Mentor58

First off, my apologies to all of you who now have that tune stuck in your head for the rest of the night.

I just got my Fex-Ex notification that my Volpe has been shipped, and should be arriving here at work on Thursday. Now I'm going to have a light touring / Brevet bike (since I intend to try my hand at that next year), and the Fully Loaded, Super Low Geared, Head Shok Wearing Cdale for longer and/or heaver trips.

I did the "Happy Programmers Dance" (don't ask, it's not pretty). A friend of mine asked innocently enought, "Don't you have a bike?". I said, yea, but only two, and this one fills the gap between them. He looked at me like I was slightly insane.

Just wanted to share....

Steve W.

jcwitte

That's funny. My family thinks I am insane for having spent as much as I did on my Trek 520 a couple months ago. I've been searching through the classifieds and ebay for another bike that will serve as a commuter. I need a bike that I won't mind locking up outside the grocery store and such. I haven't told anyone yet, but I'm sure I'll get the same puzzled looks when I do.

Mentor58

Well it showed up today, beautifully packed, no issues or drama. I'm going to put it toghether tonight, only thing I already see is that the front wheel bearing are WAY too tight, have to adjust those, and check the back when I get to that part. I'm really hoping to ride it on Saturday.

Steve W.
Who now officially has enough bikes.

FraAngelico

We're did you order it from? I want one too.

Mentor58

Got it from Ebay, If it was ridden, it was around the parking lot once. There is one tiny blemish on the paint, but otherwise perfect. I would have ridden it around tonight, but after I got it home, I realized 2 things. I had left the seat and post back at my office when I unpacked it, and that the bike shop that packed it for shipping forgot to include the anchor bolt for the front derailuer.

I'm very pleased, paid a bit more than I had intended after shipping, but still less than what the bike shop that carries Bianchi quoted me, and that didn't include tennessee's 10% sales tax.

I vented here a few weeks ago when I missed one on a "buy-it-now" by waiting an hour too long. I feel partially redeemed.

Steve W.

linds

Steve -> I caught that other Volpe a few weeks ago. It rocks!
I'm glad you found another one.

Mentor58

I thought you were BSing me when you said you got it... Yea, it's a sweet looking bike, and once I get the seat post home and get it on, all I can say is they are predicting 70 Degrees tomorrow.

Steve W.

linds

Haha, no, I wasn't. I really have it. I got it last Friday.
Plodding around the city this week has been great, and yep, it's supposed to be 70 in Boston this weekend too.
Planning a good ride for tomorrow morning!

Hope you enjoy yours!

tvphobic

Mentor58 and other Volpe-ites... are you going to actually run the All-Terrainasauri? They felt so slow on the road I was dyin' - Currently running Vittoria Randonneurs when in the broken-bottle district, and Pasela TGs 28c front/ 32c rear for less urban road use.

I do swap in the All-Terrainasaurus onto my original T221/Tiagra 36H ws for winter use.
My Volpe is a 2001 Burgundy. Bought it NOS in late 2002, $599 no sales tax either (New Hampshire) I love it and finally really have the Avids dialed in.

linds

I rode the All-terrainasauri (hehe) today on my ~ 45 mile journey.
Definitely slower than my 700x25s that I have on my other Bianchi, but I'm riding around Boston and New England roads, so I kind of appreciated the extra cushion as well as the glass/pothole-proofness of them.

If I had any extra dollars (poor college student, here) I'd get myself a pair of 700x28 slicks.

gcasillo

More crass salemanship on my part...

I have a 1999 55cm Volpe I'm going to be selling in the next couple of days. Deep purple color. Decent shape. Loooved this bike, but I'm dealing with other stuff at the moment.

Again, stay tuned in the For Sale forum.

tvphobic

Just fyi.. the Panaracer Pasela may not be 100% slick but has very little rolling resistance. Cheap too.
I've use the regular ones and the TG aramid belt.

Here's a pair of TG's

https://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...tem=7194468232

I respect the All-Terrainasaurus actually - It's a lot LESS draggy on pavement
than a Michelin Mud, Bontrager Jones, Kenda Kwick (or similar cyclocross tires), but it's also much better on
turf, sand, gravel, and wet dirt than any of the slicker tires. It is indeed an interesting compromise. The Randonneur has the flatproof aspect but holds some velocity on asphault. Once again, Pasela TG is a steal.

linds

I had the Paselas on an older Bianchi that I got rid of. I like them.
Thanks for the eBay heads-up. What I'd REALLY like to be able to afford is an extra wheelset with the other pair of tires, so I could swap them out. That's more of what I was talking about re: being a poor college kid.

Mentor58

Well, Saturday got hosed by a work-related crisis, but today I got out and put about 40 miles on the Volpe. Don't have exact milage because of 1. No computer on it, 2. I didn't ride any of my usual routes, I got sort of 'lost' a bit, but realized that I was slightly off track when I saw the sign welcoming me to the next county.

First off, it's a very nice ride, accelerates well, much better than the C-dale, and is quite comfy. The All-Terrainasaurus are going to go into the supply room, it's not the drag that drove me crazy, it was the sound they made on the pavement. The Shock Absorbing Seat post isn't doing anything for me, so it goes, and the saddle, while OK, is going to be replaced by a Brooks.

All in all, I like it a bunch, and if I could only have one bike, this would be the one I'd go with.

Steve W.