Crash_N_Carry

Here's my beast; a 2005 Raleigh Grand Prix 9-speed:



I bought it back in late 2005 and I rode it for about a year. When I moved to a new apartment almost five years ago, I rode the bike a little bit again, but then put it in storage at my parents place for the past two years. Three months ago I decided to get back in shape and ride my bike and I figured that the bike was still in good shape (I put a bike computer on it since day one and the odometer on it read a little over 300 miles).

Well the first month of riding was semi-uneventful. I started to notice that the bike hadn't held up in storage very well though. The right brifter (the bike came with Tiagra shifters) was basically dying. It wouldn't upshift correctly from first gear unless I did some hand gymastics. On a 40 mile ride the original rear wheel (Alexrims AT400) threw a spoke; partially because of the age of the wheel, partially because the year the wheel was made (my LBS mechanic told me that there was a run of bad spokes around that time), and more importantly... and harder for me to admit: I'm not exactly as thin and light as I was when I first started riding.

Originally I was going to have the rear wheel re-laced with new spokes but by the time I got the rear wheel re-laced and straightened (the front wheel was right behind it and was going to need some TLC too), it was going to cost in the vicinity of new Shimano R500 wheels anyways. I bit the bullet, decided that if I'm going to buy new wheels that I'm going to buy something that will hold up to the local roads and my weight, so I put the money towards some Ksyrium Equipes.

That was the start of a long list of upgrades/repairs I did to the bike in the past three months.

In the past three months I've upgraded the bike with:

Ksyrium Equipe wheels
Specialized 700c tires and inner tubes (the original Vittorias (and the original inner tubes) were dry rotted. To be honest, I had to replace the inner tubes before I replaced the wheels since they popped when I tried to inflate them).
Shimano 9-speed 105 triple front derailleur (NEW old stock!! Found it for $20 on ebay! It's a definite upgrade of the stock Tiagra the bike came with)
Shimano Tiagra 3x9 front brifters (I wanted 105's, but since Shimano decided to stop producing higher end 9-speed components in 2007, I had to settle for the Tiagra's)
KMC x9.93 chain (the original KMC Z-9000 chain was completely gummed up, making it feel like I was peddling through mud)
Ultegra 6500 12-27 rear gearset (getting older sucks. I needed a better grannie gear for those hills that suddenly got steeper. )
Jagwire L3 brake and shifter cables&housings (the original cables had some corrosion inside them. Since I had to replace them when I replaced the brifters, I figured I'd get the best I could. ).
Handlebar tape (Arundel Gecko tape w/strips of extra gel tape placed underneath).

I've also upgraded the saddle bag, added some lights for impromptu night rides, and moved the innermost bottle cage downwards to help accommodate Podium Big Chill bottles.


It rides like a freaking dream! It also looks virtually new too.


It's smooth as silk over good roads. Although they're only Tiagra's, the shifters are a marked improvement over the 2005 era Tiagra shifters I had. Combined with the 105 derailleurs and Jagwire cabling, it shifts buttery smooth with virtually no noise.

D1G1N1XY

Love the color scheme on this one.

r1000

this will conclude the trio of postings.. "show me your black bike"... "hot or not" and now this...

This Kestrel is replacing my 04 Cdale R1000, I still have that bike... i want to fix it up maybe next summer.. it's in real bad shape (Frame is immaculate though).

Anyway.. I have been loving this bike.. I've never weighed but it i know it's light.. handles well etc, I don't know if i'd do SRAM all over again though, Its not bad,by no means!!! but who knows.. we'll see..




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bmc.alex.2012

I am riding the BMC Street-Racer SR01 105 Compact, I am starting out, any good tips? I am yet to shave my legs

SprinterT

Nice Kestrel. What bar tape is that?

r1000

https://www.carbonconcepts.com/pd-car...lebar-tape.cfm

Check it out...

dayday82

What kind of tips are you looking for? I have the same bike. It was originally 19.75 lbs.... and now I have it down to 17.5 lbs. It's a sweet bike.

bmc.alex.2012

Hi mate, just anything good, maybe something to improve stamina, I am able to go for a while but around 20miles I'm gone, I really need to work on it to be honest

Ghost Ryder

Just keep pushing yourself to go farther every week. Your stamina will come the more you ride.

enem178

Here's my ride, a 2006 Cervelo Dual. I removed the aero bars and replaced with drops. I also had to switch out the brake/shift levers. I removed because I almost never used them so I decided to get rid of the extra weight. A few other cosmetic changes were done. Im extremely happy with the outcome and ive been mashing ever since!!

theextremist04

Selective color? Really?

bmc.alex.2012

OK mate, thank you, shall give it some next time, what sort of speed do you guys I ride, i try sit at 20MP/H

enem178

Yeah Really!

bhagi108

That is an absolute beauty!

p.s what bike stand is that you are using? thanks

Afdica

Here's a link to the bike stand:

https://www.amazon.com/Feedback-Sport.../dp/B006JXYGW0

bmc.alex.2012

Silly question but, I love deep dish rims, mainly that spinning look you get with the large white stickers, I would be willing to buy deep dish rims solely on this reason, is there a way to "enhance" the spinning look on my normal rims? I have Shimano R500 which have white stickers saying R500 and they ok when spinning, I was thing some tires with white writing maybe?

ne_dan

Try huffing some white spray paint then peeing on your wheels.

PRus

New to me!

antimonysarah

Oh, man, I might have to get some of that just for that color. That blue is drop-dead gorgeous. How's it feel? It looks like it could be kind of slick when wet.

Ghost Ryder

Flip it!!!

r1000

It FEELS GREAT.... almost feels like it has padding underneath. It can be a little slippery when it gets wet.. but nothing crazy, can still maintain a GOOD secure grasp. I rode this morning in the rain and didn't think much about it. Also if you wear gloves you should be all set ( I don't wear gloves).

bring

Nice to see a Seven out here - pride of Watertown, MA.

Great bike, great company.

RedVVing19

2013 Tarmac

psuaero

Nice color scheme on the Tarmac. ^^

RedVVing19

and its not as gloss black as it seems