n_maher

Which 741 pak?

Goddamnit Jeff, that thing looks sweet.

Feel better, Lloyd. As a recent sufferer of pain down there I can relate all too well.

Jeff, if you make the move to red let me know. I might be interested in some of the force bits. And 14lbs, sheesh. Me: did 62.5 non-stop this morning in just a tick over 3:30. Felt good but I'm pretty shagged now.

Best of luck CJ, you'll do great.

I applaud the decision to go point to point. I stayed away from it for years (out of fear) only to realize near the end of my active phase of DIY'ing that it is a ton of fun and while very challenging (you own the whole thing, soup to nuts) it actually helped teach me a bit more about what it was that I was doing with each part. The first time that really waded into that end of the pool I did full sized layout drawings of the chassis so that I could position bits/pieces and literally see how they were going to fit before drilling a single hole. I'd highly recommend it. Also, I'd take a page from Pete Millett and consider using copper clad PCB material as a ground plane or use a large grounding rod like Kerry did for his KGTT (iirc). Otherwise the only piece of relevant advice that I have is to invest is some good mounting hardware. Whether that's turrets (like Pete) or terminal strips (like Frank) using crap will cause serious aggravation. I liked to mix and match, using individual turrets in some places and strips in others. I actually found a company that makes turret strips, some of which even have premade mounts for tube sockets. I think Parts Connexion sells them, or did way back when. Here's an example And Frank's work is like the Sistine Chapel of point to point - truly a work of art.

Nice Mike, I got in a quick 25 on the road today.

We're 4 rows up on the first base line, a few sections down from the bag. I think these tickets cost more than our last 4 years of redsox games combined. Thank God for Stub Hub gift certificates.

The rainout, announced early, was a blessing. It would have been a pisser sitting there for two hours only to then have it get postponed. As it stands now we got a night out in Boston and we'll try again for the game on Monday.

Sitting outside Fenway Park, watching it rain. At this point I'm just going they cancel the game.

Nice shot and nice view, Dinny. And very cool, John. Always nice to get more for your $$ than you were expecting.

Thanks Chris. Actually, on the Carbon/Grey combo when I click the expanded description it does mention fototech. They don't make it easy to find though.

None of those linked shades appear to have the fototech lenses.

Which ones did you get, Chris? I'm thinking of ordering a pair with the reactive lenses since my commute has pretty variable lighting conditions.

Great idea on the update, Jeff. Here's where I'm at.

Well played, sir.

6AS7s are identical to 6080s with the exception of the envelope shape.

Woo comes closest with the WA2 but it's not really the same thing. If someone came up with a concept and then was able to bring it to market in time to catch the HD800 fire it might be profitable. But I'd expect it to cost ~$2500 to do it right and there's a lot of up front to swallow and as Justin has said recently, the real $$ to be made is still in portables.

Jacob, If you decide to dabble into buying a few more tubes my recommnedation would be to track down a pair of 5998s. They used to sell in the $100-$150 range on Ebay, but looking now I don't see any good options. I'd be on the lookout for them anyway. They were far and away my favorite in the Menace, which is essentially an Extreme taken to the Extreme. 7236s would be a solid second option but as you're finding, even cheap-as-chips 6AS7s sound really fracken good.

I'm left pretty nonplussed in the end. I thought the repeated and blatant cheating by SKY with little to no real penalty was seriously disappointing. Maybe that stuff happens all the time but I don't remember the same team doing it so much in the last few years when I've been watching. Would it have made the difference? I can't say for sure but Froome could have lost significant time to Quintana on that climb based on what I was seeing and the last few stages would have been pretty epic if there had only been a minute or two separating them. But I'm also with Chris on not really understanding why I don't like Froome, but I don't. Maybe it's that I assume that he's cheating at this point given what others have said about the level he was at pre-SKY compared to now. I know that there are freak athletes out there that are legit and would really like it if the sport wasn't as dirty as it has been. Le sigh.

Steve, sweet ride just wear a helmet.

Nice Brent! Me - got up at 5:30 to hit the road a little before 6 for a 50 mile tour of the seacoast. I gamed the system this time and checked the forecast last night to make sure that I wouldn't be headed dead into the wind along the coast. I'm happy to report that the weatherperson had it right so I got a nice ~5mph push on that section of the ride. I rode the whole loop without stopping so no pics for me.

Yeah, there were nasty storms predicted this afternoon (that still may arrive shortly) so it just wasn't worth risking getting hailed on. It's supposed to get down into the 60s tonight so I'm thinking about trying to get out for 50 tomorrow morning.

Fudge, started to get ready for a short ride in the heat this afternoon and didn't even get shorts on before the thunder and lightning hit. At least this front is supposed to signal the end of the heat/humidity for a few days.

Go Dan, GO!