shovelhd

Wishing you great weather for tomorrow.

Esteban58

hexed us you did... Cloudy with a chance of showers all week.

sarals 

I hope so, too! Thank you, Shovel.

Sorry to hex you, Esteban...

sarals 

I've got the bike. I took a quick, and I mean quick, ride around the parking lot at the mall. I can't give a solid impression, other than the bike is smooth, like carbon, and it's light, and it is responsive. It also steers quickly. REI's setup left a bit to be desired, but they did put my saddle and pedals on. They got the "quick fit" close.

I spent the next two hours tidying things up and installing my stuff. I flipped the stem and lowered it slightly. I leveled the saddle and set the reach and stack so it was close to my Bianchi. I removed all the silly reflectors and that damn guard thing on the rear wheel. I noticed the cable tails on the brake cables are awfully long. I don't have a ferrule tool, so I'll have to go to my LBS and have them shortened. I will put the PT cabling on it later. My Easton wheels are at my LBS being serviced, so I'll ride the Aksiums tomorrow. I don't like the bar tape, at all, so that's going to be replaced.

I really like the look of my CAAD 10-3. It's a mat white and black with gunmetal gray lettering. The welds are very smooth and well finished, and the the SL-K crankset looks very nice and really compliments the rest of the bike. The top tube and down tube are seriously stout - and if the CAAD 10 logo was't so obvious it could pass for an Evo pretty easily. It's a smart looking bicycle! It will be fun to race it.

Pictures tomorrow, I promise!

AzTallRider

Woohoo!

happybday29475

His understanding of where the limits of acceptability are was misplaced. As a new racer myself I've never received or initiated contact, but the more advanced racers talk about contact so often that it's certainly a curious topic to us neophytes, and, being inexpert, it's tough to guess where the appropriate boundaries are.

shovelhd

It's pretty obvious, it's just that it doesn't get stated loudly enough or often enough by USAC. Contact is not a substitute for poor racing tactics. Simple. Unintentional contact happens. It's part of racing. Intentional contact is OK as long as it is intended for preservation. Touching the rider's hip next to you when you sense them moving over. Leaning on the rider next to you to avoid a crash or to avoid getting squeezed. Only as a last resort, though, a word or two is usually enough. What is not cool is pushing and shoving to gain position, unless you are a pro and have to feed your family.

Racer Ex 

Even then it's pretty borderline and can get you relegated (or retaliated against).

AzTallRider

And I, for one, am really glad you have spoken up about that. Ignoring it fosters really bad habits.

shovelhd

Back when I raced in the mid 80's it was pretty common for riders to get relegated for hooking (impeding via contact) or blocking (moving off of your racing line in order to impede another rider) in the sprints, both primes and the finish. I don't think I have seen those violations called once since returning to the sport.

gsteinb

I won a race last year due to it. We started sprinting from the left curb, and by the time we crossed the line I was brushing the right barriers. I had to 'strongly' protest it, but the offender was eventually relegated. To second. WTF.

Esteban58

did someone say something about pictures?

AzTallRider

No pictures, so clearly this bike does not exist.

revchuck 

That's because it's a notional bike.

sarals 

Ha! ^

I rode it 34 miles this morning. I dropped it off at Hector's (my LBS) for new bar tape, shifting tuning, cable cleanup, and new wheel tryout (Cosmic Carbones?). BTW, it weighs, as you see it below (without the seat wedge) 17.68 pounds. That's a good start, I think!



Parking lot at REI, right after the first "ride".



Today, after the group ride.

I had the setup fit pretty far off. The saddle was slightly high and too far forward. I couldn't use upper thigh power at all, because of that.

Impressions? It does NOT ride like aluminum! It feels like stiff carbon - composed, not quite refined, but not raw and rough at all. It feels light. It seems to put power down pretty well, but the fit is so far off right now that I can't make a true judgement of that. It doesn't have the effortless, smooth acceleration of the Bianchi, it's more of a "jump" when I mash the gas. It is very stable at high speed, and once I adjusted to the quick turn in, I found it to be a solid cornering bike. It's a pretty amazing frame! The Ultegra group shifts more positively than my older 6600 (?) group on the Look. "Snick - click" - it's there. The front shifts very well, better than even the Campy on the Bianchi. Overall, so far, so good. Once it's dialed in, it's going to be a helluva race bike!

LAJ

That's a good looking bike, sarals.

Esteban58

Nice! sounds like its working out well.

AzTallRider

Sounds like you are describing a good cup of coffee. I have relatives in the coffee business, and they love flowery descriptions of their grinds.

Looks nice, Sara. Congratulations!

shovelhd

Much better minus the dork disc and the reflectors. Nice looking bike. Those Aksiums are very heavy. You can lose a pound easy with better wheels.

Congratulations!!!

valygrl

Gorgeous bike!!

Yer gonna want your power numbers for your races... look on slowtwitch for used powertap race wheels, they are out there.

revchuck 

Sara - Ya done good, lady! It looks great - best of luck with it!

Racer Ex 

White bar tape and a white saddle.

Yep, you've got the racer thing going.

nacler22

Sara, that bike looks the business. Everyone seems to love their Caad 10s, and I'm sure that after you get the fit down, it will just get gooder and gooder.

I think that you made an excellent choice.

Hermes

sarals 

Everyone, thank you so much!

Tomorrow I get a real fit on it. I have the session scheduled all ready. I'm thinking seriously of Cosmic Carbone SLs. The PT and OpenPro wheels will go on straight away for training, "other" wheels for races.

"White is just SO pro" - yeup, I've got it going on!