Originally Posted by
rEVOLVED
State Bike Co. is my local shop! I'm in AZ where they are headquartered. Too bad they only have the 17 and no 18. Might call them tomorrow and see what they have in stock.
I'm new at SS/FG too, only a couple of weeks in actually. But I can offer another option for you: Look at a smaller chainring. I just dropped from 45t to 42 because hills and headwinds were just plain brutal. All it took was $3 at the local bike co-op for a used ring and ten minutes to swap it out and pull a link from the chain.
Since I still haven't established my "ideal" setup for this bike, I figure I'll experiment with whatever I can find on the cheap. Then when I figure out what's working for me I can eyeball some nicer parts to finish it off.
You said AZ... Tucson? Phoenix?
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A race bike in any era is a highly personal choice that at its "best" balances the requirements of fit, weight, handling, durability and cost tempered by the willingness to toss it and oneself down the pavement at considerable speed. ~Bandera