k Speaker: Welcome to the GCN Tech Clinic where
we aim to solve your problems and answer your questions preferably about bikes. You can
submit your questions using the #askGCNTech. Also, drop them in the comments section down
below this video and all other forms of social media. Adam D asks, "You two are always great."
Also, a quick question, "If you're in a competition race like the Tour de France can the racers
wear cameras?" No, the racers aren't allowed to wear cameras
on their body like GoPro action cameras on chest mounts and head cams and stuff like
that. The bikes can wear cameras. You're not allowed
to put any old camera on your bike. They have to be cameras sanctioned by the event and
the organizers. We often see special Shimano cameras put on board the bike sometimes their
front-facing, sometimes their rearward-facing. This is something that we're going to see
more of in the future and as part of the racing coverage that we're going to be doing more
of on GCN. You're going to see more integration of that
in the app as well and that's going to be really exciting because as technology is improving,
I think road cycling and racing is going to become a more immersive experience for the
viewers with hopefully more cameras and more data being live streamed. The future looks
good in that respect but it's definitely going to improve.
The next question is from Ouel Pacla, who says, "With the popularity of cyclocross and
gravel biking, why does no one use internal gear hubs since its made to resist all the
muds and dirt that can ruin your gears?" That is a good question actually. There are a few
reasons. The main one is weight, internal hub gear systems generally weigh more and
that's a big detraction for pro cyclocross racers. One of the other reasons is drivetrain
resistance. It's said that a derailleur system with pulley wheels offers less friction in
the drivetrain and that it's a little bit more efficient with drivetrain efficiency.
The other thing is wheel changes for a lot of the people. If you're racing cross then
they're routinely swapping out wheels where they might need to swap out wheels at which
point changing a rear wheel when it's got internal hub gears isn't as quick as just
swapping out one from a standard derailleur. That's the other kind of reason. You do raise
a good point and it'll be interesting to see if tech does evolve in the future to keep
gears more contained and clean for those really muddy dirty environments.
The next question is from Sachi who says, "Should I change from Shimano clipless pedals
to Look clipless pedals?" Short answer? No. I would say the same if you're going either
way from Look to Shimano. It's probably not worth doing the two-pedal systems are both
excellent and they're both tried and tested and they're both very similar. I don't see
what you're going to gain by switching from one to the other. Look, I said to be slightly
more aerodynamic than Shimano. I'm going to guess that's incredibly marginal even the
stack height of the two pedals is very similar. Shimano does have a slightly wider platform
on which the cleat rests but, again, it's not much and I reckon if you were going to
try and do a blind test, you'd be hard-pressed to tell the difference between the two if
you're blindfolded. Having said that, it's more important to know why you're considering
the change. You haven't put that in your question but
if you've got knee problems, then you may need to look at something else. Your pedals,
maybe you need more float at which point you might want to change type of cleats you're
using in the case of Shimano or you might want to consider a whole another pedal system.
Something like Speedplay which has a lot more float and a more adjustability within the
pedal system itself. We've got a question now from Italo Cecareli,
I hope I pronounced that correctly, probably haven't. Who says, "Hello, I've got a 1999
Prologo oval Titanio with a 10-speed [unintelligible 00:04:16] aluminum wheels. I'm trying to update
and modernize the bike a bit. Right now I only have funds for a wheelset. Will I be
able to ride an 11-speed wheelset with the 10-speed speed Valachi? Thanks."
A good question. A nice signing project that you're updating that bike, that's really cool.
Thanks to the bike. Yes, you can run 10-speed Valachi on an 11-speed freehub body. That's
11-speed wheel. It's simple, you just put a spacer on the freehub body. These often
come with bikes, if not, they're available for not much money at all from most bike shops
or online retailers. If you're not sure, your local bike shop will be able to help you out
but it's a very simple thing to be able to do.
Next question is from Oswalt who says, "Can you put Ultegra R8000 jockey wheels on Shimano
105 R7000?" Yes, you can, you can even swap Gerace jockey wheels from Gerace 9000 into
there if you really wanted to. Yes, the parts are interchangeable. We've got a question
here from Alex Chutney who says, "Do you have any advice on how to take the big white stickers
off the rim on Mavic Aksium wheels to look more slick and black in a way that does not
damage the wheels cosmetic?" Fortunately, Alex Gruby, little-fingered friend,
John, has actually done this and done a video on this very subject. Acetone is the way to
go or another solvent similar to that. You can probably use some petroleum spirit as
well and some elbow grease. Once you get on there, you get the solvent on there, it should
help remove the glue which is bonding the stickers. I suggest using a lint-free cloth
as well as that will help. Just wipe away. Don't use an abrasive cloth, don't use like
a kitchen scourer with an abrasive thing on it because that will rub away and also really
powerful solvents can remove the paint as well as the decals, more decals. Be wary of
that. Acetone should be fine with that. Our last
question this week comes from Stan Jakobson who says, "Hi GCN, I have an FSA crank set
that I'm trying to get off. My problem is that the self-extracting crank arm system
isn't working. I got the bolt out but the arm didn't come off and I can't seem to move
it. Do you have any advice? Thanks." Well, Stan, thanks for getting in touch. Self-extracting
crank bolts can be a brilliant system but they can also be a bit of a pain especially
if you get it wrong. So long as the cap is fully threaded into the crank arm, you can
undo the bolt and it will pull the crank arm off.
Now, the most common reason for self-extracting bolts to fail is because the threads on the
cap have been stripped, which can happen and then it becomes very difficult to remove.
Based on your question, I don't think this is an issue for you because as you've said,
the bolt has come out of the arm and it's still in one place.
Without sounding quite patronizing, I would say really double-check that you've got that
cap in place that you can then pull against when you extract it. Check that it's fully
threaded in before trying to undo the bolt. If you still have a problem, then I would
say take it to a professional mechanic, a local bike shop. When you have these issues
of self-extracting bolts, it really does highlight the beauty and the simplicity of just the
Shimano system with the top cap so easy. Well, that's all we've got time for this week.
I hope you've found this GCN technically useful. As ever, remember to get your questions in,
in the comment section down below and well seek to answer them. If you put your question
in below this video, there's a very good chance we'll answer it next week, so please do that.
Also, don't forget, head over to the GCN shop if you'd like to get your hands on a workshop
for an awesome cool GCN merge. [00:08:42] [END OF AUDIO]