gomango

I hear you on this one, but I know too many people that work at QBP.

I feel a little guilty sometimes.

Maybe that's why I have a house full of Salsas.

thirdgenbird

I don't want to hate on QBP, they have some very good products, but I can't help but support soma. I really like their products. Had that dirt cheap smoothie es frameset at angry catfish fit me las fall I would have bought it. The b-side is also a very appealing hardtail.

gomango

Agreed.

That was a great price on that frameset. Couldn't believe how nice the paint was on such an inexpensive product.

ColonelJLloyd 

The Smoothie (not ES) is one of the best deals going for a steel road bike I think. They now offer matching carbon forks (aluminum steerer). I think they did a great job on the geometry and Tange Prestige is nothing to sneeze at.

EnzoRWD

I love Soma's frames. Great quality at a great price. The tubesets are typically lighter than Surly's offerings. A few years back I would push friends and customers towards Soma over less expensive Surly options. Now Surly has differentiated themselves by going quirky, practical, and just plain fun.

I wish they still offered the Stanyan. That was a great frame.

thirdgenbird

The shop by Grady had a smoothie es frame on closeout at a very attractive price.

Camilo

Oh, I actually have both and they're both nice. I was just mentioning it as an alternative, for instance if someone was having a hard time finding a HWY1 in 26/silver.

ColonelJLloyd 

Soma never stopped offering the Stanyan. They're available.

brandenjs

Not a super duper changeover, but I just added a set of Tourney 7 speed STI's to the Black Lightning. I didn't want to go too far from original so it was a simple inexpensive upgrade. I'm not a big fan of the side button on the shifters, but these actually work really well.

tamaso206

[QUOTE=brandenjs;16580139] [...] Tourney 7 speed STI's [...] these actually work really well./QUOTE]

I didn't know that product actually existed! What's the original application for a new 7 speed STI in 2014? OEM component on a bargin basement / 'bikesdirect' type roadie?? It seems odd that they'd mfg. anything indexed less than 8 speed since it takes the same chain as 5/6/7 AND the 8 speed cassettes fit on the now universal 130mm hubs... Are those shifting the original rear derailleur? If yes, sort of seems like the perfect product for this crowd, but I know they'd never waste $$ mfg'ing for our little niche

thirdgenbird

Microshift does 7spd as well.

I prefer the shifter arrangement vs the shimano version.

microSHIFT -The best control system

Branimir

Front Shifting Double Trible



Did somebody said Tribbles?!?!?!

I dig the Cannondale, very clean frame design. Which wheels are those/tires?

Italuminium

Swoon. That's an excellent build. Those Tourney brifters look pretty good too, totally unlike most Tourney stuff, or at least the older Tourney stuff, which really show their place at the bottom of the Shimano pecking order.

brandenjs

[QUOTE=tamaso206;16582664]I'm not sure why Shimano has these available, I was just searching Ebay for some shifters and came across these. They are not very high on the list of quality components, but they serve my purpose. I am using the original Suntour Sprint (Gold edition) for now, but it is not dailing in as clean as I want it. So I might be switching that out.

brandenjs

These are the original Wolber T430 wheels with a set of Continental Ultra 2000 tires.

AlTheKiller

This bike might not exactly qualify. Since 1995 was when both sti and ergos were gaining popularity I think. But interested in set up tips for these bars/hoods. Because the tops and bottom of the drop aren't parallel it is difficult for me to find comfort in every position. As it stands now, I am very comfortable riding on the bottom flats of the drop, great positioning IMO. But because of my poor fitness and riding style I do not spend much time there. Most of my time is on the hoods, but I feel the bars are tilted too far down. It is quite ridable, though, and not unpleasant. However the hooks are nearly unusable but for a quick climb or sprint... Tilting bars up so they are level leading to the hoods makes that riding more comfortable, but everything else less. Tilting so the bottoms are level makes the hooks perfect, bottom okay, but hoods write inconvenient. Just time for new bars?

Branimir

Try compact bars that come in 26.0.

Procraft (has grooves for cables!), and I personally have Bontrager SSR VR-C (no cable grooves), there are others, I think Soma Hwy One?

Bontragers on mine (40cm width, 289g if anyone cares about weight hehe):

R3tired

here's my contribution to the thread.. winter project, haven't ridden it yet, but i'm sure it will be sweet.. 1980 Cinelli, 2013 Record, 2013 Shamal...

revchuck 

Al - Nice bike!

I agree with Branimir that you might want to try out compact bars, and I've used the Bontragers he noted. The curves on those bars make it challenging to thread it through the stem, but it's doable. I ended up going with a quill stem adapter and a modern stem so I could use my favorite compact bars (Deda RHM01s). Be aware that going to compact bars will shorter the reach to the hoods somewhat.

Camilo

Another option to check out is the Civia Emerson. They come in 26.0 and silver (and I think black too). I have both them and the Soma Hwy One and they're almost identical in shape and weight. Not identical - they're not the exact same bar, but functionally about as close as they come. Both will hold the hoods in just about the same position as Branimir's picture.

Branimir

Bontragers are indeed a bit difficult to get through the stem. Reach is 85mm, which is a bit longer than Procraft, and I think others too have 75mm reach (Procraft has certainly).
Also, Bontragers don't have cable grooves which is a bit of a let down, and they come in black only. Personally I'm satisfied with the bars, they err... perform as the should

On the other hand, there are also "ergo" bars, most of them were popular in the early '90s during the 1st gen ergopower era... They are a bit more traditionally shaped, deeper drops but suitable for STI's for instance...
Deda Piega Ergo?

sloar 

very nice...

gomango

Missed that one.

Very nice, but this page has some beauties.

I'm a sucker for silver bicycles.

strangebrou

That's a great looking bike.

RobbieTunes

Very nice.