WheresWaldo

I'm keeping the red tires. I can use the black tires on the Klein project bike I am working on.

shawnj73

I never ride with out one.

shawnj73

I think the red tires look nice! Great choice. I almost bought red pro race II for my IF.

WheresWaldo

This bike continues to amaze me. My daughter and I went for our Sunday morning ride, about 9:00 am. We covered the 12 miles in about 45 minutes. We pushed up the climbs easily, and the last mile we did a little hammering. Smooth as silk. So we are home, and eat breakfast, for me french toast and coffee, when the doorbell rings, it's my neighbor, and he wants to know if we are going out for our Sunday ride. So as not to disappoint we tell him we'll go out a second time. So off the three of us go, and we do the same loop in 40 minutes. This time I push real hard on the climbs and do a lot of standing. As you may or may not know, I am currently a very heavy guy. and I like to mash real hard on the pedals. Not one peep out of the IF. I could not hear any chain rub in the front derailleur. There was just so little flex in the BB that this bike might actually make me enjoy climbing. It seemed like I could maintain my pace uphill a lot longer than I ever could. As a point of perspective, I am not and have never been fond of hills. When in my best cycling shape I was 185 lbs and my riding buddies were 145 and 155 lbs respectively. They could climb, and I would get dropped even on the shortest hills. But I can descend! So usually they would wait for me at the top of each climb and catch my wheel as I crested for some insanely fast downhills. That said. I wanted to see how she would handle under my weight. So even though I have very little base miles, on some of the short descents I popped it in the big chainring and hammered. Then let the bike roll to see if there was any signs of high speed shimmy. So far the max speed is about 35 mph. I really need some longer hills to get the speed up over 45 mph to really test her out. On the home stretch, my daughter was getting a little tired so we really had to slow down for the last two miles, but even with that long a slowdown, we still managed the same route in five minutes less time! One thing I did find out, I do not have the saddle position quite right. On the second ride, I just couldn't find a comfortabble position on the bike. So about 20 miles is the current limit on the Selle Italia Carbonio. It could also have been the hour we were off the bike before the second ride that contributed to the discomfort. So the saddle needs to go up about Ľ" and back about the same distance. The sit bones are correct and when fresh the saddle is comfortable. The saddle still needs to tilt foward a degree or two. All in all, it was a beautiful day for a ride, and I was able to put in double the mileage. A great day all around.

blandin

Nice report WW, sounds like you and your daughter had quite a day. It also sounds like this bike is a good fit in your stable. I have the Selle Italia SLR Carbino on my Allez Pro and find it almost as comfortable as the Fizik Arione, as it hits my sit bones just right. Hope you find the right adjustment on yours.

wangster

So finally finished with it. New red Vittoria Rubino pros... 20c which is a b!tch to mount despite being folding. Look Keo Sprint pedals and Selle Italia SLR gel flow saddles. The handle bar and stem are FSA. Thats all I'm gonna do to it... for now.

WheresWaldo

Very pretty. Are those Tacx waterbottle cages? If so, what do you think of them? The tires look good, I like the Rubino Pros also, that is what I put on my daughters Moto. I like the red pedals too. I'm suprised you didn't go for the red saddle also. Enjoy the ride, and show us some more pics.

wangster

Waldo, the cages are Bontrager... I saw them in the LBS and couldn't resist since they matched so perfectly. They are pretty nice, not too light but not as heavy as the nashbar pos I had. I was thinking of red saddle, but that'd be too much red. I still have to cut the steerer tube down and maybe get a no setback post.

shawnj73

Nice ride Wangster. I like the color! What kind of bars did you end up with?

wangster

I got the FSA wing pro. Didn't want to spend too much right now, just need something that works and don't flex as much so I opted for the aluminum bars. I'll get carbon everything eventually.

Bike Lover

I'm still frozen about what I should get. There are several good options, it seems. I keep messing around with the Pedal Force build page, then I see that IF again and...

Anyway great looking bike. I am disappointed that I didn't get to see it in front of your white garage door though!!

WheresWaldo

Either way you go, you will end up with a great ride. The IF has limited availability as they have sold out of most sizes. With the PF you have a choice of all sizes and a the availability of just a frameset. Like I said either way a good value.

Bike Lover

Well, I wasn't going to admit this, but the Vincollo at pricepoint is also under consideration. To confuse things more, I went to the LBS and saw a beautiful Orbea, Al with carbon seat stays and fork. For less than the IF before the sale price.

But again, I feel like I'm still in the beginnig phases of the search. Need to ride a few and get a better idea of what I actually want now...

WheresWaldo

That's great actually, it's good to have choices, just make sure you compare apples to apples. The Pedal Force, Vincolo and Immortal Force are full carbon monocoque frames. The Orbea is aluminum with cabon at both ends. I really like the look (color schemes) of the Orbea bikes. It's just that I wanted full carbon, and I also wanted traditional top tube. So the Orbea and the Pedal Force were out. The Orbea carbon bikes were more than I wanted to spend, and I cannot see double the value for double the cost. That's just my preference. What I have found out in all my years is that you have to decide what is is that you want/need and then do it. If you don't you will always be wondering if you made the correct decision and that will take some of the joy away that you will experience riding any of these fine bikes.

BTW there is a forum member how has the Vincolo and really loves it, IIRC his username is p9group.

Fishnet

As usual, I'm looking for a little help from the forum.

I purchased the Token Seat post Stem and Mono Q bars recently. So far I love the post but have not installed the bars and stem. I stopped dead in my tracks when I read the fine print that came with the bars. Here is the passage that gives me pause.

“Handlebars may have an effective usable life span of less than three years depending on amount of use.”

Is that true of all carbon bars? WW or FMW did you have the same warning on your carbon bars? As of now, I think I will send them back. Thoughts?

WW, did I see that you have the Flight Deck cyclometer on your IF? How do you like it? I'm still riding my IF with out a computer.

Thanks.

WheresWaldo

Here is the FSA warning:
FSA doesn't seem to differentiate between carbon and alloy bars. I think it is mostly lawyerspeak.

Let me just say that I love the FlightDeck. Now let me tell you that I did not buy it for any of my single bikes! Bittersweet and I are a tandem team, we have a 2005 Cannondale Road Tandem, that we are planning to do her first century on later this year. The FlightDeck is the best suited computer for a tandem team. The display of gearing alieviates the need to turn around to see what gear we are in. The buttons mounted on the brifter body keeps your hands where they need to be on the tandem. The virtual cadence display eliminates the need for really long wires run to the stoker crankset and rear wheel. The fact that you could store four bike settings was just a bonus. So since the FlightDeck was a logical choice for our tandem, why not take advantage of the fact that it can be moved from bike to bike without much ado. So all I really needed was the wireless mounts and there I had FlightDeck on all my single bikes too! I have come to appreciate the features that the FlightDeck has on the single bikes also. It is good to know that I only have two or three rear cogs left while climbing. It is good to know that I would have to pedal at 130 rpm if I don't shift gears on that little downhill stretch. Was it worth buying one for Bittersweet, no not really. She already had a Sigma 1200 w/wireless and it is simple and works great, why replace something that works. One thing I will have to do, is buy a second computer for the tandem. Right now I have a Magellan Explorist, w/ pretty color maps, strapped to the stoker bars so she has something to look at and press buttons on instead of getting restless and trying to steer the tandem by shifting her weight. I am going to replace the Explorist with a Garmin Edge 305 with HR and cadence for the back of the tandem. Who knows I may also use it on my own half bikes, but it won't replace the FlightDeck.

Bike Lover

Thanks, I've seen some of his posts and read his review. Doing a search on the frame (Pro-Lite) itself turned up a couple sites selling it for around $1500- frame only. Of course, I know this doesn't necessarly equate to a good frame but it seems like an even more incredable bargin. Sizes are limited with this one too though. I'm a big "bang for buck" type of guy so I'm still looking, well that and I'm still waiting for my tax return...

Anyway, I've been having lots of fun and I appreaciate your and other's reviews and comments on bikes. I really appreciate when the reviews have the good and the bad. One definately knows what to expect then.

The comment on the Orbea was what I was thinking too. It's increadable to look at. What that means for ride is something completely different. I guess you can throw me in the OCP category, or at least I have one foot in...

shawnj73

I received the same thing from Token when I ordered my bars. These bars are not going to just fail for no reason. Carbon does not have a self life. The things that you need to worry about are over-tightening the bars, stress fractures, and I making it part of your riding routine to inspect bars for damage. I have been riding Easton Monkey Light CF bars on my MTB for three years and have had no issues. This is just a warning that covers Manufacture. I say keep them if like them; but make sure that you install them correctly! P.S. I love mine; I only have about 150 miles on them, but so far no complaints. I am also riding with a broken rib right now, and the carbon bars make a huge difference in road vibrations. Good Luck! Hope this Helps!

shawnj73

WheresWaldo, wait a few weeks for the new Garmin Edge 305 Bundle, because that is my next purchase. I wanted to be the first IF with this computer. HAHAHAHA

Cactusron

That won't keep you from crashing though........

shawnj73

No it will not keep me from crashing; but it will tell me at what elevation I am crashing at!

WheresWaldo

And how fast you were going when your speed suddenly drops to zero!

Too late on the Garmin bundle. I had a gazillion Amex reward points I needed to use, so I already ordered the Garmin Edge 305, with HM and cadence, total cost shipped was $44.00. I guess sometimes it pays to put everything on American Express.

I probably won't use it on the IF because I like the FlightDeck, and see no reason to carry two bike computers.

rubin2u

Shawn, I thought the Dr. said Three Weeks!!!
Yesterday I rode my IF from Manhattan to White Plains, my normal car commute that I like to do by bike when the weather permits. I have been doing this for 20 years but first time with the IF. What a difference! Smooth, comfortable, stable, fast. A real pleasure. I am loving this bike. Yesterday at the office a serious rider with a Madone was impressed with the IF. His was a 59 and mine a 56. The standover height on his worked fine for me and I still wish I had gone up a size.(I am 5'10 and he is a hair under 6.0). I am not sure the geometry of the Madone is in fact the same as the IF but it is close. Nevertheless the IF is a great machine and I look forward to how the rest of the season develops. I highly endorse it.

shawnj73

Yes, I know, I know, my wife says the same thing; but I did not want to loose three weeks. I am not riding at a hundred percent, I am just pedaling around. I stay mostly on the trainer. I do not really feel the rib that much except when I have to take a deep breath of air. OUCH. Oh well. I am hoping that in another week the pain will get weaker, and I can really start pounding the cranks. I still get to ride the Immortal, but unfortunately have not been back on my outher love, the MTB. I would love to able to take my mountain bike out next week! We will have to wait and see; but as of right now I am way to soar to take the off road abuse.

The IF is a great bike for a great bike for the price. I have not heard anybody that owns one say anything bad about the frame. Stiff, Stable, Fun, and Fast what more can you ask for? I do not see anything wrong with endorsing the I.F., if it is your honest opinion!

WheresWaldo

Another happy IF shill...,

I mean rider!

I cleaned up the bikes today, some Simple Green mixed with a bucket of water. Rinsed them off with a garden spray nozzle, dried them off, except the IF it got a nice coat of Mothers so it was nice and shiny.