A little while back, I wrote about how the new specification Polar bottles without the inner circular indentation seemed to have inferior insulation compared to the older model (→here)
The very next morning I had some errands to run nearby, so I prepared ice water the same way as usual and went for a morning ride, and the ice does seem to melt slightly faster.
However, if someone told me that I'm only thinking this because of a bias toward wanting my proposed theory to be correct, I wouldn't be able to deny it—my confidence in this observation is that low. Since the old bottle has no problems other than the cap, I'm going to swap in the new cap and test it several more times to verify.
I wrote before that when I tried to disassemble an SKS floor pump, I couldn't because the shop didn't have a 24mm socket. Let me go into a bit more detail about that.
The image above is an SKS Rennkompressor (air compressor) we use at the shop, but
on the back side there's a large hex fitting, and
a 22mm socket fits. The reason we have a 22mm socket in the shop in the first place is for this purpose. But on a customer's SKS Airbase Pro, the hex was 24mm, so we didn't have that size socket and couldn't attempt to loosen it.
The Continental Grand Prix 5000 in the transparent sidewall version for tube-type tires is discontinued at Japanese distributors with no stock remaining, so I removed the one that was on the front wheel of my everyday Niner and swapped it for an older Grand Prix 25C from my collection. The day after writing that article, I rode out to Kazahuki Pass.
Both are 25C, I kept the same inner tube and the same air pressure, but the ride quality is clearly worse with this one. This isn't some subtle difference like with the Polar bottles old and new models. I was shocked at how different it is.
With components, when there's a "positive change"—lighter operation feel, lighter weight, better ride quality, feeling like you're gliding forward—after just three days of riding it becomes the new normal. But going back to the old component afterward, you notice the change even more clearly.
If I were comparing only the transparent sidewall aspect, I should compare it to the all-black Grand Prix 5000 rather than the older Grand Prix, and in that case I know there wouldn't be such a dramatic difference.
↑The tread burrs that look very fresh off the mold
On this tire, the model name (Grand Prix) side reads the same on both left and right, but
the manufacturer name marking, when following the directional arrow on the tire sidewall, is on the wheel's right side, and
on the opposite side (left) reads "Handmade in Germany."
Of the current Continental tubular tires, excluding Giro which is an OEM product by Lion Tires, only Competition and Sprinter remain as German-made models. Neither of these tires has directional attributes to their tread pattern. However, the model name side reads the same on both left and right, and the marking on the opposite phase has Continental on one side and "Handmade in Germany" on the other—just like this older Grand Prix clincher.
So while it has no bearing on performance, when I install Competition and Sprinter tires, I align them so the Continental marking is on the right side.
Though already discontinued, the Grand Prix 4000S II Tubular had directional attributes to its tread pattern, but the model name side read the same on both left and right, and both sides of the opposite phase read Continental, so not all tubular tires follow the same marking convention—which is rather confusing.
The very next morning I had some errands to run nearby, so I prepared ice water the same way as usual and went for a morning ride, and the ice does seem to melt slightly faster.
However, if someone told me that I'm only thinking this because of a bias toward wanting my proposed theory to be correct, I wouldn't be able to deny it—my confidence in this observation is that low. Since the old bottle has no problems other than the cap, I'm going to swap in the new cap and test it several more times to verify.
I wrote before that when I tried to disassemble an SKS floor pump, I couldn't because the shop didn't have a 24mm socket. Let me go into a bit more detail about that.
The image above is an SKS Rennkompressor (air compressor) we use at the shop, but
on the back side there's a large hex fitting, and
a 22mm socket fits. The reason we have a 22mm socket in the shop in the first place is for this purpose. But on a customer's SKS Airbase Pro, the hex was 24mm, so we didn't have that size socket and couldn't attempt to loosen it.
The Continental Grand Prix 5000 in the transparent sidewall version for tube-type tires is discontinued at Japanese distributors with no stock remaining, so I removed the one that was on the front wheel of my everyday Niner and swapped it for an older Grand Prix 25C from my collection. The day after writing that article, I rode out to Kazahuki Pass.
Both are 25C, I kept the same inner tube and the same air pressure, but the ride quality is clearly worse with this one. This isn't some subtle difference like with the Polar bottles old and new models. I was shocked at how different it is.
With components, when there's a "positive change"—lighter operation feel, lighter weight, better ride quality, feeling like you're gliding forward—after just three days of riding it becomes the new normal. But going back to the old component afterward, you notice the change even more clearly.
If I were comparing only the transparent sidewall aspect, I should compare it to the all-black Grand Prix 5000 rather than the older Grand Prix, and in that case I know there wouldn't be such a dramatic difference.
↑The tread burrs that look very fresh off the mold
On this tire, the model name (Grand Prix) side reads the same on both left and right, but
the manufacturer name marking, when following the directional arrow on the tire sidewall, is on the wheel's right side, and
on the opposite side (left) reads "Handmade in Germany."
Of the current Continental tubular tires, excluding Giro which is an OEM product by Lion Tires, only Competition and Sprinter remain as German-made models. Neither of these tires has directional attributes to their tread pattern. However, the model name side reads the same on both left and right, and the marking on the opposite phase has Continental on one side and "Handmade in Germany" on the other—just like this older Grand Prix clincher.
So while it has no bearing on performance, when I install Competition and Sprinter tires, I align them so the Continental marking is on the right side.
Though already discontinued, the Grand Prix 4000S II Tubular had directional attributes to its tread pattern, but the model name side read the same on both left and right, and both sides of the opposite phase read Continental, so not all tubular tires follow the same marking convention—which is rather confusing.