sarals 

Am I asking for trouble. I waded into the shark tank by actually answering some threads over on the 33. I'm working on my race face. Thanks, I needed that!

revchuck 

Sara - I remember reading about your experience with Gatorskins and thinking, "She's an aviator. She walked away from that landing, therefore it was a good landing; what's she fussing about?" There aren't any hills with switchbacks where I ride, and even the fast rides I'm on don't include fast cornering, so they'll work okay for me. Both tires are pretty worn, and I'm going to replace them with something else when the time comes.

It's actually a "beauty shot" of the CAAD9. The decals are pretty badly faded on the top tube and have gone from deep red to pale orange on the left side of the bike...and you can't see the ding I put in the front of the down tube about 6-8 inches above the bottom bracket. There are good things about using an iPhone for pictures! I had forgotten how nice that frame is, though; it really rides nicely.

shovelhd

Gatorskins handle like crap. You might want to consider a more race ready tire for training, i.e. GP4000s. They are almost as strong as Gatorskins but they actually turn.

sarals 

Now, Chuck. I'm just being a mother.

I keep hearing how nice that frame is, and how the aluminum rides just as nicely as a carbon frame does. Maybe I should ride one, and an Evo some day. Chuck, is a restoration in the cards?

sarals 

They're tough over there ("11 Speed Cassette"). I'll keep my mouth shut from now on and just read. It's almost like me being in a room full of fighter pilots and they don't know I'm there (it's happened). Yikes.

shovelhd

Guilty as charged. I have little patience for lazy idiots.

sarals 

IMHO, he deserved it, Shovel. Botto had it right!

Allegheny Jet

I usually can't feel that much difference in good tires. But, from my experiance with both tires you are spot on. I use GP4000s on my PT wheel set and font think twice about racing them. I usually buy them at PBK at great prices. I recently purchased tires from H & S Bike-Discount in Germany. Great prices but gets poor reviews. I purchased 2 Conti Competitions tubulars @ $68, Conti Sprinter tubular @ $37. They currently list Conti GP4000s clinchers @ $36.

My tire order and can of carbon cement came quickly with no issues.

revchuck 

I'll probably use up my remaining Michelin Krylions on it, and go with race-ready tires on the bikes I'll be racing. That part of the equation is still up for grabs.

AzTallRider

GP4000S on trainers, bought when PBK is having a sale, and I too don't hesitate to race them. Vittoria Corsa Evo tubulars on my race wheels, and I also buy them when I see a good sale. Right now I have two tubulars, and I think three GP4000S in the garage. I have a wheel stand I got for cementing the tires, but my first effort was "imperfect". True laterally, but with a very slight bulge at the stem. I didn't stretch hard enough for those first few inches, and I relied too much on correcting the position rather than being perfect as I was putting it on. Live and learn.

Racer Ex 

I bang on the stem area with a rubber mallet to flatten that bulge.

I thought it would be fun to change my signature now that I sold the mower (though I haven't been paid yet). I figured it might slow down the Cat 4/5 crowd when they want to argue with me about training and stuff.

shovelhd

It's going to take some maintenance.

Racer Ex 

It's a work in progress.

shovelhd

Love the sh*t still stinks line.

Allegheny Jet

I put an old fork in the vice and make adjustments once the tire is seated on the rim. The Conti directions show taking a file to widen the hole through the rim to give more room for the stem. I have done that on my vintgage bike's AL Mavic's but not on my carbon rims. The Conti website have a video of one of their guys installing a tubular tire. He makes putting the glued tire on rim the look easy, however he is a giant thatwith hands could crush a rock.

I like EX's rubber mattet trick.

Hermes

Most will not know what your sig means except for the part about the dump and KOM.

AzTallRider

sarals 

I think the Good Training Approach OP just wants to argue. Listening just seem to be his strong suit...

My work there is done.

shovelhd

A lot of new racers come into the 33 asking legitimate questions. You find out pretty quickly if they're serious or they just want to pump their ego by contradicting, justifying, arguing, and generally making an ass of themselves. Ex said it quite well in that thread. If a bunch of experienced, winning racers are giving you free advice, then you best listen.

sarals 

I should argue. But then I know when I've gotten good advice! Right? Guilty as charged!

Hermes

Hackey sack. Dude, can I get an upgrade to Cat 3 with hackey points?

Racer Ex 

Sure. I guess. I dunno, was there such a thing? We just ridiculed or beat up people who were playing it. You should see how quick a game breaks up when someone power slides a '72 Nova through the middle of a park.

That's part of the reason I was screwing around with my sig. The regulars know I have a decent knowledge base but the newbies can't differentiate. On the other hand I'm not all that comfortable banging on my own drum.

So it goes.

On that note, I'm reading a book of letters by Kurt Vonnegut. I would have liked to hang out with him.

chasm54

Who wouldn't? He was a man who knew a thing or two about breakfast, too.

sarals 

Indeed!

Hermes

When we moved to San Diego in 1979, I saw hackey sack being played at the beach which appeared to be a way to get a tan while passing time mindlessly. I preferred frisbee and / or throwing a football which played to my strength as a former quarterback.