RunningPirate

Hey Jym-

Admittedly, I haven’t read all of the posts, but on the first post you mentioned a lack of faith and support from family members. Have they changed their mind yet? Coz you’ve come quite a long way... Fine work, sir!

velojym

I think they've accepted it. However, with one of us (me) gaining fitness and looking/feeling a lot better, I think it can be taken as a sort of threat to the other spouse's sense of security. I've fixed up her bikes, and I'm keeping them ready for her to get back on, but I'm not going to put an annoying amount of pressure on her to ride.

RubeRad

How'd that work out?

I agree, you don't want 'annoying pressure', but lots of cheerful welcoming. 'Hey, do you want to go riding tomorrow morning?' and 'I found a new place to ride I thought you might enjoy' and 'If you ever spot a trail or something you'd like to try out, let me know!' Maybe look for ways to combo other fun activities, like ride to a restaurant or a movie or a store (with backpacks to carry back the loot), etc.

velojym

I am taking that tack, to whatever extent I'm able (I'm not real social), and she seems interested. So, I'll see how that works out. In the meantime she's out of town for a conference.

My "new" frame is hanging on the basement wall now, waiting for the parts scrounging. I did go ahead and order some basic, yet decent quality parts to make up for what I either don't have in the pile, or just to avoid having yet another cobbled together mongrel (though, my mongrels are pretty good!) while keeping a low budget in mind.
I did find a seatpost that fits, though it's a bit heavy. The saddle wasn't my first choice, but as I have some bar tape that would look good with it... maybe...
It's going to go back to its roots, with Tiagra and Alex. Whether I upgrade this frame in the future... dunno. I'm nearing 50 and am not so interested in racing as just keeping a good pace. This should suffice for a while. After I assemble all the bits, I'll take it to my bike shop for final adjustment and checking torque on everything.

velojym

It was boneheaded, but the reason for my seatpost slippage was my use of a QR bolt, and a collar that wasn't designed for it. Ah well. All sorted out now.
I'll be marking the seatpost with a bit of tape, as my frame size makes carrying in the car kinda unwieldy, but if I slip out the seat/post it's no problem at all. Just need an index mark to ensure I get it the right height when I'm ready to ride. This bike is a lot of fun to ride.

(added): I do need to install a longer chain on this bike. When I initially put it together, I used a different wheelset with a smaller big cog. This one, though it works fine in all other gears, will lock up tight if shifted into big/big. I don't do that, but better to eliminate the 'worst case'.

Also, as this is a weight loss/fitness journal thread, I'll toss in a selfie I took on today's hike.

RunningPirate

That can happen, yes, and it’s frustrating. Good on you for working with her while maintaining focus on your goals.

velojym

Trek is starting to resemble a real bike... Just got the wheels and bar/stem in today. Some Gatorskins I had waiting downstairs seem to fit fine (brakes are supposed to handle 28c fine, too).
Waiting for groupset to come in. While I have some cheap cable/housing in the basement, I think I'll get a decent set for this bike. One of the cheaper things to add anyway.

Ok... I was a bit worried about the black bar and stem, but in retrospect, and looking at the pic, it seems to work just fine. The silver seatpost, too, kinda ties into the black-to-silver scheme. I haven't set my seatpost height yet, just had that in there so I could clamp in to the stand.

velojym

I have a nice Bontrager seatpost that's the right size, in black...

What say you folks? Should I keep it mostly silver back there?

RubeRad

you got enough black on the frame to justify a black fork. If colors matter, the brown saddle is the real offense

velojym

The fork came with the bike originally. While the saddle is merely there as a 'placeholder' for now, I do have some bar tape that might go well with it. I like a little brown here and there.
But, saddle choice is still otherwise up in the air.

velojym

Though the Montague's old narrow flat bar worked fine on the Dale, I got bored today and swapped the trekking bar back on... now with the longer stem.
Looks a lot better now, especially with the more subtle bar tape. I'll give it a few miles and see how I like it, before I go so far as to trim up the front brake cable/housing.

zjrog

Brother, I'm digging that Cannondale! And also that Trek build. I think you will like that weight as much as I like my 2006 Cannondale CAAD8 R1000 that I'm riding more now...


And, not like I need ANOTHER bike, I'm keeping an eye out for a 80s or 90s MTB for a drop bar conversion. I've got a bunch of stuff sitting, so why not? Including drop bars with Sora 3400 shifters already on, and even extra brake levers on the top of the bar... My 29er has 3500 Sora, and extra brake levers, so it will be similar at least...

Congrats Brother... Sometines the journey has to be our own, but always better if we can bring others with us...

velojym

My wife is gonna regret getting the house with a big basement.

Nice Dale!

I'm poking around g-maps, looking for a route I can manage from the house. This was especially a problem over a hundred lbs ago, but I'm starting to think I can find at least a short loop I can ride from my front door. Hills, blind curves, narrow roads, and folks driving way too fast... but I'm gonna see if I can minimize the risks and find a route. Nothing already posted on ridewithgps or strava, but I'm pretty good with a map.

velojym

My box o' groupset from China showed up last night. It was the very last package on the UPS driver's truck.

As I had the day off, I went ahead and started putting the Trek together today. Everything's fitting ok with two exceptions:
The front brake bolt was a little long, so I used a couple small washers to fix. Not sure if I can shorten the hardware any, but this should do for now.
Good news/bad news... Ordered a groupset with a braze-on front derailleur, and the clamp I ordered was too small. Oops. So glad it doesn't take the whole derailleur out of the picture.
So, ordered clamp of proper bigness and it should be here by Saturday.
I got the BB,crankset,RD,cogset,chain,brifters,brakes mounted. I may work on some rigging when I get back home tonight, sans FD of course. I want to get it all together, and should be able to ride it around a bit to settle in on the brifter positioning, before the weekend. Saturday is usually a work day, so hopefully the clamp will be home by that afternoon, and I'll work on rigging up the front mech in hopes of being able to use this bike on a Sunday morning group ride... though if I get it done quickly enough I'll take it to a nearby neighborhood and give it a few miles first on Saturday night.

velojym

Everything's on except for the FD. My clamp should be here by Saturday. It's a 1x10 at the moment, finger-shiftable in the front though... not that I'd care to do that.
I'll just wait for the part and get it running properly.
The tandem is waiting in the wings. Stuff is in excellent shape on that, just need to do the maintenance stuff that comes from sitting in the basement for years. Already got new tires on it, and brake pads. Need to do cables, and check the headset. Hubs and BBs are good. Also gonna go with new bar tape while I've got the cables off, and will add matching saddles at some point.

RiddleOfSteel

That Trek is looking really sharp! I think the silver or black seatpost works, and I applaud your bar and STI shifter angling--looks proper! I think a black saddle and bar tape (or just matching saddle and bar tape) will look really nice. Brown does have its place, but it can be tricky. Those Charge "Spoon" saddles are nice. I had one, and sold it on a bike. I'd be game to pick another one up if I came across it. For now it's Prologo Scratch Pro's.

velojym

I may yet go to black for those parts, as I wouldn't mind putting this bar tape and saddle on my old Bridgestone, for the retro look. Thanks, I mostly went by feel on the cockpit, and though I don't have it fully finished yet, a roll across the living room floor felt pretty good.

I also thought about getting a "ladle" saddle and using it with this Charge on the tandem. Who knows... I don't usually finalize a decision until I'm checking torque.

Another thing I like about the look... probably the first bike I've had with a full matching groupset.

velojym

This morning's weigh-in: 242.6

Kinda slow going on the bare weight numbers this past month or so, but I've been changing my routines and riding more, which appears to have added some visual bulk (the firm kind) to my legs, which is a good thing.

zjrog

AWESOME NEWS!!! Yeah, the odd half pound, 1 pound, then back up a half can really be frustrating!!! Some changes are not dependent on the scale...

velojym

241.5 this morning.

Helped mark the route for the BBC century that's happening later this month, though I can't attend, as I'm working Saturdays.

velojym

Did my final weigh-in with Healthywage. Pending final confirmation, it's in the bag.
Once that's done, I'm going to play with their numbers and see what I can work up for a shorter wager to go along with the remaining weight I'm gonna lose.

That'll be both easier and harder. Easier because now I'm "in shape to exercise"... but the last few pounds do take a bit more effort to lose.

zjrog

Love that pic, Brother! Congrats!

rossiny

Amazing, wow. I got get on the bike again. Inspiration...

RiddleOfSteel

Lookin' good!

velojym

So, I'd been debating with myself on how to spend part of the Healthywage money for myself. (It's my reward! ...but I'll let some of it take us to someplace nice anyway)
I do have bikes that could be upgraded considerably, and have thought about how much I could improve Jake with some nice new parts.
Shopping for what I'd need, it looked like any substantial change in the bike would involve wheels, groupset, fork, brakes... pretty much everything, and pretty pricey too.
I poked around bikesdirect, too... thinking I could pick up a pretty decent bike for less than it'd cost to make Jake something he isn't. (still a great bike as-is, but a CX ride, and I was looking at roadie type parts)

Went to pick up my Trek Century t-shirt today at the LBS (Strava reward), and couldn't help but notice a bike about my size in the used rack. Didn't look very used, though.

Trek Domane 5.2, most of the groupset upgraded to Dura Ace... for under a grand. I asked about it, and was told it'd belonged to the owner of the bike shop, and was extremely well maintained. Looks like it doesn't have a lot of miles on it, either. He slapped some pedals on it, and I took it around the block.
That bike wanted to GO!

So I bought it.



I'll post a pic later.