My riding style ends up working out so that the stem shifters aren't a terrible inconvenience, as I rarely ride in the drops or stand to pedal. The only time I'm in the drops is when I'm trying to maximize my speed, at which point I'm already in top gear anyway, and the only time I stand is when I'm trying to get up a tough climb, at which point I'm already in my lowest gear.

Like you, I really enjoy the ability to skip multiple gears quickly.

The thing that bothers me about the stem shifters is that on longer rides, my left hand becomes numb from constantly supporting my weight while my right hand is off the hoods to shift. I really dislike the feeling.

Today I got to take a test ride with the new wheel and cassette. All was mostly well. I'm wondering if the new cassette has a lower tooth count than 28, first gear seems harder than before. Could just be my imagination and being tired from yesterday.

Shifting was great, gear retention was definitely improved. I don't have to worry about my shifting style to keep it from hunting between gears. I really love this. The hyperglide design is a definite improvement.

My rear tire seems to be out of round, or maybe just not seated properly. This wasn't a problem on the Denali wheel, but I can see the tire has a low spot in each rotation. The Weinmann wheel is perfectly true, it's definitely the tire. I'll try resetting it in the rim. Pretty sure it's just not set properly because the Denali wheel was also perfectly true.

I'm getting some strange noises out back in the middle gears, maybe in 3-4-5. Kind of like a light grinding, I can also feel it in the cranks while pedaling. It doesn't happen on either extreme end of the cassette. Not sure what's up with that, maybe the cassette just needs to break in. Any insight on that would be welcome.

I can feel top speed is improved. If I weren't so worn out today I would have tested it, but I got up to 33 mph downhill and had plenty of gear left. 52-13 combo now. When the day comes that I'm ready to try brifters I'll opt for a 9 speed cassette with an 11 tooth small cog if I don't choose to keep everything 7 speed. Then I bet it will really fly, although at that point I suspect my top speed capabilities would be stretching practicality, even as it is I doubt there will be many times when I will be using the 13 tooth cog to it's full capabilities.
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