I replaced my compact crank (34-50) with a triple (30-39-52). I never really liked the 34 and found the 39 a better overall gear for me. And having that 30 available for certain hills was a nice bonus. I have to wonder how that 36 would work for me.

It's been a while since I looked at the 50+ forum, and now I find a 65+ thread. Okay, so I'm 68 trying to act like I'm still 30 (and largely doing okay except every once in a while). Today I took a vacation day and rode my Masi, vintage ride for a vintage rider, for 53.8 miles.

http://www.theworld.com/~muller/pics...LonelyBike.jpg

FWIW, I commute 16 to 17 miles each way to work. With recreational riding on the weekends it comes out to about 8000 miles a year. But it's tough pretending I'm still 30.

The dog days of summer are in full swing so I decided no more riding the county trail until fall (cooler temps) gets here. The trail runs east-west so I have the sun in my face as soon as I leave the house and its beating down on my back all the way home. And there is zero shade along the trail. :notamused:
So today I loaded the Litespeed in the car and drove to the Withlacoochee Trail where there is plenty of shade. I've been putting this off until I felt my hernia surgery was healed enough to lift my bike into and out of the back of the SUV.

Rode north to Holder (yes that's a real town along the trail) and then headed south to the bike shop. I've been thinking about upgrading the drivetrain from 9 speed to 11 speed. The last couple of times I had to replace components I had a tough time finding 9 speed Ultegra components. So Sherry (the shop owner) is pricing an 11 speed upgrade — either Ultegra and 105 — depending on the total price.
I could do most of the work myself but my wife said no working on the bike in the house (it's air conditioned) and the garage (which faces east so it starts heating up 5 minutes after sunrise) is not. So if the price is right the bike shop folks will be swapping out the old 2001 Ultegra components for brand new. :)

Anyway, I ended up riding 18.5 miles.

You need to find a new, er, house.

My wife tells me to bring the bike into the living room when I work on one.

It is a new house. We had it built in 2013. We'll be here till we move to the nursing home or the cemetery. :rolleyes:

[MENTION=915]RonH[/MENTION] - Unless weight is a concern, go with 105. Function is identical.

50 miles on another smokey day. lightning last night started a few new more small fires, Started out hot, but some clouds formed and there were some lightning flashes with very loud thunder, made me wonder if my titanium bike was a good choice. Only felt by a few raindrops. Took a new way home.

Wife says to bring the bikes into the house for servicing but instead I crack garage door about 1', side door screen up then box fan on high and let-r-rip.

Getting ready to head out at 3AM for a cool, :rolleyes:, 81F @ 77% humidity star filled sky first segment ride. Have to be back by 0630 to make breakfast for the boss lady then head out again on the Saturday LBS suffer fest ride. Best of both world's.

Agreed. For the type of riding that I do -- and probably most of us here -- I've never seen a reason for any group set above 105, which shifts just fine. I suppose if you really wanted to try out the electric-shift stuff you'd have to move up, but that is also way up in price!

[MENTION=208276]revchuck[/MENTION] and [MENTION=7466]DougG[/MENTION]: The only reason I'm considering Ultegra is because the bike was full Ultegra from the factory in 2001. Of course today's 105 is much better that the old Ultegra.

There's a twist. What do you look for to determine age?

I have DA 7900 on one of my bikes. 105 5800 shifts better than the last generation ten-speed DA, especially the front.

The Litespeed and the "old" Ultegra is 16-1/2 years old.

Two Friends
 

I'd like to keep an up tempo here, but sharing this may help others to keep riding, doing what keeps us young at heart.
I have 2 friends that have had strokes, each is in my age bracket, both did not have the desire to do any exercise. I used to talk to them about moving without riding in a car, maybe too much. I guess everyone has their own idea of having a good time.
I know there are many reasons for strokes, but staying dormant, sitting for hours is not conducive to good health.
I rode my Me-Mover to the Y yesterday to weight train, I needed a mental boost. When I'm on a bicycle, Me-Mover or throwing weights around, the age thing doesn't exist. Sometimes it's tough to explain what happens when endorphins kick in during sprints, or how you feel after a workout, sometimes even your best friends hear you, but don't listen.

OK, but surely there must be a way to tell the newer from the older, especially if the newer is better. Physical difference? Numbers?

His original was nine-speed and would have been 6500. There were two ten-speed iterations, 6600 and 6700; the first 11-speed version was 6800 and the now-current version is 8000.

Thank You. :thumb:

I put the Ultegra triple gears from my Trek Pilot 5.2 on my Madone 5.5 (replacing the stock compact double). I think my Ultegra is the 6600, but can't recall.

Doing a bit of Googling, I found this info showing the difference between the two:
ultegra 6600 vs 6700

The difference I'm concerned with is the fact that I can no longer get new 6500 replacement parts. That's why I'm considering upgrading. The Litespeed is my favorite ride, even though it is heavier than my Cannondale, and it is VERY comfortable.

Note that when you do the upgrade, the front derailleur requires the use of a barrel adjuster. You can either buy the 6800 version and install one in line on the cable housing, or buy the 8000 version which comes with one built in as part of the FD. Without the barrel adjuster, it's almost impossible to apply enough cable tension to get it to shift to the big ring or to adjust it to take up the slack later when the cable stretches.

I have an inline adjuster on my Cannondale (SRAM Red) and haven't had to play with it yet. Now I know what its for. Thanks. :thumb:

A couple more months, and I get to join the club here.

We'll save you a seat😉

Too early to get the Book of Secrets 65-85+

Well looks like I won't make a TdF 2018 team either! Just had my 3rd back surgery since '04 and neck surgery in 93. All a gift from my mother. This one was easy but the MRI revealed I have collapsed disc at L2-3 and severe stenosis (stenosis isn't a big deal just hurts badly when the spinal nerve gets irritated). I assume this means fusion again ( previously at L-4-5) or disc replacement. There is a point to the whining. I am thinking of buying a tadpole recumbent trike- a sporty type but with full suspension. I ride on chipped seal roads that that can be rough in places due to poor road maintenance. I was thinking if I get one with sufficient seat angle this should support my back better than a tradition bike. I don't plan on stopping ridding my road bikes but i think I could do much of my base, endurance miles on the trike. I'm looking at the Catrike Dumont and ICE Sprint 26 X FS. Anyone with any experience? I will also post this in the recumbent forum but wanted to post here among us "more senior riders". I will be 72 shortly and have no intention of "going gently into the night".

Bummer. Heal quickly. Do keep riding!

Sorry to hear that. Wishing you a speedy and successful recovery. I'm headed for some shelf time myself. I just started to feel fully recovered from surgery to correct a mal-union of a pelvic fracture and a revision of a hip replacement last year. Now I'm headed for a knee replacement on Sept 7th.
I don't intend to stop riding either. A big part of the early stages of recovery for me is riding on the trainer since it's a controlled environment so it's a lot less risky than riding outside. I have a smart trainer and ride on Zwift which keeps the boredom at bay and it keeps the wife happy.:p
In any event it works for me. Good luck and keep riding!

I had to abandon the Zwift during recovery from the TKR because it was just too competitive for me ... I was always trying to keep up and that resulted in overdoing it multiple times with setbacks in recovery. You may have more restraint than me with Zwift, but it is worth being cautious and pacing according to how your knee is progressing rather than the fellow ahead of you on the Zwift route. Anyway, I am sure you will do fine.

1st 75 miler
 

I just completed my longest ride in my 69 years of bike riding. I am 75 in 2 months and riding a mile for each of my 75 years was on my bucket list -if I wasnt riding a recumbent tho I couldnt have done it because i can no longer sit on a fence post for more than 2 hours. On the trail I met a man who was my age who was training fof his 7th IRONMAN RACE - it just shows us what is possible as we age if we keep moving.

for the past year 95% of my riding was on a Wahoo Kickr following a TrainerRoad program-High Volume Sustained Power plan. My FTP increased 7% at lower HR. I was just getting into the good stuff that would have had a significant inpact on increasing FTP. I think a 10-12% total increase in FTP within a year was doable. Unfortunately I have to start off at the beginning again, but that's life and to do this stuff you have to enjoy the "process" and not just the "results". I learned that when training for a marathon years ago. So yes it is back to the Kickr and base miles on the Kickr. Fortunately I like doing this. I'm O/C and like the structure of TR vs Zwift.