unterhausen

as I get further into a longer ride, the 50 tooth chainring gets to be more and more useless, and just when I would rather not be shifting as much, I have to shift more. Or go to the "grande grande" as some wizened French guy admonished me when my gears slipped during PBP. Not sure my 46 is going to work, I'll have to try it.

Flounce

MRV - I haven't picked a particular bike yet, but I test rode a cannondale slate 650b and found the loss in efficiency compared to my current my not acceptable. Granted, the bikes are so different that it was not a comparison of 650b vs. 700c, it was comparison of a chromoly 22lb bike with front suspension 650b with a 16 lb hi-mod carbon 700c race bike. But the steel bikes I was thinking of getting were not lightweight either, so whether it was the tire or the weight, my 20 minute test ride gave me a newfound appreciation of how responsive and quick-accelerating my current bike is.

I will keep test riding bikes, but for the time being, I am working on a few other things: breaking in a Brooks Saddle ; getting fitted to the aero bars I attached to my bike, as well as mid-foot cleat position and shorter cranks. These are such dramatic changes that i am getting a new pro bike fit. Once I get dialed into this new fit and am happy, I will explore a Trek Domane or Specialized Roubaix and ride on 25mm or 28mm.