Unfortunately the S&S stuff is a high-PTFE grease. I’d love to figure out a PFAS-free alternative, but don’t know enough about why they think this particular grease is needed.
That sucks, but I use so little of it - and so infrequently - that a less than pinkie-sized tube still has a bunch left. Maybe when it’s time to get a new tube there’ll be an alternative.
Stainless-on-stainless thread galling is a huge PITA, maybe they are being extra cautious?
dumonde liquid grease is awesome. from what i gather though, it’s the same polymers as dumonde lite and heavy chain lube but even more dummy thicc. which is not a bad thing
Any opinion on blue threadloc - stick vs drip for bike bolts?
I like the 248 stick for stem bolts, hollowtech pinch bolts, and other similar things. I’ve started using 609 for things like chainring bolts that you will only break loose if you are removing something. It seems to perform well. Based on my totally un-scientific process, I have come to the assumption that several OEMS are using 609 or something also green and similar for their bolts.
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Just for kicks, I visited the SandSMachine website to see about their rationale for the toxic grease for the stainless steel couplers.
God, it’s a time capsule of the old weird internet and the waves of nostalgia made me dizzy.
Gotta hand it to them, though. They did the work to choose that grease.
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beautiful. brings a tear to my eye.
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I haven’t had an s&s bike in a decade but still have the syringe of fluo grease. Little spurts of it get used for special occasions.
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yeah that makes me want to have a small tube for specific uses
What is the state of travel bikes? Seems like S&S isn’t as common since it’s generally for custom metal bikes and people with custom bike money can usually afford airline fees? I imagine it was more popular back when airlines were less bike friendly?
joined tarck to buy your bike but didn’t commit enough
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i never liked the idea that you could go through the trouble of getting a s&s coupled bike, breaking it down, meticulously packing it in a 26x26x10 box, then still be faced with the possibility of extra airline fees unless I told the airline employee that it was an art piece and not a bicycle.
Oh and if you decided you wanted to protect your new bike with a nice hard case? That’s 51 pounds, give us all the money you have in your pockets currently.
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Yes this is why I sold it. Too much work considering you generally face the same outcome with a cardboard box. Also requiring extra tools due to more complex disassembly. It may help if you’re expecting to be picked up in a small car or something like that. Never really happened to me. Got picked up by friends but their small cars had bike racks.
I’ve always used water-based lubes for this
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It was definitely more important when I got it, circa 2013. Back then you would be hit with $150-200+ fees per leg for oversized and bicycle. I was never charged an extra fee, so it paid for itself in a few trips.
It was a glorious few years of touring, and beyond the flights it was useful as hell.
Story time: I was snowed in in Sarajevo - winter hit, knee-deep, and the plows didn’t touch the shoulders of the roads at all, so it was incredibly dangerous even if I had the clothing and the roads were generally clear.
So, after a few weeks, I got bored and booked a shuttle to Belgrade. I paid extra for one with a bike rack, and when the van showed up - one of those extended jobs with four rows of seats - oof, no bike rack. Driver said he couldn’t guarantee getting one, even if the site said so.
With a normal bike, it’d be a disaster, but I just undid some cables and the couplers, folded the bike in half, threw it on top of the luggage in the back and away we went.
I had a few situations like that, when making the bike half as long let me fit it into a space too small for a 60cm bike.
I’m really lucky I snagged the Vaya Travel when I did - they only offered it for three years IIRC, and I got a big discount on a stainless steel coupler bike. Win win.
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Anyone use Silca Super Secret drip wax and find it not lasting as long over the life of a chain?
I’ve been using this stuff for a couple of years now and it seemed to last maybe 100-150 miles on the road bike before it got really noisy, but now it seems to only last a few hours.
I boiled the chain and then warmed both the chain and the lube before reapplying but it’s not any better. The bottle of lube itself is probably about a year and a half old by this point.
ShartQ: real talk can I, a man of substance™, get away with using hookless carbon rims?
24mm ID.
a) OK on a 29er mtb with 2.3-2.6 tires, at normal mtb pressures?
b) OK on a gravel bike with 40c-48c tires, at higher gravel bikey pressures?
Local dude is selling some used but in good shape DT Swiss XMC 1200 rims. 700c, 24mm ID, hookless, carpet fiber. $80 for the pair.
I can’t find pics online, which makes me think they are older, but they’re in fine shape.
I am hesitating, I don’t have a burning need, but could be good project wheelset for my gravel/pukebacking bike, which I need a dyno wheelset for.
I’d say as long as you avoid goofy Panaracer-made tires, you’d be fine in a or b scenario.
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you should have zero issues with MTB tires at MTB pressures (although imho 2.6" tires are on the wide side for those rims); hookless has been the norm for MTB stuff for a long time. Depending on what pressure you want to run, you should be fine with the gravel tires as well.
I’ve been running rene herse RTPs (26" x 53mm) at ~40psi on chinese hookless rims for several thousand miles and haven’t died yet.
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