VPI Posted November 1, 2013 Report Posted November 1, 2013 Looks as good as new Nate. When will it be christened at an official Head Case Cycling Team event?
Torpedo Posted November 1, 2013 Report Posted November 1, 2013 That's a wonderful bike, Nate. I wish you enjoy it immensely.
Dreadhead Posted November 1, 2013 Report Posted November 1, 2013 Looks great Nate. The naked Calfee finish is a keeper and is almost indestructable (being epoxy rather than paint).
n_maher Posted November 1, 2013 Report Posted November 1, 2013 I got the bike over to the LBS this morning at 9:30 to throw myself at the mercy of the court and see if they couldn't help me dial in the last few bits to get me on the road today. As usual, they were great. We played with the spacer arrangement and were going to flip the stem but the current front brake cable is too short to do that. So we put the big spacer under the stem and got it setup as best we could. I bought a set of pedals for it - the least I could do given that they charged me $10 for what ended up being 45min. of shop time - and I raced home. I got home, folded some laundry so that I could at least cross one chore off the list and while sitting there the wind blew so hard that it pushed my Weber all the way across the deck and into our deck table in turn pushing the hole thing tight up against the railing and toppling a few chairs. Uhhhh, not a great sign. But WTF, it's only wind, right? At least it was 70 and windy today. So I headed out for my usual ~18mi loop around town. It was entertaining dodging sticks and leaves and the bike feels great. It's very responsive, climbs like a beast and surprisingly I did the whole ride in the big ring. Now, I always do that on the Roubaix but the Calfee is running a standard 53/39 up front and a 12-25 in the back, a far cry from the 50/34 and 11-32 of the Roubaix. My back definitely felt the much more aggressive setup but I made it through the hour long ride without any real pain. Over the winter I do think that I'll have the stem flipped just to relax it a bit more but without really putting any effort into the fit I'm pumped. All I really did was set the saddle level and at the right height, centered over the seat post. With a proper fitting it should fit like a glove. And originally I was not at all psyched by the silver group on the black frame. In person it looks much better. So much so that I've gone from hunting for takeoff SRAM groups to thinking there's no reason to do a damn thing with it. I still would like to get a different set of hoops/spokes for it but the silver Ksyriums might grow on me too. All in all it's a stupid amount of bike for what I paid for it. No pics - it was so windy I was afraid to try to lean the bike anywhere.
CD44hi Posted November 1, 2013 Report Posted November 1, 2013 (edited) I think you'll snap into the geometry in no time Nate. It is just a matter of a couple of rides. I am betting you'll flip that stem back down in no time. I have the same opinion on shimano. Don't like the looks, love the shifting. I had DA 7800 --which i think is what you have there--, on a tcr advanced (which I sold) and the shifting was always solid. Those Ksyriums in your bike are one of the best bangs for the. Buck wheels out there. To the point that people hunt the in the used market for cyclocross. SO all and all, that was a great score and I am glad you like how it rides! Edited November 1, 2013 by CD44hi
Dreadhead Posted November 1, 2013 Report Posted November 1, 2013 Nate I am with Juan that you will get used to it quickly but flipping the stem is always an option. Glad you enjoyed the ride. Nothing quite like a Calfee.
n_maher Posted November 1, 2013 Report Posted November 1, 2013 You're both not wrong. But going from no drop to ~4" of drop is a pretty drastic change and I think I can get about half that back between the spacer (already done) and the stem flip. It was definitely a semi-surprise that the ride is as compliant as it is. I was expecting something on the order of bone-jarring and it's a far cry from that. And yes Juan, it's DA 7800. The guys and the shop said that it should be a very reliable group and the shifting action is light and predictable. It should get even better with a little use. And the Ksyriums are great in my book, I just wish they were the version with black spokes. I know, I know... seriously weak reasoning. I may see if the hub on my other black set is compatible with the 9spd cassette and if so, switch them over. We'll see and like I said, there's no good reason to do anything with the bike other than ride it.
Dreadhead Posted November 1, 2013 Report Posted November 1, 2013 Nate the other wheels should be 9 speed compatible with a spacer. Mine were/are. I think you should have read my Calfee description and then you would have been less surprised with the ride quality. Smooth but firm.
n_maher Posted November 1, 2013 Report Posted November 1, 2013 That would require a new brifter, rear derailleur, and cassette - way more than I want to get into now.
grawk Posted November 2, 2013 Report Posted November 2, 2013 The derailleur should work. I thought the brifter would too. It's all the cable routing.
n_maher Posted November 2, 2013 Report Posted November 2, 2013 The derailleur should work. I thought the brifter would too. It's all the cable routing. We're both wrong, just confirmed via multiple sources that the RD will work fine but the brifter, cable, chain and cassette have to change. I'll probably see how much the right brifter would set me back...
Dreadhead Posted November 2, 2013 Report Posted November 2, 2013 (edited) Why do you want to upgrade to 10 right now? Why not work up to it? Not that I'm the person to ever talk about impulse control with bikes, I think that bike would look very sexy with a full SRAM Force 22 in a few years. Edited November 2, 2013 by Dreadhead
grawk Posted November 2, 2013 Report Posted November 2, 2013 I just suggested it may be possible because he was talking about adapting his wheels to 9 speed
Dreadhead Posted November 2, 2013 Report Posted November 2, 2013 I know but I know his wheels are 9/10/11 speed as all Mavics are (unless you're using the mythical Mavic cassettes). I've used 9 and 10 speed on mine (the bike I shipped to Barbados is 9 speed) and even used to switch back and forth etc.
n_maher Posted November 2, 2013 Report Posted November 2, 2013 I'm going to leave it as a 9spd for now for sure. I am interested in the cost of the changeover and that was why I mentioned investigating the price of the shifter. And it's a DA cassette so no worries there .
n_maher Posted November 2, 2013 Report Posted November 2, 2013 Hmmmm, further investigation first muddied the waters and then cleared them immensely. 1. From what I can tell there's no such thing as a 9spd 7800 shifter. I have confirmed from the manuals included with the Calfee that it's got full 7800 on it and that the shifters are made for a 20spd group. 2. The cable routing on the rear derailleur does not appear to be setup for 9spd. So then it occurred to me that this guy never road the bike and I counted the sprockets... :palm: Uh, yeah, so it's got a 10spd cassette on it and I'm a fool.
VPI Posted November 2, 2013 Report Posted November 2, 2013 Maybe you should look for battery packs to see if it is a Di2 and you just didn't notice. 1
CD44hi Posted November 2, 2013 Report Posted November 2, 2013 I have to say that I was utterly confused myself, but I kept quiet. I thought it was your other bike then that had 9spd drivetrain as indeed 7800 is a 10s group. I got super confused when I saw you posted that you were going to leave it with 9s. Well, I am glad it is all clear now!
agile_one Posted November 2, 2013 Report Posted November 2, 2013 Getting caught up here ... - Super congrats on scoring that Calfee, Nate. looks to be an amazing ride, and I know you've been looking for a while. - Jeff, you look great, man - great work, and good job by trainer Chris to help it happen. - Raffy - are you housebound? Don't you ride in the great outdoors anymore?
n_maher Posted November 2, 2013 Report Posted November 2, 2013 Maybe you should look for battery packs to see if it is a Di2 and you just didn't notice. I suppose I deserve that. I have to say that I was utterly confused myself, but I kept quiet. I thought it was your other bike then that had 9spd drivetrain as indeed 7800 is a 10s group. I got super confused when I saw you posted that you were going to leave it with 9s. Well, I am glad it is all clear now! Silly me for taking the owner at his word or maybe he and I both managed to confuse each other at some point in Q/A part of the process. Regardless I'm psyched to have one less thing to be pondering upgrading - 10spd Dura Ace will do just fine, thanks. The only thing that I probably will look into is the max gearing that I can run with this derailleur as I'm thinking this setup won't be great for big hills. Ultimately that'll have to wait for a little experimentation next year but I'll probably troll the used market over the winter to see what's out there. - Super congrats on scoring that Calfee, Nate. looks to be an amazing ride, and I know you've been looking for a while. Thanks Gene (and everyone else). I can't imagine where I'd go from here for a road bike which is a nice position to be in. I looked at my existing Ksyriums and the tires on them are shagged (showing cord) and I'm too lazy to change the tires and cassette this weekend just to ride the Calfee in my aesthetically preferred setup. I did toss the front wheel on just to get to get the flavor of it and I like it, a lot. 1
Dreadhead Posted November 2, 2013 Report Posted November 2, 2013 Good news Nate. Still think Force 22 would look very sexy in the long run.
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