first post here. Howdy all.
I ride a brown 2008 se lager. Nothing fancy, but i dig it. Bought it on "last year's model" sale for $399 from performance.
Upgrades = white industries eno 17t freewheel, all-city messenger 44t, brooks b17 saddle, white vittoria randonneur 700x28 tires, mks sylvan touring pedals, red bar wrap.
It's nice to have a bike that isn't super flashy or expensive - i live in chicago proper and bike theft is a concern. I'd rather no one notices/covets my bike, but i do want it to perform well and reliably (hence the upgrades).
The 44t all-city messenger ring was just installed last night. The bike came with a 46/16 setup but the freewheel was junk so i bought the eno 17t to make it a little easier on me (46/16 was a lot of work). I was riding it that way for a couple years and i love that ratio in ideal conditions but on windy days and longer rides it became a bit of a chore. Plus i don't wear a helmet so i was thinking maybe i should slow it down a bit. And my wife rides slow so gearing mine down a little would let us ride together more easily/comfortably. So last night i bought the all-city 44t messenger ring from my local shop and installed it. It sucks that i can't haul as much ass on the straightaways anymore but the difference is minimal. Noticeable, but just barely. Likewise it does help a little on the hills (aka "bridges" haha), and on real windy days i won't be scared to go for long rides. Plus with all the stop&go due to traffic lights and whatnot, the 44/17 is helpful (although a bit wimpy).
Phew. Sorry. Had to get that out there so you kow where i'm at and where i came from.
So now i'm wondering what else i can beef up on my bike and i notice the stem is weak sauce. It's made from the same soft material as the stock 46t chain ring was. And that thing was toast. It had gouges and damage on nearly every tooth. It was paper thin and just felt extremely cheap. If i had noticed it sooner i would've made it a top priority to replace.
So, can anyone suggest a stem? I would prefer plain black or chrome/metal and was looking at something like this -
http://www.universalcycles.com/shopp...0&category=784
but i don't know much about bikes and i'm not sure what size i need? And then what angle? When i got the bike i did flip the stem upside down because it had a slight downward angle, so flipping it gave it an upward angle and brought the bars up closer to me which i dig because i'm 6'4" (150 lbs).
Sorry for the novel. Glad to be here. Thanks in advance for your patience and help.