I chose these pads because they are the recommended pads for my Enve SES 3.4 wheels (gen 3 with textured brake track). Thank goodness for Bike Tire Direct's sale prices because the pads are pricey and wear out quickly. I live in Los Angeles and do a lot of climbing and descending. In less than 300 miles, the brakes are already 60-70% worn, and that is with careful, and to the best of my ability, proper braking technique for carbon wheels. I guess such is the nature of soft pads that won't destroy your rims! That being said, I will likely continue purchasing these pads as they get the job done and give me full confidence on fast descents; I'll just have to reserve their use (and the use of my carbon wheels) for special occasions to not break the bank.
I like how you can place these shifters where ever its most comfortable/convenient. In my case, I placed them on my aerobars on my road bike. This enabled me to keep my hands on the aerobars while shifting, greatly reducing the number of times I have to reach for the hood shifters. This enables quicker shifting and a smoother ride. It was easy to pair these with my AXS system.
Two things could be improved.
(1) The battery. I'd like to see a replaceable or rechargeable battery. This would extend the like of the blips.
(2) Providing more (or better) options for mounting these securely. My aerobars are round and pretty thin. The mounting stickers and cheap plastic mounting covers don't appear to provide long-term protection from falling off. Time will tell though. The plastic covers don't fit well around thin, round bars. I realize you can try to wrap some bar tape around them to help with this, but they are so small it makes it difficult to get them wrapped without having to cut the bar tape to avoid the blip contact points.
Cassettes just aren't worth spending a ton of coin on, they shift the same, and weigh slightly less for an expensive one, why bother?
Shifts perfect, under load too, it's perfect. Whatever Shimano did with Hyperglide 2, it's incredible. Never misses, never really does anything wrong either. I always replace after 3 chains, so they get usually 15000 miles on them and even in the middle/common gears, they are still fine, but that's just my rule.
No issue. Like the 11/34 spread with my 54/40 up front, got gears on all sides that way and almost never need more.
?I upgraded to the 165mm SRAM RED E1 DUB arms, and the difference is incredible. These are absurdly light, you can instantly feel the weight savings over the old generation. The carbon stiffness is phenomenal; every watt goes straight to the wheels.
?Switching to 165mm has been a game-changer for my fit, boosting my cadence and reducing hip fatigue on long climbs. Installation was easy thanks to the DUB spindle standard. My only complaint is the price, but if you want the absolute best and lightest crank arms for your build, these are it. A truly premium, five-star upgrade.
