[SilentBall55]

I am not sure if the Dow33 is usable as a load bearing grease.

The Park tool grease is formulated for bearings. I have been using it for years and my bearings never failed.

I think the only Dow grease that is suitable for bearings is G-0102, BBR2 plus, 1122, and others. They wash out resistant, but the viscosity may be too thick.

The Poly grease is washout resistant and very low viscosity.

Also the chain lube you use can also affect the gear train performance and smoothness.

[Tracker]

they use it to lube the throttle cables on the A-10 (no joke) so i assume it has some degree of shear strength,

as far as chain lube, i use dumonde (its what my bike shop told me to use)

ill pick up some of the poly 1000 next time im at REI or when i go by my LBS to grab my freehub

[SilentBall55]

Dow33 as a cable grease will just fine. Also instrumentation controls on aircraft use Dow33 as well because is has very low stiction and low temperature operation.

Loading bearing and lubricating are two different requirements.

As for Dumonde, I haven't tried it, but if it works for you then it works.

I have been using Finish Line's products and never ever like their wet, dry lube. I also tried Pro Gold, it seemed to work but it washes off easily.

Now I have been using the Dupont Teflon Mult-use lube from Lowes for years, and this stuff works and at $3.00 a can.

The thing is to maintain the chain and keep wear down on the cassette, but after 1000miles, the chain will stretch and still have to be replaced.

[DavieBoy29]

Don't know if this is dead yet but it's nice to see some other cyclists on here. Ran my first marathon this year so I'm setting a triathlon goal for myself. I ride a Specialized Venge Comp and love it so far. Looking to upgrade wheels soon as well as getting some carbon bars. I have my longer rides on Saturdays but i ride about 140 to 180 miles a month.

[Tracker]

have been slacking on sitting in here talking, the venge doesn't have carbon bars stock?, as someone who switched to zipp carbons from the stock shallow drop alloys,
do it in the name of ergonomics, the weight savings is negligible, you'll save more weight with a new set of wheels and tires and be out about the same amount of money depending on what kind of deals you can find

i have my triathlon sprint on saturday, i just did a 30 mile charity/memorial ride saturday. was a lot of fun getting a whole road to ourselves (me and about 300 other cyclists)

a few pics from the event

start location, a few packs had already started out

first mile was actually open road, that we were supposed to obey the laws,, didn't stop people from blocking the lane like jackasses... (also why i'm on the shoulder)

road closed ahead

open road for DAAAYS

bad accident up ahead.. guy crossed in front of a big pack, domino-ed a lot of them, one broken collarbone, lower back pain, bruises, cuts, scrapes, and some busted carbon, no head injuries though..

hotel in the distance is the turnaround (jean NV in case anyone's ever driven here from cali)

turn around point,, lots of people taking breaks milling about.. i stopped and refilled my bottles, and had a half a banana, figured i paid for it, might as well

the ride back looked about like that the whole way.. small groups here and there, i ended up linking in with a pack and didnt take any more pictures (just worked on keeping up i averaged 19mph for the last 14 miles..)

gratuitous bike shot

[DavieBoy29]

Nice man, I'm still contemplating signing up for the sprint on Sunday here in San Diego. It would be my first one. Have a torn rotator cuff so I have to be careful, but I'm stubborn and usually don't listen to my body anyways. PAIN IS WEAKNESS LEAVING THE BODY OOHRAH... I ride with a small group out of La Jolla CA. Great workout and a lot of fun. Wheels are gong to be my first upgrade for sure, right now working out a deal for some Reynolds.

[DavieBoy29]

[Tracker]

i got a buddy here locally selling a set of ultegra wheels for $200, interested?

[DavieBoy29]

appreciate the offer man but I'm gonna pass.

[Tracker]

no problem, thought id offer, reynolds makes great wheels, and if your going carbon, they have a 1 crash per wheel replacement policy, which is pretty unique, most companies will sell you a replacement at %50 off. which makes an $800 dollar replacement still really effing expensive

[Tracker]

oh FFS, i just got in a new set of wheels that i didn't pay enough attention to.. the front axle is setup as a through axle.. now i gotta contact the seller and be like "hey, I'm a moron and didn't see it was through axle front and QR rear.. can you send me the conversion axle?"

[Tracker]

so my unhappiness with the stock wheelset on my bike got to the point that i bought a replacement set off ebay, these are for cross, so i needed something better than junk, but not crazy expensive for those of you that dont know, 700c wheels ARE 29er wheels, something to keep in mind if you ever go discs on a road bike,

anyways, had a $25 off coupon for an ebay purchase, new set of rims for under 300? oh why not?, so now, my wheels that i saved $25 dollars on needs a $35 part to correct the problem.... sigh

[DavieBoy29]

I checked out a couple used sets of reynolds and I think I found my set. They were normally 2600 and the guy is offering them for 850 with continental tires included. Plus my local shop will set them up for me cause I sure as hell don't know how to do that yet. Ha. Need to learn though. I may sell my Carbon Luxe to offset the cost. I signed up for a Tri on Oct 1st here at Mission Bay, you interested?

[DavieBoy29]

Oct 4th I meant

[Tracker]

ill be in tahoe doing a spartan race that weekend, so ill have to pass, sounds like fun though

i just cant ****ing win with these wheels.. so i got the $25 dollar part (with 11 shipping) and i find out that these have an 10 speed hub on them stock.. and thats an $80 part... through creative gear stacking i can make my casette a 10 speed, BUT, my swifter is still an 11 speed, and shifting my chain off will cause a lot more than $80 in damages

[Tracker]

did my first tri today.. man that swim is brutal, wetsuits were allowed, ive had a 3mil shorty for years, figured id throw it on.. soo.. that was my first mistake.. this is more of a surfing wetsuit.. and i use it for diving and snorkeling as well... my second mistake is that i never tried it out before hand

i got about 1/8th of the way in and realized i couldnt breathe fully, because the suit was compressing my chest.. was was only getting about 50-75% of a breath.. so, never doing that one again. if im going to buy or rent a suit, ill be making sure its a tri specfic suit

the bike preformed perfectly, and the run was okay, 41 minutes for a 5k trail run isnt too crappy.. i finished 9th in my age group.. and pretty close to the top third overall.. so im really stoked about that

[DavieBoy29]

Nice man, the only thing I'm a little scared of is the swim. Biking and running I'll be ok
Have 2 weeks to prepare. Rode my bike yesterday with the new wheels and bar wrap, feels amazing. We need to ride someday brother. Maybe run a tri together...

[DavieBoy29]

New setup.

[Tracker]

yeah that setup looks nice, i would really love to pick up a venge one day, try out some full on weight weenie action.. i wonder if the extra 5-10 pounds im running would make that noticeable of a difference

the swim isnt bad, there no restriction on stroke, so if you get tired you can side stroke or float or something..

[aquadgio1]

I gotta dust off my FS Mtn bike and start shedding pounds.

[DavieBoy29]

Tracker, just curious. You said the swim was brutal because of the wetsuit. Dis you stop and rest at times or muscle through it. I might have to rest at times.