Apology accepted. I may have fired back, but I do have a pretty thick skin, so no harm, no foul. :) My gf teases me because I swear up and down I'm not a hardcore cyclist, she says I'm in denial...

The Mavics are pretty new so not much road grime on them yet, and of course black + dark pics means the dirt is pretty well hidden. The other pics were from the day I got the bike home, so it was brand new, and only had a handful of miles on it.

Afraid I need to keep the car though... kinda hard to tote around bass stuff on a bike!

USA, I've seen a few people like that. Drop serious coin on a high end bike, then ask where to ride it...

I got those fenders so I wouldn't have excuses. I'm a bit of a speed freak so I didn't want the fenders on the bike all the time, but I didn't want to be stopped because of a little water falling from the sky, and I wasn't too keen on the soggy bottom and skunk stripe on my back. So something I could pop on and off as needed fit the bill perfectly. Oh yea, I got mine from the LBS, they're pretty cheap, so when you're back stateside you might be able to walk in and grab 'em. I've been a little lucky as far as weather goes, been able to avoid the wet stuff for the most part, but I did go out for a long ride in a pretty good rain. Was very refreshing, so I'd certainly recommend it, just make sure you've got a water resistant windbreaker!

I do need to lube up the chain again. I used White Lightening Wet Ride on the first lube since I noticed a little rust after my first wet ride with the factory lube. I'm not sure if I should stick with the wet ride, or go with another type though...

And by popular demand, the bike outside! Lens might be a little smudged though... :(
(Had to use the flash on this first one to get the camera to focus properly for some dumb reason, so it's a little dark)
http://www.joelandrew.com/rants/wp-c.../7.3fxside.jpg
http://www.joelandrew.com/rants/wp-c...rontangle2.jpg

:rolleyes:Nice bike Joel,now may we see a pic of yourself in the ''What do you look like?'' thread?

Beautiful photographs. The purple reflection in the rim and the reflective barend shining in the flash photo. Stunning.

The smudge on the second picture draws attention to the dreamy wishbone seat stays.

Yeah, they are bar ends that I reversed to get the right angle for me, put inboard of the grips and wrapped with bar tape. Very comfortable.

That's the same old Jamis, an 07, just a recent picture of how it's set up today. It's on it's third set of tires now, happy to say I wore out the original Vittorias and then a set of Ultra Gatorskins. These are Top Contacts in 700 x 32, I think I am going to like them a lot.

Yes, two seat bags. One seat bag has tools and such in it, the other (brown tube) is normally empty and works good for a sandwich or a windbreaker or whatever.

Regarding the rack, the bike doesn't have eyelets so had to use something with a clamp around the stays above the disc calipers. I don't do panniers and clearance has not been an issue.

Yeah that's a flashlight on the bar, a three AA cell 5W LED mini mag light clamped to the bar with two stainless steel hose clamps with a piece of inner tube between one clamp and the bar and also between the second clamp and the light. I'm a cheap bastard and those LED mini mags are really bright and not expensive to buy or keep batteries in.

Aksiums on a 7.3fx ... a bit of overkill but it sure looks sweet and I like a bit of overkill to be honest :D
I've got Fulcrum 5 wheels on my hybrid ... they are in about the same range and I love 'em so good luck and great rides with yours man.

http://i52.tinypic.com/25ai4w0.jpg

The whip. Ordering new brakes as I am typing this. 12-26 cassette en-route along with Easton EA50 flat bar. I average 100 miles a week on her so I don't mind spending the money.

I like your taste in color... ;)

Nice bike, let me know how those brakes work out. Mine stop the bike, but ugh, the rear brake is trash.

Will do! My front brake is trash. I don't think I'll buy a bike with an Avid brakeset again. The daily adjusting is ridiculous. Not to mention their pads are trash. My set of pads lasted 2000 miles. Granted that's quite a bit of miles but the amount of dust they create is absurd. Trash, trash, trash!

Panther can help with any brake questions but i don't see him here for awhile.

On brakes... Tektro V brakes are nice but their pads are about as bad as they come. They will stop you with authority but are also very hard on rims.

Avid generally makes a very good, if not superior brake and as with all rim brakes, add a set of Kool Stops and your riding life will get much better.

And there is nothing wrong with your basic Shimano V brakes either.

I'm pretty happy with my Avid BB5 discs. I've heard that the BB7s are some of the best mechanical discs you can get.

My 7.3FX came with Avid SD-3 brakes. They are horrid. Joel agrees also. I've read a lot of reviews about this particular model and they aren't that great. Apparently they require adjusting too often. Mine require it daily and that is a little absurd. Today was the last straw when the front brakes pretty much bit the dust after only 2000 miles of use. I ended up ordering the Shimano Deore V-Brake set. Hopefully these turn out better.

I've heard nothing but good things about the BB5 and BB7. I kind of wish I would have gotten discs on my 7.3. I could trade it in at the Korean LBS where I got my bike, but I don't think it would be worth it at this point.

SD-3 as in Single 3 Digit by Avid? If so, mine been working great for nearly 2K miles,never need adjustment.

Yep. SD-3. I dont think of them as "Single Digit" though. More like "Sh*tty Design." I really do believe that either a) they're crap or b) I got a defective front unit because no matter what I do, only one side pulls

Cool, I didn't remember that bike, I thought you had something different.

That is odd that you have no eyelet for rack or fender on a hybrid! Still a real nice looking nice bike. I've had maglights clamped to my handlebars. I used to have both a big one (C cell model) and a mini mounted on my bars back in the day. That was before they had LEDs, though. I have a clamp designed specifically for mounting a mini maglight to handlebars around here somewhere. If I can find it, I'll send it to you for the cost of shipping, if you want it. Hose clamps work fine though, not sure the special clamp is worth the price of postage, but probably is or nearly so.

What do you mean by "only one side pulls?" I think your brakes need adjustment. Both sides will pull if the spring tension is equal.

I've got Avid SD5 on my Marin Mill Valley. I like them a lot. Cartridge style Avid Rim Wrangler 2 are my brake shoes of choice. I have them on both of my hybrids.
http://www.jejamescycles.co.uk/avid-...r-id30873.html

I prefer to run Avid bake pads in these brake shoes. These are not the correct pads, these ones fit an earlier model of brake shoe that had a straight slot.
http://www.amazon.com/Avid-Wrangler-.../dp/B000C15GZG

Avid Rim Wrangler 2 brake shoes have a curved slot and straight slot pads will not fit. This is a problem because you need to open the package to see if they are curved. The bike shop salesperson will swear up and down that they are curved, but he is wrong. Amazon is wrong. These are the wrong brake pads for Rim Wrangler 2 brake shoes! Beware! I have several pairs of unused straight slot ones (maybe fit Avid Rim Wrangler 1?) :(. If anyone wants them, they are yours for the price of shipping.

My Kona MTB had Avid V-brakes too, don't recall the model, but they worked just fine. I'm a big fan of Avid brakes.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...0KonaDewFS.jpg

Kind of a unique Kona Dew FS. This is a 2010 model and is supposed to have swoopy curved frame tubes ... but doesn't. Only 2010 I've seen like this. Kind of a "classic hybrid" according to some definitions. Great bike, fast even though somewhat porky (29.9 lbs)

Nice, I like that red.

Looks like a pretty kick arse garage you got there too.

My Cannondale...It's a few years old now and I think the only changes are brake calipers (the stock BB5s' springs snapped both front and back after 1 year's use) , swapped the rear cassette to road, swapped the rear sram mtb deraileur to a shorter ultegra and converted to double instead of triple at the front. I love riding this bike.
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...c/CA330765.jpg

Looks fast! Did you paint polka dots on the rims and crank? I'd like to see some close ups of those details.

On a rainy day I sat with a hole punch and red reflective tape. I was bored.

Further note...I realize the red bar tape is a bit over-board, but my future plan is to look for the old style Profile marble effect (1980's style), in red and black.

Reflective stickers, excellent!