I like wrenching on my own bikes. Often, the challenge with working on a bicycle is actually holding the thing upright while you do your thing.
A Park Tool PCS-10 clamping workstand for bicycles. The clamp head is holding up the bike on its seatpost. Image courtesy of BikeRadar.com.
I used to prop the bicycle with one of my arms or hands while I had my Allen wrench in the other…not exactly ideal. This is why a workstand is so helpful. These devices clamp onto the seat tube or top tube and suspend the bike in mid-air, freeing both your hands for the actual dirty work. Unfortunately, most clamping workstands are also expensive, with many models costing around PhP10,000 on their own.
DIY bike mechanics need not fret, however. Most of the jobs on a bike require a stable way of lifting the rear wheel clear off the ground, from my experience. I came across Minoura’s DS-30AL display stand, which does exactly that.
The Minoura DS-30AL display stand in folded form. Note that the stand’s tubes are naturally bowed inward due to an innate leaf spring effect.
SPECIFICATIONS
Made in Japan
Made of lightweight aluminum alloy tubing and ABS plastic
Accommodates both 130 and 135mm hub widths
Accommodates most quick releases except Campagnolo and Fulcrum
Two locking height positions can accommodate 18″, 20″, 26″ and 29″/700C wheels
Simple operation
Folds flat when not in use
Weight: 420g
OPERATION
The DS-30AL is basically a pair of roughly U-shaped aluminum alloy tubes joined by two tough ABS plastic pivots. One pivot has a round cup, while the other pivot has a slotted cup. The round cup fits over the adjustment nut for the quick-release skewer like a sleeve, while the slotted cup accepts the other end with the quick-release lever.
The slotted cup. This end pivot is meant to cradle the quick-release lever.The round cup. This pivot end is meant to go over the adjustment nut on a quick-release skewer.
The round cup end pivot has two notches. The notch closer to the default folded or “center” setting is the height for 26″ and 29″ mountain bikes and 700C road bikes. The other is the height for 18″ and 20″ bikes – a common size for folding bikes and mini velos.
These are the two notches for setting the height. The one closer to the center is the taller setting for a full-sized bike with wheels of 26″, 29″ and 700C size. It would likely work with a 650B MTB wheel too. The notch farther from the center is for small-wheeled 18″ or 20″ bikes.The taller height for 26″, 650B, 29″ and 700C wheels.The shorter, squatter height for 18″ and 20″ mini velos and folding bikes.
With a bit of finagling (there is no owner’s manual or instruction booklet), I figured out that the best way of getting both cups onto the ends of the rear axle is to do it while the alloy tubes are hanging off behind the rear wheel. The U-shaped tubes have a “leaf spring” effect, which you will have to counteract while clamping them onto the ends of the rear axle.
Once the cups are in place, the same leaf spring effect keeps them secure. You then open up the U-shaped tubes along their pivots to either of the notches for the desired height setting, then turn the entire assembly downward so that the tubes now support and lift the bike’s rear wheel. You will want to position the rear quick-release lever in a vertical position for best results, as the slotted cup tends to pop out if the lever is oriented horizontally – and may hit the center of your rear brake rotor.
The DS-30AL in action, propping up my Dahon Vitesse T10.The DS-30AL provides about 5-6 cm of rear wheel lift on a 20″ folding bike.
Used with care, the result is a very useful yet inexpensive “workstand” equivalent that will help in a lot of DIY bicycle maintenance and adjustment jobs. I’ve used the DS-30AL for rear and front derailleur cable tension and indexing adjustment, cleaning and lubing a chain, checking the rear tire for debris and cuts, and disc and rim brake adjustment. It’s a good workstand equivalent for these jobs because it raises the rear wheel of my 9kg TCX SLR 2 a good couple of centimeters, and my 13kg Vitesse T10 even higher – perfect for spinning the cranks and performing test shifts. Once done, just fold it flat and hide it away in a cranny or load it in your car.
The only improvements I can suggest to Minoura are to provide a set of hard rubber sleeves for the bottoms of the tubes. When used on a polished floor and while spinning the cranks on a lifted bike, the stand tends to slip a little. For heavier bikes, Minoura makes a heavy-duty steel version, the DS-80.
Used on my Giant TCX SLR 2, the DS-30AL provides 2 cm of stable rear-wheel lift.
Best of all, it won’t put a dent in your finances the same way a real workstand will. I got the DS-30AL for just under PhP700. At that price, you’re getting a dependable addition to your tool cabinet. With the help of YouTube videos, some practice, mechanical sympathy, and a small complement of tools, just about anybody can perform do-it-yourself maintenance, adjustments and repairs on a bicycle.
VERDICT
Highly recommended for the budding bike mechanic, and recommended for just about everyone else.
Riding my Vitesse T10 day in and day out led me to a few realizations on what I wanted out of a bicycle. The little blue Dahon is a great machine, but not without flaws – many of which are just inherent to the small 20″ (406mm) wheel size and the folding bike form factor.
After lots of contemplation and study, I realized I wanted a cyclocross bike.
Mud, drop handlebars, running, and flying remounts – this is cyclocross. Photo from cxmagazine.com.
WHAT IS CYCLOCROSS?
For the uninitiated, cyclocross (or “CX” for short) is a sport originally meant to keep competitive road bike riders busy in the off-season cold of winter – but quickly developed into its own discipline. CX riders race their bikes in varying terrains normally unsuitable for a road bike, such as mud, snow, sand and gravel, so they run wider tires than road bikes do. The mud can clog up the caliper brakes on a normal road bike, so they run cantilevers instead. Riders may even have to dismount and shoulder their bikes while running and jumping over obstacles they can’t ride through, such as stairs and logs. Despite rising to popularity fairly recently in the Philippines, as a competitive discipline CX is much older than mountain biking (MTB).
Rider Don Myrah shouldering his cyclocross bike as he runs across a log. The rider behind him is in the middle of a running dismount. Photo courtesy of cxmagazine.com.
In 2010, competitive cycling’s governing body, the UCI, formally accepted the use of disc brakes for the unique demands of cyclocross. Normally the preserve of mountain bikes, this meant that dependable all-weather stopping power was now in reach for people who didn’t want MTBs, and served as impetus for mainstream road bikes to get their own disc brakes in the next three years.
A shot from the 2013 Cyclocross World Championship Masters men’s event. Notice the brakes on these two bikes – the left one uses cantilevers, while the yellow bike on the right has discs. Photo from cxmagazine.com.
Still confused? Here’s a video to show it all in motion.
CX = COMMUTER?
For the average Juan and Juana, a cyclocross bike can make sense as an all-weather commuter bicycle. The classic mile-munching road bike position is altered just slightly, with more relaxed geometry and a taller head tube made for greater comfort over long rides, and the large 700c wheels make for efficient progress and a higher speed range. However, they detract from the cut-and-thrust agility of a small-wheeled folding bike or mini velo, which is useful in urban gridlock.
A disc-equipped Surly Straggler fitted with a rack, full-length fenders and a front dynamo hub. Photo from joe-bike.com.
With disc brakes, a CX rider does not lose braking power when it rains or when the rims get wet. While made tougher than a road bike, a cyclocross bike doesn’t carry the added weight of a MTB and its suspension. Many CX bikes have eyelets for racks and fenders, both for loaded touring and to keep a rider and the bike’s drivetrain safe from dirty standing water.
Lastly, the wider tire fitment allows riders to run a little less air pressure for more ride comfort. Wider rubber is also a good fit for the bad potholes, ruts and road acne that characterize the typical Philippine urban street. With proper tire choice, fire roads and light trails aren’t off-limits either. In better conditions, traditional thin-width road bike tires can be fitted on a CX bike if the rider chooses.
CHOICES, CHOICES
As with many major things we plan to buy, we all have non-negotiables. Mine were disc brakes and mounts/eyelets for racks and fenders, and it had to be either a cyclocross bike, or an “endurance” road bike with the relaxed geometry to ride long-distance sportives or gran fondos in comfort.
My original choice was a Jamis Nova Sport, with a Claris drivetrain, Tektro Lyra disc brakes, and classic CX top-tube cable routing. Great value, but I waited for months in vain for stocks to arrive. Photo from cxmagazine.com.
The relative novelty of CX bikes in the Philippine context means building one from scratch isn’t the best way to go – especially since disc brake options for road bike levers are few and far between in the aftermarket. The best-known of these is Avid’s single-piston BB7, available in both Road and Mountain versions, differing in cosmetics and cable-pull ratio.
Initially I was keen on relatively inexpensive built-bike options that had 8-speed drivetrains, such as the Jamis Nova Sport, thinking that upgrading cogs would be easier than the braking system. Unfortunately, none of them were in stock – even after months of waiting.
A Giant Anyroad 1. This was attractive because of the good stock spec: Avid BB7 brakes, a wide-range Tiagra-class 2×10 drivetrain, and those uniquely shaped interrupter brake levers on the bar tops. Sadly I couldn’t get one in my size with this spec. The best I saw were Anyroad 2s in a size too small for me.
Moving up a notch on the pricing ladder meant bikes with 9- and 10-speed drivetrains. I had my sights on Giant’s Anyroad gravel racer, willing to give up a second bottle mount and awkward rack mounting for BB7 brakes and a drivetrain revolving around Tiagra-class parts and a Deore XT 11-34T MTB cassette. Disappointingly however, there was no stock of the bike in my size and desired spec.
The Orbea Avant H10D. Very good spec, but just a smidge too expensive – even in frameset form.
Spanish bike maker Orbea also popped up in my radar with their Avant H10D. TriSwimBikeRun is the closest local bike shop to where I live and they happen to sell Orbea bikes. The Avant is their endurance road bike model, and the aluminum-framed H10D variant is equipped from the factory with Shimano BR-R317 road mechanical disc brakes – very rarely seen on the aftermarket. Alas, while the cleverly hidden fender and rack mounts increase utility, the Avant H10D was priced a little out of my budget, limited to 28mm-width tires, and designed a little too cleverly.
AND THEN…
LifeCycle then offered me the Giant TCX SLR 2. At a slight premium over the Anyroad, it had everything I wanted, and then some. The componentry this bike came with beat out the Orbea Avant H10D’s, and pretty much future-proofed it for me.
Straight out of the box.Rear non-drive side chainstay with TRP’s Spyre twin-piston mechanical disc brake caliper. Older single-piston designs such as Avid’s BB7 and Shimano’s BR-R317 push and bend the rotor toward an inboard “fixed piston.” You can see the rack eyelet on the right.Mang Boy of LifeCycle Makati performing final assembly. Gotta like his workstand!Shimano 105 FD-5700-F braze-on front derailleur.FSA Omega 46-36T double crankset spinning within a BB86 press-fit MegaExo bottom bracket.Shimano 105 RD-5700-SS rear derailleur mated to a Tiagra CS-4600 12-30T cassette. I have the exact same cassette on my Vitesse.A look at the inboard side of the TRP Spyre front brake caliper. Pad spacing is adjustable on both sides.Official UCI clearance stamp for cyclocross racing above the Giant spec and size decals.A decent saddle made for Giant by Velo. A white saddle on a CX bike? It looks nice, but I wonder what they’re smoking over at the factory in Taichung…Shimano 105 ST-5700 STI lever for the rear shifting and brakes mounted on a Giant Sport anatomic drop handlebar.My cockpit. Yes, Giant throws in a dinky little bell and front reflector. Yes, that’s white bar tape on a CX bike. Yes, it gets dirty quickly. No, I don’t know what they smoke at the Taichung factory. 🙂Front fork and handlebar.Presenting my TCX SLR 2 in commuter duds with lights on. No rack and fenders yet, though. Check out the U-lock “mounting.”Lights off, and with one f-stop worth’s light over the previous photo.“Crouching Dahon, hidden roadie”
RETURN TO FORM
It had been almost 15 years since I last rode a road bike and it took some patience to get used to the sleek riding position again. Once I did, though, the TCX came alive. The frame has both light weight and stiffness, harnessing all my pedaling power without flexing or creaking, while the carbon-fiber fork and seatpost take the sting out of Manila’s pockmarked roads. Shimano 105 STI levers and derailleurs smartly shove the KMC X10 chain across a familiar Tiagra 12-30T cassette and an FSA Omega 46-36T double crankset. Best of all, the TCX came with TRP’s twin-piston Spyre calipers – arguably the best mechanical disc brakes around. All of this rode on Giant S-X2 wheels shod with bespoke knobbly Schwalbe rubber. I thought the Anyroad 1 looked handsome in its gray and blue, but heck, the TCX SLR 2’s stealthy gloss black finish with red and white accents is pretty damn good too.
Cockpit pieces may get swapped out as I go, but mechanically speaking there is practically nothing left to upgrade on the TCX. All it needs is a rear rack and full-length fenders.
Checking the bike fit on the TCX while riding on the hoods. From what I’ve studied on road bike fit, the frame is correctly sized for my body. Any adjustments afterward will be minute tweaks.Maximum leg extension. Looks like saddle height’s fineI repurposed a few decals that came with my Fox helmet to personalize the TCX and make it my own without overdoing it. This one is on the top tube.Another decal on the fork blade where the speed sensor is. I like how this one fits.A last decal on the seatpost. This is a handy way of marking the saddle height too.I took it on a 41.3-kilometer ride around Daang Hari and Daang Reyna and it felt great. Some cockpit aspects could be improved, but this is a good start.
Since taking delivery of the bike, I’ve taken it on quite a few long rides and logged 280 kilometers on it pretty quickly. It’s a fun machine to punt around, and definitely a contender for a road bike that will do almost everything you ask. The price may be a little steep, but you’re also getting a whole lot of bike for the money and it’s a great all-rounder. The Giant TCX SLR 2 just might be all the bike you need…I know it’s the last bike I’ll be buying for a good long while.
It didn’t take long for me to take the bike out on my longest ride yet.
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