Bicycles!

Does it give you an aero advantage?

I have bright orange caps which only purpose is to
find them easily

Been slacking lately, couldnt be bothered to go ride since february, need to get off mybass…
 
Got the fenders in and took a little ride, Tuesday.


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That reminds me, Since getting my Specialized bike in '08 or something, I have yet to put brakes on it and they're disk, I'm pretty sure they're worn out by now.
 
Possibly. Depends on how much/hard it's been ridden.
Until I got my license, it was used quite a lot as a vehicle. I used to bike 8mi from my parents to in town with it and did many camping/bike trips with it. It's been to Florida 3 times and North Carolina once.
 
Not quite my cup of tea… but then I have red spoke nipples so I really shouldn’t comment too loudly ??

I didn’t expect them to be so huge! Now I’m far too amused not to keep them on, at least for a little while.

Does it give you an aero advantage?

I hope there’s some aero advantage to compensate for the extra unsprung weight. ?
 
Paging @Eye-Q in particular, but everyone else is welcome to chime in if they know anything that can be of help.

So, I've got a road bike from 2005 that's by now in desperate need of a new drive train (chain, cassette, chainrings). And I am unable to find the fitting parts.
Here's what I know:
  • Shimano 105 throughout
  • 3*9 gears
  • chainrings: 52/42/30, five screws towards the crank
  • cassette: 25-12
  • The rear hub reads "FH-5501". No other markings visible.
Is anyone able to point me in the right direction? Model designations, compability lists to newer stuff, online shops that sell the needed parts?
 
If you want to just change out the consumables, the 9 speed Road group is now basically just Sora. 105 only exists in 11 speed anymore. It may be hard to get your hands on parts, lead times are multiple weeks mostly, it seems…

What currently runs as Sora should be compatible with all the old 3x9 105 stuff, see description of this part here: https://www.bike24.de/p18008.html (basically: all 9 speed components will work, chain linked in the related parts
A different cassette “size” should work, but probably shouldn’t exceed 25 teeth just to be safe (may need larger mech cage, not worth starting to mess with that as well).

Individual chainrings will probably be harder to find than a full crank set … it’s crap, but at least I couldn’t find 3x9 sora chainrings anywhere. Full crankset is then again dependent on your bottom bracket type and size afaik, but Sth like this should work fine with the rest of the components (especially the existing derailleur, never mind 4/5 arm design): https://www.bike24.de/p1175084.html

my bike is running ultegra 6800 at least, which is new enough to basically be the same as current 105 (7000) - best of luck, I have no idea where to reliably find the stuff currently. I personally buy 90% at bike-components.de (support local or whatever?), but they’re out of everything, too - just like everyone else.
 
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Ooh, that's tough....

Apparently the 5500 series was in production from 1999 to 2005 so it has been out of production for more than 15 years. With the changing setup of the middle and upper tier groupsets from three to two or just one ring in the front and cassettes from 9 to 11, 12 or even 13 sprockets in the rear it's hard to get spare parts which are not shitty. You won't be able to fit a cassette with more than 10 sprockets to the free wheel, and even if you wanted to you'd have to swap the rear derailleur and STI and possibly the brake which is connected to that STI.

The cassette which is listed as compatible in the Shimano archive (compatibility list 2005-2006) is the CS-HG50-9 or CS-HG70-9, but the CS-HG50-9 seems to be the one which is available. You could get lucky with this auction or just buy it now for 30 Euros.

As for the chain you can take any chain which is advertised as suitable for 9 speeds since the key is obviously the width of the chain. Chains for single speed/internal gearing hubs are too wide while chains for 10/11/12 speeds are too narrow.

As eizbaer wrote the issue will be the chainrings and to be honest I don't know if current Sora or Tiagra cranksets (Tiagra is still available with three chainrings) really are compatible with the old 105 front derailleur. Sora is the cheapest groupset from Shimano so I think that would be a step down even from an old 105 set. You could swap the front derailleur and shifter as well, but then you'd have to check compatibility with the brakes on your bike since those can be incompatible to the STIs as well.
 
Thanks guys, I'll look into it. :)

I realize that availability right now is bad and I will likely have to wait several months for the parts anyway. That can't be helped.

Regarding the chainrings, I'd very much like not to buy a whole crankset as I have a custom setup with longer cranks than standard.
And if I have to change the derailleurs (and therefore shifters) I might just go for a brandnew bike. :rofl:
 
Not trying to criticize your approach here, but genuinely curious: why upgrade the drivetrain instead of replacing the entire bike? Here I've found it to be the far more economical approach, even without accounting for the time and effort required to do the work of sourcing, waiting, and installing all the parts.

Obviously the economics may differ for you, or you may just simply want to wrench, or the bike may be sentimental, etc.—I'm just wondering about the rationale.

No real advice here otherwise, just wishing you the best of luck and more riding! :D
 
Well, the bike as such is still fine. New drive train and a proper alignment of everything, and it's good for another ten years with minimal servicing. I should also replace the brake pads and cables, but that's easily done by myself.
I did the same (new drive train and a professional service) with my other bike last year, and that cost me €200 (€110 for parts and €90 for having them installed and a routine service done). A new bike is much more expensive.

Edit: Well - at this point the necessary parts are not readily available anyway. But neither are new bikes.
While a new bike has some appeal - mainly disc brakes as the major technological advancement - I really don't feel the need for the hassle that comes with searching for a suitable replacement for my tried and trusted bike. And while I can go shopping for parts on the Internet, shopping for a new bike requires in-person shopping and test rides.

Also, I don't like wrenching. :p I can hold my own fixing/adjusting brakes and shifters, and of course dealing with tyres, but anything that involves the drivetrain components I leave to professionals.

But come to think of it: @Eye-Q, any advice on products (available in Germany) to properly clean and lubricate the chain, derailleurs and stuff? Looking at the components in detail (to count the teeth...) has made me realize how utterly fucked up dirty they are.
 
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For cleaning the drivetrain I use Muc-Off drivetrain cleaner, the rest I basically just rinse with water and a sponge. Lubrication depends in whether you cycle mainly when it's dry, then I'd use regular chain oil, but there is special oil for wet weather conditions.
 
Also, I don't like wrenching. :p I can hold my own fixing/adjusting brakes and shifters, and of course dealing with tyres, but anything that involves the drivetrain components I leave to professionals.
Tbh changing out the “consumables” is super easy, just requires some special tools. So if you’re capable of adjusting the shifters, you’re more than set for this as well.

as you say you don’t like wrenching… well fair enough!

regarding the cleaning, I support all that above: some random degreaser, otherwise just (soapy if needed) water and a soft sponge. Oil: anything really…
 
@DanRoM Thanks for explaining! I've never had that low of an amount be a realistic option, so sell old + buy new was always at least comparable cost-wise, with the added benefit of a generally nicer bike, so it seemed like an odd choice. Best of luck with the project!
 
Decided to go back to sensible plastic valve stem caps. All that unsprung weight was slowing me down. ?


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For those wondering why I did any of this, I realized three of my four original plastic ones were broken, and didn’t think the metal ones would be that big. I chuckled at the comedy for a few days, but ultimately ordered a 20-pack of the ones I actually want on there.
 
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