Podagrower

So, late Saturday, a reasonably priced, reasonably new bike popped up on Craigslist and it caught my eye. A 2011 jamis Coda Sport, a steel framed, 32mm tired flat bar roadish bike. I had decided to get off the hybrid, into something sportier, that I can ride further and be comfortable on. I've done 60 miles on the hybrid, but I'm looking for a little less in the vibration department. I've been having a hard time deciding if I want a big tired steel bike like the Surly Ogre, or a thinner tired carbon monster like the Specialized Roubaix. I told my wife Sunday that I might be "bringing home an interim bike", but she heard "bringing home an intern", so the bike was named before it was purchased.

Ride 1 Sunday. Quck test ride to determine if it would work out. Tires practically flat, rear derailer ratty, front brakes unusable. Perfect condition to sell a bike in. It rides bad, shifts bad, brakes bad. But people seem to love them, so I figure I can sell it for what I'm paying for it worst case scenario.

Ride 2 Monday. Air up the 28mm tires to 100PSI and pray. 5 minutes to adjust the rear derailler, another 5 minutes spent on the front brakes, and off we go. There is absolutely a different feel to steel. This bike is lighter than the aluminum hybrid, it doesn't resonate road noise, I can't tell you what size the pebbles are in the pavement. What a difference. These tires, however, suck, bad, like really bad. It may be that they are old, maybe they were abused when they were newer, I don't know what's wrong with them. They are a good tire, from a name brand manufacturer (not factory equipment for the bike), so I'm not going to toss them under the bus here without knowing the whole story. All I do know, is they aren't going to stay on this bike long. They are not round, but rather a shape resembling round, so that with every revolutionof the wheels, I get bounced up and down a few times, and the faster I go, the worse it gets. Stock saddle does not suck, factory bars and bar ends are pretty comfortable, but I'm pretty sure there is a Jones loop bar in this bikes future.

Ride 3 Tuesday. Pull off the defective 28s, transfer the 35mm Vittorias from the hybrid. The 16mm wheels are a little narrow for 35s, but it works. Frame clearance is tight with 35s, I don't think you could make 38s fit with the correct rims. And WOW, what a difference. Round tires are such an awesome thing. I actually was looking for some bad pavement sections to check the difference between what I am used to and the new bike. It really feels nice, I think a century (or two) are in order this winter.

Ladies and Gentlemen (Assuming I uploaded it correctly) I present The Intern.



It needs clipless pedals, and bottle cages, and a frame pump, and a mirror....

IAMAMRA

Sweet! So does it look like the intern may stay on full time?

TrojanHorse

Ah, nothing like riding an intern.

koolerb

I pick one up for my wife last Christmas. Really nice bike for the money.

corwin1968

Nice! Those Coda's have a fantastic reputation, as you know. Enjoy!

Erwin8r

LOL!!!

yup... Oh, and nice bike, by the way.

Turzy

nice bike !

I'm thinking about getting a roadish bike in the future

TrojanHorse

You should get one in the past - it's cheaper that way.

Turzy

yeah, but I still haven't figured out how to travel in time

Podagrower

Yes, the intern will be sticking around for a while. It really is a nice riding bike. And, to add insult, it's 6 pounds lighter than the hybrid. I'm not a racer by any means, but that's huge..

Daspydyr 

Congrats, everyone should have a positive experience with an intern! No cigars though...........

TrojanHorse

Says the guy with "paddles and poles" in his title.

donalson

looks like a fun bike... certainly one I'd keep around for casual around town type riding

for the tires being out of round, it's possible the bead didn't sit quite right on one side... I've got a rim that it really takes some work sometimes to get the bead to seat itself.

for tires... if you are on a budget Panaracer Pasela tires are pretty nice, i've been running 32c on my "touring" bike and have been very pleased with them outside of one puncture.

Daspydyr 

I have a boat load of cigars, just won't accept them from "An Intern." if ya know what I mean, never know where those things have been.

Podagrower

So, it's been raining here for almost a week straight, and I've been working late, so not much time for Intern action. 16 miles last weekend, 26 miles this weekend. Sorting out fit issues for the wife's ride, but it's close. At one point today, I was working to keep up with her on a pretty flat stretch, and looked down to realize we're doing 14 miles an hour, she used to not ride that fast, it's nice to see her expand her riding (and abilities, as drinking while riding occurs regularly now). As for me and the Intern, we're getting along fine. Got the derailer shifting very smoothly, matching water bottles and holders, moved the clipless death pedals and frame pump from the Trek, and the Brooks saddle. Currently, the B17 works nicely, but I need it nose down, so most of my weight is on my hands and legs. I knew that a road bike was going to put more weight on my hands, and it's just a matter of time (I think) before my wrists tell me it's not going to work. Seriously considering a Jones loop bar to change hand positions, but then the saddle will be wrong...whatever happened to the days when every bike was the right size?