My new bike at long last.

 

About 4 years ago I started riding. I quickly went through or tried 2 bikes and quickly discarded them. I got this 30 year old bike and have been riding it for about 3 1/2 years. I slowly upgraded, but there is only so much you can do to an old bike. It was about 30 lbs when I started and is about 26 lbs. now. I knew I would be getting a modern bike as soon as I felt I had the money. Everything is a compromise where money is concerned. If not we would all have the best of everything, house, cars, trips, food. etc. It took be awhile to come to grips with what I was willing to compromise on and what I wasn't. The most expensive  bikes are the lightest and the fastest. I knew weight would be a compromise. The compromise ended up at 19 lbs. That is pretty light for a heavy rider tipping the scales at nearly 200 lbs.  The rest of this blog will be some of my thoughts on the bike I have built and why I did different things.


First it had to be the right size, not compromise here. I am 6 ft. 3 in. tall, so a big bike is a must. I found this bike frame on Craigs list. It is 65 cm. That is very big. It is Aluminum with a carbon fork and Carbon Seat stays. The carbon is the black parts. The compromises are it is from a small company with a reputation for bad paint and graphics. It isn't very flashy and the paint chips like crazy. You can see the large chip if you look close. The frame was never assembled into a bike, so it was virtually new.
 

 I got the handle bars used from Craigs list. I would like wider bars but they are fine and another compromise. The seat post works great and is generic. It isn't heavy or light saved money. The wheels are very inexpensive, but are very aerodynamic. They spin true and are pretty light. I have the same ones on my old bike. I saw a $10,000 bike smashed up in a mater of seconds and decided some parts just don't need to be exposed to being trashed. That is when I decided $450 cheaper wheels than I was planing on were just fine.

The tires are also a compromise.
The are pretty expensive, but I shop and shop for good deals. they are pretty light and roll really fast. I get about 3000 miles on them. Lighter tires are more extensive, but don't last as long. They also are not prone to flats and will take up to 165 lbs of pressure.

I decided to get the best running gear I possibly could get. There are 3 companies that the pro riders use. Each company has it's own top of the line models. They do work a little differently. I decided no copromise here and went with SRAM Red shifters, chain, cassette, and derailleurs. The crank has to be 180 mm long, no compromise. Red didn't offer one that long so I went with a lower priced rival model. It saved a lot of money and is a lot less maintenance than the Red model. Good choice there. The pedals have always been  a problem. You can't know until you try them. I read and read and ended up with an ebay deal on speed play 5x model I think. I really like them, but will try another speed play model next time. The saddle is another problem. Hurts you if you don't get the right one. The local bike shop loans out test saddles. I tried several and settled on the Selle SMP Glider. It is the best one so far.

The crank

                                                                                                  The saddle.

The bike

I really like the bike. It is a lot of money , but way less than what others have invested. If  I crash, I won't feel so bad when things break. One or two pieces can be replace with minimal outlays. click on the pictures if you want a closer look. There are a lot of details I left out, so if you want to know more just ask.
By the way the new bike has it's own garage. That's the yellow cover in the first picture. Works well to keep it clean and free of dust in the wood shop/garage.