Originally Posted by
nfmisso
HI:
Great write up
Regarding the brakes; I recommend that you consider changing to dual pivot side pulls; they are as effective as the linear pull brakes used on mountain bikes and hybrids. You'll need to measure the reach (
http://sheldonbrown.com/calipers.html#reach) to determine what you need. I have Tektro R559 (
http://sheldonbrown.com/harris/brake...ers.html#55-73) brakes on my commuter, and they took the bike from being scary to being very confidence inspiring. Amazon has many dual pivot brakes too.
Regarding tires - 23mm are awful on bumpy, or even slightly rough surfaces. From your description, I would strongly recommend that you stay with approximately the same size tires as you currently have. Maybe you can borrow a set (tires or even wheels) from another rider in your group to try out narrower tires. I believe that you will find that they may feel "tighter" but that you are not any faster, and on the rougher parts, you are actually slower.
Crank set: you may want to consider something like this:
http://www.amazon.com/Shimano-Cranks...7768959&sr=1-3 On my commuter; I run a 52/40 at the front and currently a 34-14 7 speed freewheel on the back. I have ordered a 25-13 7 speed freewheel from an ebay vendor, which will get installed next weekend. Recently, I have been riding as if I have a six speed 24-14 freewheel (just not using the 34T cog at the back); and that is working nicely. The jump from the 34T to 24T is murder on my knees.
If you want to get crazy; you could get one of these:
http://www.amazon.com/Nashbar-Carbon...7769349&sr=1-6 which would take a could of pounds off your bike......personally, I would not.
Please keep up the reports.
Hey, thanks! I'm always looking for future upgrades, and I like your train of thought. Particularly the dual pivot brakes and the crankset for a little more top end power. On group rides, while with the Kool-Stops braking power is more than adequate I can't lock up the brakes or stop on a pinhead like some of the other riders can, nor do I seem to have quite as much pedal on the top end. Fortunately they are moderately paced rides so I haven't had trouble keeping up, but if I want to go faster I'll need a crankset more suited for it.
Heck, I wouldn't even mind the carbon fork, but I agree, that's something for when I'm just feeling crazy.
You're the second person now to tell me to stay with the fatter tire size so I think I'll listen up...32c isn't so bad...
Originally Posted by
Ultraspontane
lol...
This thread is a giant monument to being penny wise and pound stupid.
My gosh, you are so right. I have invested less than $50 total into this bike, only $20 of which was completely necessary (brake pads). For that I have a fully functional bike that is fun to ride and got me into cycling and learning about bike mechanics. How foolish of me. Guess I shoulda forked over some extra money while I'm still in college so I could hang out with the cool kids.
Anyway, I really jinxed myself yesterday saying that I haven't even had a flat yet. Ran over a little bit of barbed wire that looked completely innocent until I ran over it. Air gone in about 20 seconds. The group stopped for me, we tried to patch it, but it wouldn't hold. I had even tried to find a spare tube yesterday but they were out of stock! My luck. Only got a 6 mile ride in today. I'm about to head out to the bike shop to try and find a tube or two.
Other than that, I had a great ride. No problems. While we were stopped there were a few of the other riders interested in the Denali in a positive way. Anything that's good enough to ride along without problems in the long group rides is just that...good enough.
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