Fifty Plus (50+) - N+2

My wife and I are retiring our 5 year old Tricross Comps to the weekend house and brought on board two new custom steel sport touring bikes. We don't ride fast, we simply ride for fun at moderate speeds and like the idea of steel frames with comfort orientation. We ended up with frames from Kelly Bedford (http://kbedfordcustoms.com/) built up with SRAM Force shifters and compact doubles with SRAM XO derailleurs and gigantic 11-36 cassettes. We both had issues with a couple of hills we frequent on our Tricross triples and these cassettes meet our needs no matter how much overkill they may seem. :) The design and fitting were done by Smiley El Bad, a local guy who is one of the best fitters on the east coast.

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Very nice! Enjoy the ride.

Is that a real name, Smiley El Bad? I hope his personality has as much flair as his name.

donheff,
Those are two sweet looking bikes you and your wife got. I think the compact double and that cassette should do the job on your hills. Looking forward to your first ride report.

Bill

Very nice! Enjoy the ride.

Is that a real name, Smiley El Bad? I hope his personality has as much flair as his name.Yes, that is his name -- originally from Egypt many decades ago. He is a colorful guy and an engineer with an eye for details.


donheff,
Those are two sweet looking bikes you and your wife got. I think the compact double and that cassette should do the job on your hills. Looking forward to your first ride report.

BillActually, we already took a test ride and chatted our way up a local hill with the 11-36. I think we will be in great shape for climbing at our subdued pace. The bikes felt perfect and that was with my placement of the seats. We will see Smiley on Saturday to tweak the settings to make sure we are perfectly dialed in.

You need to retake the photos with the bikes posed in front of a white garage door, casstte side out with the pedal at the three o'clock position in order that we can be properly jealous of your rides. (now where is the drool thingy) :D

I think your gearing choice is spot on for most folks riding style. Having a choice of gears to take you up steep long hills is a very good idea IMO. Great looking bikes and please give us better driveside pics !

Super nice! Great to see someone figure out exactly what they want and have the resources to get it. Custom frames with that level of build and customization is top notch.

Wow! Really, really nice.

Here is mine in front of a white garage. :)

Been trying to reply but I think the bikes speak for themselves.

We need that "Green Envy" emoticon.

Super nice! Great to see someone figure out exactly what they want and have the resources to get it. Custom frames with that level of build and customization is top notch.

+1

... and: they are really nice looking too...

... and: I like the idea that somebody who isn't interested in extreme performance (racing and such) still likes a nice bike with nice components. You don't have to be doing 35mph to enjoy a nice bike.

... ENJOY!