do i buy a thing

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.

(off topic - Ed, you were in a dream I had last night, rescuing a woman from an attacker by a canal, and you had the physique of a bodybuilder. I have NO idea where that dream came from)

Not sure what to say to that other than state that I currently work in an office that supplies unlimited high quality chocolate and I have a physique to match that.

I am eating high quality chocolate as I read that and I understand entirely.

considering:

http://www.wheelbuilder.com/store/kinlin-xr-300-rim.html

+

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/au/cycleops-powertap-pro-plus-hub-only/

and maybe a garmin 500. is the powertap a smooth-rolling hub?

http://first-to-the-line.com/
http://www.hipsternascar.com/2010/12/first-to-line.html

looks pretty lol + awesome!

oh cool

my bro writes hipster NASCAR btw, he's great

can't tell you how many hours my siblings and I played Milles Bornes as kids. looks fun!

i just found vittoria evo cx IIs for $42, win. they're 21's, but that'll do.

Garmin Edge 800

I've always ridden with a Cateye computer, so I've always had speed/average speed/max speed/time/distance data. I like the idea of having a GPS unit so I can log rides - I've got an app on my iphone which does this, but it uses up all the battery after about 3 hours. Also the phone app isn't terribly reliable at the micro aspect of the data (i.e. it will give you the overall distance and time correctly, and if you analysed average speed over a distance of a mile or a minute or something it would be accurate, but over short sections it makes wild claims that I've suddenly accelerated up to 50mph on the flat when that obviously hasn't happened). I'd also like to have reliable data about climbing and I'm particularly keen on using it to analyse training/racing performance. Regarding the latter, there's no way I can afford a power meter, but I suppose I could try a heart rate monitor.

I really want the package for the 800 with the maps of Britain on so that I can effectively use it as a SatNav for a bike. This will be useful in July/August when I've got some time off and hope (if the weather's ever good enough) to go for some longer rides to places I don't know / ride right through London - it's a pain having to keep guessing where you're going or stopping repeatedly to look at a map.

On the other hand, it looks like it will cost >£400 and I'm struggling to justify that expense to myself. Probably >90% of the time I'm riding on roads I already know and don't need a map, especially when I just go out for 20-35 miles. Also I'm not convinced that HRM data will be that useful and I probably don't really need to know my cadence and I don't know whether the climbing data is particularly accurate.

Any advice?

Also think of the extra grams dude

I love the simplicity and accuracy and altimeter of edge 500, and if I need a map I just pull out my iPhone. I guess if your gonna be in the back of beyond u may not have phone service tho. But even if I had 800 it's not like I could leave the phone at home- I still have to carry it basically.

I would still carry my phone anyway - if there's some kind of emergency I need to be able to phone for help. But my phone is wrapped up in a little polythene bag and stuck in one of my back pockets. It's a pain having to stop, retrieve the phone and wait for an incredibly slow internet connection in the middle of nowhere to load my location.

I really like my edge 705, but I hardly ever use the mapping function. If I were buying now it would be the 500. The mapping truly sucks on the 705, it's meant to be better on the 800 but unless you want turn by turn directions, get the 500.