HC Bike/Cycling Thread

[VPI]

I am riding in the Northern Virginia TDC the first weekend of June. Should be fun.

[parris]

Oh very cool I wish you luck and a great ride!  Are you going as a single rider or as a member of a team?

[Mister X]

Does anybody have any experience with the Giro Bravo short finger gloves?

 

I'm not crazy about the color but "the deal" at Jenson is tempting...

 

http://www.jensonusa.com/Mens-Gloves-1/Giro-Bravo-Gloves-12

[guzziguy]

Heh, my brother did something smart.  He introduced his daughter to Matt the owner of his lbs, Casino Bicycles in Hemet, CA.  Now they are dating.  My brother just bought two Bianchi's, one for his daughter and one for his wife and got a $1700 discount on the two.

 

It's good to see him finally wising up.

[boomana]

^ Nice!

 

Started email conversations with Dave Kirk.  He is recommending I don't go with the Terraplane seat stays, which I'll admit slightly disappoints me as I think they look cool, and are one thing that makes a Kirk bike a Kirk, but his reasoning is that due to my seat tube being small, the seat stays are quite naturally going to be small, and the Terraplane option wouldn't really offer any noticeable benefit in performance or comfort.  He's suggesting straight seat stays as he can then use the lightest stays he has, which will cut some weight and still provide a nice ride.  I, of course, am going  with any recommendation he has.  This one will save me $350, which, I suppose, salves my temporary disappointment.

[guzziguy]

Thanks.

 

Do you have a sister or niece who you can introduce to Dave?   

[boomana]

His very nice wife might object

[guzziguy]

[Pars]

Might have to look into the TDC here. From what I can tell, it starts from < 10 miles from here.

 

I've had my Trek done for awhile, but hadn't had the opportunity to shoot some pics of it. Went our for an 11 mile ride this afternoon, and shot some pics after I got back. I know with all the Kirks and such around here, this isn't much, but it rides nice and for a lower-end mid-80s Trek, it is fairly light (~23 or so lbs). Campy hubs FTW.

 

 

 

 

[Dreadhead]

Nice! Any bike that you enjoy riding is nice! Thinking of buying a bunch of software for the Computrainer with the hope that it will encourage me to ride more in the early morning. I get to work for 6:15am though so it seems very early indeed.

[pigmode]

Might have to look into the TDC here. From what I can tell, it starts from < 10 miles from here.

 

I've had my Trek done for awhile, but hadn't had the opportunity to shoot some pics of it. Went our for an 11 mile ride this afternoon, and shot some pics after I got back. I know with all the Kirks and such around here, this isn't much, but it rides nice and for a lower-end mid-80s Trek, it is fairly light (~23 or so lbs). Campy hubs FTW.

 

Great bike. :thumbsup:

[VPI]

Great looking bike.  I definitely recommend the TDC as I am a big fan of the cause.  I will be riding as a Team Red member, as a Type 1 Diabetic, so I hope to represent.

 

Probably should be out riding now but I definitely need to do a ride tomorrow of longer than normal mileage as I am way out of practice.

[Dreadhead]

Enjoy the ride Jeff. I'm taking my Giant with me to the lake house for a long Easter weekend.

[nikongod]

Today I bought bike shorts and gloves.

Carry on.

[boomana]

 

Looks like Monday may be build day!

 

Comparing to the numbers on my Gunnar, here's Dave's last email:  

 

I’ve worked with your numbers and info and like how it all comes together. I 
don’t want to make any drastic changes to your fit based on what I see. I’d 
like a bit less bar drop and a few millimeters more reach (together they 
should mean the same body angles).

I’ve also worked the numbers so they handling should be right on and you 
should have no toe overlap.

Let me know if you have any questions or concerns and I’ll do my best to 
address them.

I have all your raw materials in stock and will be ready to start the build 
on Monday if we both feel good about the design

[boomana]

Oh....I was so excited, I didn't see the new posts.

 

I love the old school Trek, Pars!

 

Yay, Ari.  Gloves and shorts and Spring weather coming!

[pigmode]

Envy. Few frame builders have the experience Dave has. Not sure for how many seasons, but he has built the custom frames for the 7-11 team.

[MexicanDragon]

Yay Vicki!

 

As for me, I took the first ride today.  10 days since I got the bloody bike before I could ride it (due to rain, being busy, not being manly enough to ride in sleet/snow/3x* weather, like Nate and Chris).

 

 

 

I <3 clipless pedals, I forgot how much better they are (for me).  I got out for about an hour, and rode about 40 minutes of it (stopped for pictures, cleat adjustment, seat adjustment, re-learning clipless pedals with a gimp leg, etc). I rode around the complex (slight hill to the back, then a fun trip down, along with speedbumps).  I got my cleats adjusted and headed out on the road.  I rode down the 3/4 of a mile to where my kids go to summer camp.  There's a longish parking lot with 4 rows of parking, 2 on the sides and 2 in the middle, with islands around the middle ones.  I worked on cornering and just getting a feel for the road again.  I did a ton of down and backs, just getting used to it.

The bike just flies.  The frame, even though it's no name carbon, seems to be pretty nice.  It was pretty smooth, yet still perfectly responsive.  I could feel the pavement underneath me well, but it wasn't muted, just... had the volume turned down.

 

I had a lot of fun for the short amount of time I got in today.  I really want to keep track of how far I ride, and I didn't think to set an app on my phone til I got home, but I'm diggin' this, and can't wait to do more.

 

**BRENT**

[tyrion]

Pars, cool bike!

 

Vicki, jealous but can't wait to see it!

 

Brent, sweet ride!

[boomana]

So happy for you, Brent!  

[shellylh]

Excellent Brent!  Very jealous. 

[raffy]

Nice Trek Chris! Great to seeing you out there, Brent!

[Dreadhead]

Congrats on the ride Brent! That bike looks awesome.

[boomana]

Envy. Few frame builders have the experience Dave has. Not sure for how many seasons, but he has built the custom frames for the 7-11 team.

I know.  I actually feel undeserving in comparison to all the riders he has, and still builds for, but I'll love it just as much, if not more.  The numbers are nearly identical to my Gunnar, (seat tube 1cm shorter; top tube 1.5 cm longer, and I'm sure some angle differences that I don't know about), which I like because after the last seat raise (identical to his recommendation), it's perfect.  I do like the drop I have currently, but I'm trusting Dave.  

[parris]

I sold Treks during that era and had a pink 770 it was the era of Miami Vice after all .  Wow it's a shocker to think about how long ago that actually was.   Cool carbon bike as well there's just all kinds of good stuff that's out there these days.  If I remember correctly Dave started with Serotta in either 88 or 89 and worked his way up from the bottom.  Vicki Isn't it cool the process that Dave uses?  The design looks like it'll be a really great road bike.  Also I've ridden tdc for the last 3 years with a group from work.  I absolutely HATE and I mean HATE that disease!  It doesn't discriminate and is just vile in the damage it can and does do.