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Alibayexpress parts you love

HeadMaster

Chimp
Feb 8, 2019
65
211
Installed yet? How's the shifting? Those ramps look kinda straight compared to SRAM's.
Have that cassette on a couple bikes. Shifts solid, but not xo or xx1 level. The qc is def not as good. One of them has a slight wobble and more visible machine marks. Still both worth it.
 

canadmos

Cake Tease
May 29, 2011
21,943
21,464
Canaderp
Have that cassette on a couple bikes. Shifts solid, but not xo or xx1 level. The qc is def not as good. One of them has a slight wobble and more visible machine marks. Still both worth it.
How would you compare it to a GX or NX cassette?

I still have it in the box, so no idea how it actually functions yet. But for the cost of one XO1 cassette, you could buy almost 4 of these. And half the price of even a GX. :panic:
 

Balgaroth

Chimp
Oct 22, 2021
45
29
Alsace (FR)
Anyone here with some experience with Brake pads ? If I remember correctly some liked the COOMA Gold (metalic) but I am not the biggest fan of Metalic pads. Many "ceramic" pads are showing up now and I was wondering if anyone has some experience with these ?

So far I tried different pads as follow:
- EOOZ Semi-Metalic (Black): good initial bite, can fade during sustained long descents especially if heavy and running small pad surface (used them on Oro on the beater hardtail where I experienced fade on runs that tend to punish any brakes. The GF is using them and don't want anything else). Generally happy with them.
- COOMA "Resin Pad" (black): meh, not too bad, not great either, works ok, creates a lot of black dust.
- COOMA "EX Plus" (Silver): same same than the black, less brake dust, tend to glaze more easily than the Black version, Alu backing plate which doesn't fit well in some calipers (Saint pad, fit well in M810, doesn't in Tektro Orion). I noticed that the backing plate was all mangled at mid wear of the friction material, I'd stay away from these.
 

Neb

Chimp
Jul 13, 2019
1
1
I've some ceramic pads from both discobrakes (reviews seem good) and cooma ready to try so I'll feed back how I get on.

I'm on magura mt5 calipers, alu backing pads won't work with the magnets. I'm using ceramic to keep the heat away from the oil... see how we get on!

I've a week riding in Madeira coming up, so should go through a few sets.
 

Balgaroth

Chimp
Oct 22, 2021
45
29
Alsace (FR)
Anyone here with some experience with Brake pads ? If I remember correctly some liked the COOMA Gold (metalic) but I am not the biggest fan of Metalic pads. Many "ceramic" pads are showing up now and I was wondering if anyone has some experience with these ?

So far I tried different pads as follow:
- EOOZ Semi-Metalic (Black): good initial bite, can fade during sustained long descents especially if heavy and running small pad surface (used them on Oro on the beater hardtail where I experienced fade on runs that tend to punish any brakes. The GF is using them and don't want anything else). Generally happy with them.
- COOMA "Resin Pad" (black): meh, not too bad, not great either, works ok, creates a lot of black dust.
- COOMA "EX Plus" (Silver): same same than the black, less brake dust, tend to glaze more easily than the Black version, Alu backing plate which doesn't fit well in some calipers (Saint pad, fit well in M810, doesn't in Tektro Orion). I noticed that the backing plate was all mangled at mid wear of the friction material, I'd stay away from these.
So I went through 4 sets of Ceramic pads from EOOZ, blue color, branded AI Cycling. I can safely say that those are absolute garbage and should be avoided. No bite, the little bit of power completely disappear as soon as they heat up, worst pads I tried in a long time I'd rate them worse than any of the ones listed above.
Test was done with M810 calipers, on my main bike, local enduro trails as well as Morzine, les Gets and many other Alpine bike parks, they didn't perform adequately in any of these situations.
 

canadmos

Cake Tease
May 29, 2011
21,943
21,464
Canaderp
Has anyone found any glasses on there that come with a clear lens?

I've been looking but they all seem to be tinted or photochromatic.
 

Sandwich

Pig my fish!
Staff member
May 23, 2002
21,816
7,060
borcester rhymes
My photochromics are hardly photochromic...but they look cool and are great morning lenses (light tint). I guess I can't complain for $5.18.

I have these with a tinted lens, but it looks like you can also get clear;

I don't think I have these...yet:

Some of the "higher end" cheap sunglasses like rockbros or kapvoe come with three lenses. I just bought multiple pairs rather than try to change the lens on remarkably cheap glasses, but you can also go that route. My $19 rockbros are probably my favorite- best tint and best fit, but I wear almost all of my chinese shades on a rotating basis.
 

canadmos

Cake Tease
May 29, 2011
21,943
21,464
Canaderp
My photochromics are hardly photochromic...but they look cool and are great morning lenses (light tint). I guess I can't complain for $5.18.

I have these with a tinted lens, but it looks like you can also get clear;

I don't think I have these...yet:

Some of the "higher end" cheap sunglasses like rockbros or kapvoe come with three lenses. I just bought multiple pairs rather than try to change the lens on remarkably cheap glasses, but you can also go that route. My $19 rockbros are probably my favorite- best tint and best fit, but I wear almost all of my chinese shades on a rotating basis.
Cool, I ordered one of those pairs and a few others. We'll see. $60 for a few pairs, it'll be worth the loss if some aren't great, will just give them away.

Also purchased one of these bad boys.

:rofl:
 

Sandwich

Pig my fish!
Staff member
May 23, 2002
21,816
7,060
borcester rhymes
Cool, I ordered one of those pairs and a few others. We'll see. $60 for a few pairs, it'll be worth the loss if some aren't great, will just give them away.

Also purchased one of these bad boys.

:rofl:
honestly, Some of my pairs are terrible and some are downright impressive. The POC knockoffs are a bit sad, but the 100% things are actually pretty startling.

That thing though...you win. I hope you actually bought one.
 

Leafy

Monkey
Sep 13, 2019
637
410
Did anyone ever buy the aliexpress truing stand? The rear wheel on my dh bike is clapped (I’m surprised the tire stays in the bead.) but it came with a spare hoop. So I just need to relace.
 

Jm_

sled dog's bollocks
Jan 14, 2002
20,108
10,671
AK
Did anyone ever buy the aliexpress truing stand? The rear wheel on my dh bike is clapped (I’m surprised the tire stays in the bead.) but it came with a spare hoop. So I just need to relace.
You bike is a truing stand.
 

Leafy

Monkey
Sep 13, 2019
637
410
You bike is a truing stand.
For truing an already built wheel, sure that’s what I do now. I feel like I have a zero chance of dishing the wheel correctly building one from scratch in the bike. But I guess getting the rim centered in the frame is probably more important than being dished 0.
 
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Jm_

sled dog's bollocks
Jan 14, 2002
20,108
10,671
AK
For truing an already built wheel, sure that’s what I do now. I feel like I have a zero chance of dishing the wheel correctly building one from scratch in the bike. But I guess getting the rim centered in the frame is probably more important than being dished 0.
That's just the thing, do you want your wheel dished to theoretical zero or dished to be centered in your frame? If you want the second, which I would assume the majority of people do, your frame works just fine for this.
 

Jm_

sled dog's bollocks
Jan 14, 2002
20,108
10,671
AK
And now I got a laser-level (not expensive), so I can check out my rear wheel even better compared to the rear triangle.
 

Gary

my pronouns are hag/gis
Aug 27, 2002
8,509
6,420
UK
if trueing in the frame simply flip the wheel in the dropouts to check dish.
 

Fat Larry

Chimp
Feb 3, 2022
19
8
I put the Uno stem and bars on my jump bike recently but i concussed myself either the day i last posted here or the day after and haven't been able to ride since so can't report how they are. Pass inspection well though. Bars are light and there's nothing untoward in fit or finish on the stem.

I'm looking to get some glasses and a shell jacket at the moment. Maybe some pants as well. Anyone have suggestions?

Loads of cheap glasses around, then there's the Rockbros stuff at another price level.
 
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HardtailHack

used an iron once
Jan 20, 2009
7,722
7,073
if trueing in the frame simply flip the wheel in the dropouts to check dish.
Yup, what this guy says.
My bike lives with a truing cabletie on the chainstay, it has a 45deg angle cut on it so it scrapes a little line in the dust where it touches. A mate loaned me a Park stand but I still did it that way because I couldn't be arsed taking the wheel out and aiming for perfection on a hardtail is stupid.
 

slimshady

¡Mira, una ardilla!
Yup, what this guy says.
My bike lives with a truing cabletie on the chainstay, it has a 45deg angle cut on it so it scrapes a little line in the dust where it touches. A mate loaned me a Park stand but I still did it that way because I couldn't be arsed taking the wheel out and aiming for perfection on a hardtail is stupid.
I asked a guy from PB to send me his STL file for a simple portable truing thingy, and I have to admit it was one of the coolest additions to my travel tool stash:

20171108_122310.jpg
 

Sandwich

Pig my fish!
Staff member
May 23, 2002
21,816
7,060
borcester rhymes
I put the Uno stem and bars on my jump bike recently but i concussed myself either the day i last posted here or the day after and haven't been able to ride since so can't report how they are. Pass inspection well though. Bars are light and there's nothing untoward in fit or finish on the stem.

I'm looking to get some glasses and a shell jacket at the moment. Maybe some pants as well. Anyone have suggestions?

Loads of cheap glasses around, then there's the Rockbros stuff at another price level.
So I have 5 or 6 pairs of cheap sunglasses off of aliexpress/amazon. My favorites are the rockbros. I paid about 20 for the rockbros, and like $5 for each other pair. Some of the other pairs have similar rubberized nosepieces and ear pieces, and they all have decent optical clarity, but the tinting on the bros is best, the comfort is best, and the fit is best. I am honestly considering buying a second set or some "Kapvoe" sunglasses that are similar in quality and pricepoint.

tl;dr the rockbros are probably worth it.

My parents got me this off of amazon (where do you think I get my cheapness from, anyways?) https://www.amazon.com/ARSUXEO-Softshell-Windproof-Waterproof-Mountain/dp/B015H1SPK8/ref=sr_1_7?crid=3D98OOMGK8XBL&keywords=cycling+jacket&qid=1663848686&sprefix=cycling+jacke,aps,239&sr=8-7 and it's OK. It doesn't breathe well but I don't really want it to, necessarily. It fits well and appears well constructed.
 

slimshady

¡Mira, una ardilla!
How does that work?
You attach it to the chainstay with a rubber band using the curly braces, it holds the "feeler" (the rectangular piece inside the body) tight enough to allow you to push it against the side of the rim and true it. The little step at the end of the feeler also allows you to true it vertically.

It has saved a couple of friends on aour multi-day alpine rides so far.

If anyone is interested in printing one of these, let me know and I'll find a way to send the STL files.
 

canadmos

Cake Tease
May 29, 2011
21,943
21,464
Canaderp
So I have 5 or 6 pairs of cheap sunglasses off of aliexpress/amazon. My favorites are the rockbros. I paid about 20 for the rockbros, and like $5 for each other pair. Some of the other pairs have similar rubberized nosepieces and ear pieces, and they all have decent optical clarity, but the tinting on the bros is best, the comfort is best, and the fit is best. I am honestly considering buying a second set or some "Kapvoe" sunglasses that are similar in quality and pricepoint.

tl;dr the rockbros are probably worth it.

My parents got me this off of amazon (where do you think I get my cheapness from, anyways?) https://www.amazon.com/ARSUXEO-Softshell-Windproof-Waterproof-Mountain/dp/B015H1SPK8/ref=sr_1_7?crid=3D98OOMGK8XBL&keywords=cycling+jacket&qid=1663848686&sprefix=cycling+jacke,aps,239&sr=8-7 and it's OK. It doesn't breathe well but I don't really want it to, necessarily. It fits well and appears well constructed.
I purchased Kapvoe glasses and they seem okay. They have rubber on the nose and ear pieces. Its nice that they came with like 6 different lenses as well (even if one in the booklet says "not good for biking" lol). The case they came in is nice as well. BUT, they look very bulky and they don't seem to fit very snuggly on my head, so I haven't actually tried them out yet. Feels like they'll slide down when on the trail.

I also purchased two pairs (one clear and one tinted) of $4 glasses. Rubber nose piece, everything else is plastic. These I actually like better. They are light, unobtrusive and fit to my head better, even without the rubber on the ears. I wore the clear ones last night and they did their job. I'd buy them again if they break - heck maybe I'll buy more just in case, for $4 they aren't bad. I'll post up the link to them if I can find them.

Everyone loved the rainbow faceshield thing when I pulled up in the parking lot last night. :rofl:

I put the Uno stem and bars on my jump bike recently but i concussed myself either the day i last posted here or the day after and haven't been able to ride since so can't report how they are. Pass inspection well though. Bars are light and there's nothing untoward in fit or finish on the stem.

I'm looking to get some glasses and a shell jacket at the moment. Maybe some pants as well. Anyone have suggestions?

Loads of cheap glasses around, then there's the Rockbros stuff at another price level.