do i buy a thing

recovery tights? anyone use em?

aka compression tights? 2XU? Skinz? etc.

Have never tried embrocation

Me neither, but I'm curious to try it. The smell of embrocation in the changing rooms is one of the key things I remember about the races I did at Eastway way back in 89. It doesn't seem to be so commonly used nowadays.

J tried it once before a race in dreadful conditions (torrential downpour, high winds). Not bad, never got a chance to do it again.

J = I

Do you know what brand?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=320604115230&ssPageName=STRK%3AMESELX%3AIT

lol

mash on!

at a bike gear crossroads. i need to get either a new road bike, or makeover my current ancient bike. i really love my 97 dean ti frame, it's really basic but fits and rides the best of all bikes ive had. its components are 11 years old and way worn out. i also want the ability to bring my own bike conveniently when i travel (which is not v. often).

so, should i strip off the ancient team powdercoat, ship the frame to bilenky and have s&s couplers put on, and then install a full new sram force gruppo? i think cutty likes sram, right?

a thousand times yes

I want couplers so bad. def getting them on my next bike

youve probly seen the bilenky site? it's a pretty good deal compared to like, buying a ritchey break-away. ti couplers are .5 pound extra.

http://www.bilenky.com/Retrofits.html

wow:
http://www.sandsmachine.com/carvlugs.htm
http://www.sandsmachine.com/p_boh_r8.jpg
http://www.sandsmachine.com/p_boh_r9.jpg
http://www.sandsmachine.com/p_er_r15.jpg

stunning. my steel lugged commuter bike has some dope fleur de lys lugging that are really subtle but this is just next level.^^^

some of that is ren faire nonsense

EXCALIBURRRRRR!!!

damn u know my steez-- not on my bike.

but my swords sure, and coordinated cloak pins.

also, penguins or kiwis or whatever those birds are-- that's almost dolphins w/ helmets level.

SRAM definitely the way to go IMO

sorta bummed about going 10spd tbh, but since i'd have to do it whether i stay shimano or not, its gonna be sram, the force stuff looks pretty good.

today's weather is making wish I had the resources to apply the thread q to a pugsley. f u snow

new lowest specced canyon comes w/SRAM apex for just a smidge under £800. tempting

i bought a $$ thing for ease of travel as discussed above :\ gotta ship frame out to bilenky. nearly buyer's remorse, but i sorta know its the right move long long term. i'll have this thing 5 or 6 years min, and will travel enough to make it break even.

should i go compact, or continue to fight it out on a 39/23 or 39/25? **superjames 39/23 trauma 7/10--never forget ;_;**

my next commuter bike will have an Alfine internal hub... well, that actually depends... can you have rear QR with an internal hub?

Should be possible if you use a chain tensioner, eccentric BB or somesuch.

Hunter, go compact - I'm riding my old trad-geared roadie at the moment and having that much less at the spinny end is doing my head in (disclaimer - I am weak and pathetic)

50/34 and 11/25 should sort you out, or even 11/23 if you like to mash.

unless things have changed, internals hubs have solid, nutted axles shasta. ed is right in that you may use vertical dropouts with a tensioner. i think you will have to buy special vertical dropout antispin washers, though.

i am a huuuge fan of my nexus 8spd internal. i just hit 12000 mi and had my first replacement of parts- the cog and chain. same shifter, same cables. i think i've had to adjust the cable tension on the barrel adjuster 3 times? durability is great i think, but i do not put the (massive) quantity of watts through it that you would~ no joke, i think it could be an issue if you hammered it hard enough.

anyway, the nutted axle is my biggest beef with the hub's commutability. if you rear flat, it is pretty shitty compared to having a qr. plus i have a loaded rack and fenders and track forkends. as a result i have made flat avoidance a priority and upped my tire quality wrt flat resistance. i'm using a vittoria randonneur 700x32-- it's been far superior to the supercheap performance gt2k's that i'd been using (they work ok on the front though).

Vittoria Pitstop latex goop aerosol is a pretty good get home solution

"Vittoria Pitstop latex goop aerosol" is a great text string

makes me wanna yell HUT HIKE!

probably going to buy this thing on saturday:
http://www.tredz.co.uk/prodimg/39863-99561_1_Zoom.jpg

force gruppo in box awaiting return of frame. nice alloy and plastic-y bits, but until i'm riding them, no magic, no magic at all.

did joygoat get a bicycle? is that rim drilling real? it looks like it skipped every 5th hole.

do i buy a 2009 garmin team TT frame/fork PLUS full DA7800 gruppo but lacking: saddle, cockpit, wheels, for $1300?

feels like a lotta bike for something that i probably won't ride more than 300 miles next year.

I did buy a bike - first complete bike that i've bought since 1992, which was the only other mountain bike i've ever had. The rims do skip every fifth hole, which might be a concern because I'm not a svelte person.

I've been really wanting to go mountain biking again even though it's been ages and I was never super hardcore about it. I think it hits the snowboard and skateboard-loving part of my brain that road biking never will, plus I can get to decent places to ride pretty easily.

On the one hand it would be kind of awesome; on the other hand argyle; you'd spend as much on wheels or at least feel compelled to; argyle; you'd paint a massive target on your back; also argyle, I really hate argyle patterns. (New Garmin Cervelo strip has a lot less of that shit)

shasta sounds like a good deal to me if you're gonna do a couple sr's and a tt series. i think you could always sell it for good $ if you decide you don't need it. because, triathletes lol.

joygoat, congrats.

I can get to decent places to ride pretty easily.

^^^this is key imo. i hate driving to go ride a mtb.

http://www.shopslipstreamsports.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/d/s/dsc_0278_1_1.jpg

Ed, not as PRO appearing as the DZ model which has the above plus the capt america USA graphics (for $200 more!)

If you're going to do it, get the DZ capt america model, might as well go the whole hog.

Argyle aside, its a pretty frame.

This is the fiscally-conscious ($:miles ridden) alternative:
http://www.leaderbikestore.com/pd_ld-720tr.cfm

Clip on TT bars moreso.

I am not complaining, I got some satisfactory results in 2010 with clip-ons, but just looking at this next season, seeing what I can do to stay in the mix is mostly gonna be dialing into new gear.

Did I ever post my bugs bunny picture? Hunter you might LOL.

I don't recall them

Anyone know anything about C-4 wheels, not in the market yet, but need to solve the three frames 2sets of wheels thing before the spring.

http://www.c-4bicyclecomponents.com/site/CA-24-Road-Wheel-Set.html?st=menuJump

3 year comprehensive crash replacement warranty seems pretty decent

http://www.c-4bicyclecomponents.com/site/CA-24-Road-Wheel-Set.html?st=menuJump

what size road frame do you use shasta? (don't recall bugs bunny)

i'm 57/58 road depending on the geometry.

here's bugs crossing the finish line:
http://imgur.com/5EpRb.jpg

gree hee hee

paincave faces are like that sometimes

http://i486.photobucket.com/albums/rr222/Chass3ur/lefatmantis.jpg

you can only sorta see it here but i end up sticking my tongue into my lower lip. ima call it fatmantisface.

Le Fattmantes

love it!

pagin Ed where are our jerseys dammit

OK, so my graphic designer friend turned out to be a real flake and is now in Brazil. I'm still up for this but can't really do anything about the artwork.