Nice shots and perfect workmanship on the roller enhancement. What did you have to promise your wife as a quid pro quo for the pics?

Why are you selling it? What happened to your track mojo?

It's probably too small...but I've resisted getting a track bike fit. Knowing my #s makes it too easy to buy.

Not ruling out anything, just curious.

Sweet job, AJ.

Timing is everything!:thumb: She even took a few seconds of video with the digital camera! My wife is hosting some sort of sorority event at our house next week (and I'm required to not be there) and she is going to NYC for a few days with friends this week, and I helped to put up all the holiday decorations without complaining (very much). She really decorates big time for the holidays, in addition to lighted swags on the staircase and Christmas thingies everywhere, we have 4 Xmas trees in the house.

Nice home theater room, AJ!

The roller setup looks pretty nice...nice work! I wish I had the room to do that in my (dinky) house.

My track mojo had to go. There are many reasons, the biggest being the expense. The next was the old "too many irons in the fire". Finally, I came to my senses! Anyway, the bike sold yesterday.

AJ that is a lovely example of workmanship and in a beautiful room, good taste is always appreciated.

Hermes, nice bike. If you need to get the bars lower you can get a shorter conical top cap for the FSA headset.

Thanks Eric.

Hi Hermes,

That is incredibly light for a 58 cm frame! The bike is hot and you should post it in the 'Hot r Not' thread and on the Weight Weenies forum. You and Ms. Diva almost have matching bikes. Cute. ;)

Hi AJ,

I presume you saw the similar setup in the Road Cycling sub forum. That guy also had some longitudinal guides to keep the rollers tracking straight. I guess with board as a base, keeping the rollers moving straight isn't as much of an issue.

Nice fabrication and assembly job too.

I also know who to call first if I need a bodyguard. :D

+ 2 on the bodyguard, Cleave! (AJ, you make that bike look TINY...)

Cleve,

I did get the information from the roller thread on the 41. I don't think the angle iron is needed as the unit only moves forwards and backwards. Drilling holes and putting the wheels on the aluminum frame was very easy. I did have to locate the top rollers on by trial and error. The first attempt I had the wheel inside the roller and it pinched the wheel/tire when hitting it. I moved the wheel a little past the center of the roller and it works great at deflecting the wheel back. I stained and varnished the base board to keep it cleaner since it will stay out in the room. I sweat buckets on the rollers and trainer and know that the plywood would get very dirty and dingy in short time. In the past I would put the rollers and trainer under the pool table when done. I may be able to slide the whole thing under the table which would be nice.

You guys are a tough crowd!:D I know that I have picked up 2 or 3 pounds since the summer but sheez!, what would you guys say if I weighed over 191 or even 195? Maybe gray isn't my best color or possibly I need a bike larger than a 56cm?

My mother say's that I'm big boned. My wife says that I'm too skinny and my face shows it. My coach says I'm fine, and that he likes my 30 second 10.55 watts/Kilo and to keep doing the core/resistance as prescribed. I do know that I'm at my college decathlon weight and would probably do well in a bike throwing competition if anyone knows of one. I'm a racing cyclist therefore I'm too fat. I'm...

I'm so confused and conflicted....

Dear Confused and Conflicted, I thought you looked great on the bike. The tee shirt makes you look a little bigger on the bike versus a tight fitting race jersey. I did see one of the pros throw his bike after the second bike change due to mechanical problems.

But the bike throwing isn't just about distance. There are style points involved. You need the proper look of disgust/disdain for the lousy equipment the team sponsors stuck you with, and of course a little "Suh Stomp" to get the maximum bonus points.

Not sure I've seen anyone throw an R5 though!

Not yet... And they would think twice if they had to pay for it. Although, I have seen golfers throw a couple of thousand dollars worth of clubs and bag into lakes as well as break club in two. I am not sure that cycling can frustrate an athlete as much as golf or tennis.

BTW, when are you going to get your R5? As I recall, there was some type of team purchase for R5s.

I'm finally out of the pure base phase. Did some AT intervals on the way to work this morning: 6 x 45" @ ~300w at 3' intervals. Not much in the way of intensity, but it's a sign of what's coming. Core/legs resistance last night, after skipping those Thanksgiving week. :-/

Swapped the Quarq from the Madone to the Gunnar last night, since my Madone training wheels are out of commission, and my worn thin rear tubie got a "garage flat" the day after the ride out into the boonies. Perfect timing! So it's only the Gunnar right now, and I wanted the PM for the intervals (and this weekend). I'll be making my first attempt at gluing a tubular soon.

And I've found a great deal on some Bont Race XXX Lite Clinchers I may pull the trigger on today. They are 2009's, with about 400 miles on them by the seller's 135# wife. My only hesitation is that they are the 'paired spoke' version. Bont isn't using that approach for these wheels anymore, and in general, bigger riders are warned away from paired spokes. But I know 2 guys who have ridden the heck out of these wheels with no problems, and one of them is heavier than I am. The price is under what I'd pay for something like the Williams 38 carbon clinchers; the other wheels I'm considering. I want carbon, as I don't want to swap pads when I put my Zipps on. The Bont's are about as light a clincher as you can get.

Hermes, are your XXX's paired spoke?

Anyone have paired spoke experience?

I skipped the team buy, Hermes, deciding to ride my Madone for at least a year. It would have been a rushed decision, and one made without the ability to have a test ride of a 61cm. I was leaning toward the S5, as aero is more important than pure weight for our area. We tend towards fast courses. But, as my wife said the other day after asking me what it was I was really wanting to do with a pending bonus, other than put it in savings. "You know you're going to buy it." Probably so. But not this year. More wheels instead, then maybe look towards getting a deal with next year's team buy, or a 2012 when the 2013's come out. Unless, of course, there is something really exciting for 2013. :innocent:

Here is my R5 with the Race XXX lites. I saw your post in the 41 and opted to pass on commenting. Posting from a point of ownership and knowledge in BF these days is like putting ones dcki in a meat grinder. The paired spokes have not been a problem with the bontrager wheels for my XXX lites or my Race lites that came with my original Madone. I raced the Race XXX lites in 2009 in the Madera stage race through 6 miles of terrible road. It was like riding a jackhammer. The wheels performed perfectly and are true. My wife has the Rolf Aero Elan and now Aero Alpha which feature paired spokes in the rear wheel. She rode those wheels twice in the Madera stage race and they have 18000 miles and needed no maintenance and are perfectly true.

The owner of a shop that I use, who sells a lot of high end wheels says that wheel reliability is not always predictable. Some customers are hard on equipment even though their weight and power should not be a problem. Racing is hard on equipment. It is true that heavier more powerful riders are harder on equipment than lighter less powerful riders such as my wife. So your concern about wheel reliability vis a vis your weight is a valid concern.

It is possible to make a bike and wheelset combination too light. The problem arises with the descents. It is harder to control the bike. I plan on using my Race XXX lites for specialty events such as hill climbs.

I had my LBS look at my XXX lite hubs and he said they were holding up fine.

http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u...5/IMG_0127.jpg

AZT, Prior to purchasing the Williams 19, I talked with Keith Williams about the 38s. I would have liked the 38 carbon clinchers. He steered me away from the carbon braking due to heat build up that he maintains is a problem for all carbon clinchers. If your area is flatter and you do not do much braking, the 38s are a great choice for general training, club rides and races. And they are not too deep to be affected by wind.

Last weekend on our ride to the coast, there are long sections of descent where the wind is channeled. When I hit the windy sections with the R5 and 19s, the bike was very solid and I did not feel the need to brake. With my R3 and the system 30s, the affect on the handling would have caused me to slow down. 404s would be lousy in this situation, IMO.

Racing, I just go with the flow but having positive control is a plus.

Thanks Hermes. And I'm with you on how different people can be harder or easier on equipment. You see that all the time. I'm fortunately in the category of those less likely to break something. I think it's not only a riding style issue, it's being aware of how everything works, what will stress it, and sorting out any sounds or signs that things aren't 'just so'. Some people can walk up to something mechanical you've been using just fine for months, touch it, and have it fall apart on them. I had a brother like that, and would cringe anytime he asked to borrow my car.

I did the ride out into our mountains on my 404's, in part to see how they handled descents that needed braking. Everything was good, but of course I was careful to avoid prolonged braking on any one wheel. That led me to decide carbon clinchers would be fine for training wheels. And given that carbon brakes differently than alloy, and needs different pads, using them all the time is for me a plus. If there is something where I'd be worried, I can always ride the Gunnar. In a race, if something melts, then it melts. :-)

That's my current thinking: feel free to poke holes in it!

AZT, To get a comparable S5 to my R5 VWD (assuming you want one), you will need the S5 VWD. It has the technology carried over from the R5ca besides being lighter. I doubt that there will be team buys on the VWD models since they are limited in quantity unless one can grind down the LBS on his margin.

If we want to upgrade from the team bike, the LBS (owner is the team captain, which is convenient) will buy at a small % above cost. The options for Cervelo were limited (for instance no frame only at a big discount). Scott and Guru offered team paint, and more options. LBS owner is riding an S5 VWD and a Guru Photon this year. IIRC his Photon is something like 12#.

Are your 404s tubes or clinchers? Tubies are not a problem braking since the heat is more easily dissipated. With your terrain, it seems like you can choose carbon clinchers and they will not be a problem.