BD, you do realize that it's partly your fault I got my Tarmac. Your Roubaix looked so sexy that when I couldn't find a Felt I decided to raise my sights a little. Thanks for the "push".

sweet, good stuff...

silly grin says it all... congrats and do enjoy the ride.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/bluesda...7625494793819/

Beautiful bike. It certainly has that "Darth Vader bad boy" look, which makes me wish it was mine . Good luck with it. Do drop some young OCP type.

Congrats on the beauty, Dawg!

Man, that looks great. And my guess is that you'll love it. I know when those around me are complaining about the road surface I feel fine. Maybe it's the carbon (though it is smoother tan my last carbon bike) or maybe Zertz is more than marketing. Something is working though.

Heck, because the thing feels so good I find I descend more confidently and a lot faster.

Enjoy!

Batman would be sooooo jealous!

If Ribby has a soul, I'll bet he's (or she's) happy for you.

It was a long break between chances to ride but now I have ridden about 30 miles each of the past two days and I'm planning a 50 mile ride tomorrow. I think I have the fit dialed in pretty well with a 100mm stem to replace the stock 110. I need to take the bike in to have the steerer cut since I have moved all the spacers from below the stem.


I am really liking the way the bike rides and how the shifting works. The trim on the front derailleur works very nicely to keep the chain from rubbing as I move through the rear cogs. So far so good with the saddle. I'm not sure if it will be a keeper, but I know I don't hate it.
The cold (by my wimpy standards) air and my lack of regular riding is keeping me kind of slow, especially on hills, but the gearing seems adequate for the local hills. I'll be hitting some of the harder ones around here during Friday's ride, so that will be a better test.

Wish I could drive down and join you. The roads up here are a mess and the trails are covered in snow.

You poked fun at me when I tried to tell you months ago that you would like the trim shifting. You still haven't answered my question about the cassette. I assume you have the 11-28 unless you changed it. I think it works great for me.

I think you made a great decision to buy I great bike. I am so happy that it is working out for you. I hope you get some good weather to get in some quality miles. I am addicted to my Roubaix Expert and my frame isn't as nice as yours.

My problem with the Avatar saddle was probably more the size. I like a 130 mm saddle rather than a 143.

Really? I remember having a strong aversion to the idea of staying in the 34 ring all the time and cross-chaining (little-little) as a rule and not an exception. I don't remember saying anything negative about properly using the trim function. I trim the front derailleur frequently on my bikes with bar end shifters.

I have not used a full cross-chain combination and I avoid using the second cog on each end of the range with the opposite ring, but I will do so occasionally. I am studying the gear combinations to train myself to shift the front rings at the best time to avoid the extreme combinations. The compact has me shifting up front more often, but I can live with it.

I am using the 11-28 cassette and will use it until it wears out. Then I may change to a 12-27. While the 11 cog is not totally useless, I would rather have a 16 cog between the 15 and 17.

fantastic

I use the 11 cog frequently. It would usually be useless for me in the big chain ring because I don't have strong enough legs or a big enough hill in Houston. I did use it once with the big chain ring when I had a powerful tailwind. I use the big chain ring when the 11 cog isn't tall enough. I don't have to trim shift unless I use the 2 smallest or 2 largest cogs in conjunction with the small chain ring.

I typically keep my cadence between 90 and 115. this range allows me to work around the lack of the 16 tooth cog.

The front derailleur shifts really well, but the 34 ring works for me most of the time. Maybe I will get more chain life if I double shift.

I like these discussions with seasoned veterans like you because I may find a better technique. I have learned a lot from you. You were a big help when I was buying my Roubaix Expert.

BD, congrats on the new acquisition; that is really nice. You didn't have to get rid of anything in your stable to get it, did you?

At 90 cadence a 15 cog in the small chain ring is 14 mph. I rarely ride below that speed and don't miss the 16 cog.

If you use the large chain ring with the 15 tooth cog at 90 cadence you would be riding 23.4 mph. The 17 cog would drop your speed to 20.6 mph.

The 11-28 works well for me in the small chain ring most of the time. If I usually used the large chain ring, I would not like the gaps and would want the 16 cog. I also like the speed steps for the small chain ring much better than the large chain ring.

If I am going 20 mph in the little chain ring and the 12 cog, and I shifted to the large chain ring instead of using the 11 cog; I would need to shift the rear to a 15 or 17 cog to increase my speed. I prefer not making that many shifts.

My 2009 Roubaix had a 12-27 cassette and I primarily used the large chain ring until I found the small chain ring was better suited to my usual riding speeds.
I swapped the 12-27 on the 2009 Roubaix for a 11-28 after I started using the small chain ring more often. I much prefer the 11-28 cassette due to the taller gearing available in the small chain ring.

Congratulations on the new bike Blues Dawg; looks great and sounds like it works well for you! Great photos too!

I just finished building up my new bike a bit over a week ago; will try to take some pictures soon.

Rick / OCRR

I had a very nice ride today. Loving the new bike. Glad to see that the new technology doesn't dissapoint after holding out for so long resisting it.

It was a brisk 50F at the start of the ride and warmed up to the upper 60s by the end of the 50 miles. I took in as many of the notable hills in the area as I could, starting with Pancras to Cobb, followed by the steep rollers on Mt. Pleasant, then over to Wriley Road for Off-The Wall and Jack Brown Hill. After stopping in McIntyre to refill my bottles and munch on a Cliff Bar, I rode up Dedrick and down Claymont. The bike was amazingly smooth coming down the shake and bake on Claymont at up to 38mph. A nice section of rollers coming out of Gordon led to a short dirt section leading to Union Hill. Just for fun I threw in Torrance for one last climb.

I never needed a lower gear, though I wouldn't have scoffed at having one available on a couple of climbs. I didn't try to speed my way up the hills as my mid-winter form is best suited for LSD rides (long, steady distance), but I never got into a situation where I wondered if I would be able to continue the climb. The bike responds well to bursts of hard pedaling, and I'm sure I'll see some speed improvements when I am in better conditioning from more frequent riding.

https://ridewithgps.com/trips/151737?...trip&mode=auto

I've chosen the name "Betty" for the bike because it is fun to run the song through my head as I ride. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYrK464nIeY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R044sleOW6I&NR=1

As in Black Betty? Which version are you singing? Spider Bait? Ram Jam?

Yep. Beautiful bike.
However, something must be done about that giant seat bag (with red no less!) and those unmatched not-at-all pretty water bottles.

Betty deserves better. She'll thank you later.

Funny, but that was the smallest seat bag I had. I couldn't believe how big it looks on this bike. Red accents will abound on this bike, but it doesn't really work on the seat bag. I'm looking around for one that will look better on Betty and still hold my flat fixing essentials and a multi-tool. The water bottles will continue to be whatever I have around, but I do want to get more appropriate cages. These are on loan from Ribby (R.I.P.).

Thanks for the ride report. I remember being in that part of GA about 20 yr ago. I stayed at the Engelhard guest house in McIntyre. We went to the clay plant in Gordon the next day.

Sometimes Leadbelly, sometimes Ram Jam. Spiderbait? Not so much.

BD-you might want to look at these: https://cgi.ebay.com/New-Two-Elite-Ca...item43a4377918

Yikes, that's a lot of cash for holders...
These are 4 bucks or so


And get some black/white bottles.


and a reasonable size seat bag.


We're doing this for your own good.