia’s website.  The following variations now apply:

• Rear wheel is now a Shimano WH-RS1o

Tags: Blackburn,Brakes,Brooks,CRX 1,Deore,Derailleurs,Fleet Cycles,FSA,Shimano,Tektro,Vittoria
Categories: Bicycle gear reviews
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Guess who got a Garmin Edge 305 for his birthday in November 2007! It was kindly purchased for me from GeoManGear in November 2007.

Garmin Edge 305 mounted on a Look 555

The Edge 305 is described by Garmin as a

GPS-enabled personal trainer and cycle computer. With a wireless heart rate monitor and speed/cadence sensor

This is the set-up that I have as well along with a second speed/cadence sensor so I can use it on two bikes.

Initial Impressions | Field Experience

Initial Impressions

Initial Impressions [Updated November 20, 2007]:

• Audible alert is a waste of time. Is not loud enough to be heard when riding in windy conditions or in fact just riding.
• No ability to adjust volume;
• Manual is not that clear or informative;
• Easy to fit to the bike’
• Like the display options;
• Like the way it interfaces with Garmin’s MotionBased website and hence the information that is provided;
• Battery life = 11 hours seven minutes;
• I seem to be riding harder and faster or it is just giving me better numbers than my old Sigma BC1606L.

Field Experience

Update - November 27, 2008 - Now published my open letter to Garmin Australasia Pty Ltd.

Update - November 19, 2008: Garmin Australasia Pty Ltd still has not replaced the Heart Rate Monitor strap nor the GSC10 Sensor nor have they contacted me. Frankly I can only conclude now that they are a dishonest organisation, lacking in integrity and that their staff just say whatever is necessary to get the customer off the phone.

I am now proceeding to formally notify Garmin Australasia Pty Ltd of my concerns with their lack of service and compliance with the Trade Practices Act 1976 and to give them 14 days to resolve the matter to my satisfaction or face a formal escalation of my response. I will also notify Garmin USA of my views of their lack of service.

Update - October 30, 2008: I emailed Garmin Australasia Pty Ltd on October 20, 2008 with respect to the issues with the heart rate monitor strap. As hadn’t got a response I phoned Garmin on Friday October 24, 2008 and spoke to John. John advised that he would follow-up the issue with Garmin US. As of Friday October 31, 2008 I had had no further news from Garmin Australasia, I phoned the support line and spoke to John. He now acknowledges that they are getting reports of issues with the straps (previously denied) and requested I send in the strap to himself for replacement.

Updated October 25, 2008: Had an opportunity to day to use the Edge 305 from start to finish on a ride of the Kep Track. The Edge 305 was turned on at the start of the ride along with my Garmin 60 CSx and it died (battery went flat) 11 hours and seven minutes later. During this time it was used only to track satellites. The cadence sensor the heart rate monitor where not used.

Update October 20, 2008: Still waiting for a new sensor from Garmin Australasia. It has taken five phone calls to now be told that a sensor is likley to arrive mid-November. Some three months later! Really very poor service from Garmin.

Today my heart-rate monitor strap has died. I have tried new batteries, re-scanned for it, ensured the connections are wet. The best I can get out of it is a low heart rate reading (so it is communicating, but not accurately) when the bpm should be a lot higher. I have emailed Garmin Australasia for advice.

Update September 5, 2008: During August 2008 I was without my Edge 305 for approximately two weeks as it died. Despite Garmin’s claims of the Edge 305 being waterproof to IEC 60529 IPX7 standards, i.e., all components are submersible in 1m of water for 30 minutes, my unit suffered water ingress from riding in the rain. Initial contact with Garmin implied this was my fault, however, a “generous” offer was made to allow me to return the unit to Garmin Australasia for inspection. Garmin need to train their staff properly and to ensure they are familiar with their own specifications!

I returned the Edge 305 and a faulty GCS 10 sensor to Garmin (it was reading cadence only, not speed) and received back a refurbished Edge 305 (not my own unit) and my old incomplete sensor. At the time of writing I am still waiting for Garmin Australasia to replace my faulty sensor. Not the best customer service.

Other than this hick-up I am very happy with the Edge 305, however, I tend to only use the data recording features. I am yet to explore the use the course feature, vitural partner and so on.

Tags: Edge 305,Garmin
Categories: Bicycle gear reviews
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