Just finished putting this together. 60cm Kestrel. Also got some Ultegra pedals for it and some cheap Ebay carbon cages.

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...1672fd5aee.png
SO light. I tap the downtube with my finger and it sounds like I could crush it with my hand. Makes me a little nervous.

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...2c057a7ea.jpeg

Giro Synthe MIPS on clearance because no one liked the color I assume. :roflmao:

Got it for a shade over a hundred so less than half it’s original selling price. On the right it sits beside my Bontrager specter wavecel which will now take a backseat to the Synthe. The specter is just too hot on warm days and long rides, the wavecel tech really impedes airflow. The Synthe lets much more air in and is 80g lighter (I measured).

Bikes instead of a telescope
 

I've been saving up for an 8" telescope, but my daughter is increasingly interested in biking. She's talking about riding RAGBRAI together next year. She'll graduate next spring, so I may not get another chance, so I used the telescope money to buy a new Felt for her and a Raleigh for her little brother. The stars aren't going anywhere, and I want to ride with them as often as I can.

I have a okay entry level telescope collecting dust and a bike I ride all the time, so that sounds good to me.

Continental Grand Prix Classic. It's a skinwall. Some reviews describe it as a gumwall or faux-skinwall, but the sidewalls are very thin and translucent, not just brown rubber over the sidewalls. Dunno, don't care, didn't get it for the cosmetics. It was cheaper than the GP4000s and reportedly not prone to the sidewall ruptures reported by too many GP4ks owners.

And it has classic 1980s style tread, sipes on the main contact patch, fine chevron hatches on the shoulders.

I've had good results with Conti's cheap Ultra Sport II, so the GP Classic seemed like a good bet.

Handmade in Germany, presumably by the churlish looking couple depicted on the box. With those aprons and scowls I trust them to make sturdy, technically correct Teutonic tires.


https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...0b612febee.jpg

Serious business. Those scowls assure us that we WILL like these tires.

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https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...c8a86901de.jpg

Presumably this guy rode these back to the future.

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https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...b89aeae36e.jpg

I barely even look at tires but these look pretty okay.

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Here's a photo of the Continental Grand Prix Classic skinwall tire against a desk lamp. The sidewalls are translucent, very thin.

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...7bbfddfb9a.jpg

Continental Grand Prix Classic skinwalls -- translucent against a desk lamp.


After mounting and inflating the tires I noticed I had to top off the tires a few times before riding. Presumably the tires stretched a bit. After about an hour the pressure seemed to stabilize.

I took a 15 mile test ride Tuesday night, riding cautiously since it takes awhile to rub off the mold release and get a feel for the actual tire tread grip characteristics. The grip felt about the same as the Conti Ultra Sport II, which are cheap but good. I haven't had any problems with the Ultra Sport II, including punctures, despite the low price and absence of any special puncture shield.

Continental recommends running the Grand Prix Classics full pressure, around 120 psi. So that's what I did the first ride. Didn't feel any different from the Ultra Sport II or more expensive Schwalbe One V-Guards at max pressure. At full pressure on chipseal they all feel pretty much like riding a buckboard.

I've always been skeptical of claims for "supple" tires and think we're mostly feeling the effects of tire pressure, not sidewall characteristics. If a tire can be safely run around 25% below max pressure, it's probably going to feel "supple". Even my thick wall Michelin Protek Cross Max 700x40 tires feel "supple" at 40-50 psi, rather than the maximum 75 psi recommended for my weight.

So I may try the GP Classics at around 90 psi rear, 75 psi front, next ride. That's how I usually ride the Ultra Sport II in 700x25, without problems. We'll see how the thinner skinwalls hold up. I know some users reported sidewall failures with the GP 4000s II. If those sidewalls are like the GP Classic I can see how even a tiny nick or abrasion in the sidewall could result in sudden failure.

Just like @noodle soup said, I was in a Trek store yesterday and they had the exact same, exact package selling for $28 and change. Real deal. I won't be needing cleats for a while.

You made the right decision. Experiences and their memories are so much more valuable than stuff. My kids are adults now, and I didn't manage to go with them on any significant rides. They've developed their own interests, so it seems we never will ride together.

Going to be mainly used as emergency for commuting during warmer months since wearing a proper rain jacket sucks when its warm out.

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...05e05fef82.jpg

Evoc Bike Travel Bag (pro)
 

It started out as just the Evoc Bike Travel Bag, but then I added the stand vs the standard mount. I'll likely do a full review in a different part of the forums
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...1fb0997c5f.jpg

Evoc Travel Bag. (port glass not included)

Marathon / Cycling Cap
 

Bought a 2006 Los Angeles Marathon Sponsor's (Honda) Cap that's also a Cycling Cap. It's useful, too, considering that red and white is a good color combo for visibility and road safety.

Does free qualify?

For my grand daughter, she currently has a "Stryder" so this is he next move up.
https://i.imgur.com/JLFz3AX.jpg

BTW... it weighs more than my road bike.

That's really nice, @GlennR. I'm glad she can already balance and will never need training wheels. Does the fork really have no rake? Not that it matters a lot.

It has a little.

She turned 2 last months and already is using this. .cost me $80.
https://i.imgur.com/Oqs0G55.jpg

Wait a minute. I've not seen this.

What bike is this going on? How much does it weigh?

So you shift and it pulls the cable for you?

Curious as to your reasons for getting this. I'm not trying to challenge but sincerely wondering about the use case.

XShifter review

It's going to be mounted on my next TT bike, which has lots of hidden cable routing.

Originally, I thought about Di2 or PowerTap, but figure I try something new.

https://i.imgur.com/nuTOKnm.jpg

A tailbag. Found it in the sale bin and snagged it for $5 because of a wee bit of paint splatter on a strap. The way I see it, the bag doesn’t know the difference. 👍🏼

Campagnolo Chorus medium cage derailleur, cassette 11-32 and new chain. This should help me on steep slopes compared to my current 11-29 setup.

This summer, I was planning to start up a new N+1, gravel/road Ti build. Instead, I had to push the plans back a bit later this year because my wife finally bought a bike, along with all (4) of our children all getting new bikes too.

Long story short, the children love riding their bikes. Even our youngest daughter was able to wean off the training wheels within a couple days of riding her bike. But the biggest surprise was our 10yr old daughter because riding her bike seemed second nature to her. Within less then an hour of riding her single speed Schwinn bike, she asked for the training wheels to be removed which I gladly did. Off she went, not a single fall. The following morning, we took the kids to ride on a local MUP not too far from my parent's home. Everyone enjoyed and on the way home, she was asking if there were bikes similar to mine available in her size because her single speed was "slow" for her. My wife already knew just by looking at my huge smile what I was already thinking.
Well, I had to do my part as a loving and supportive parent https://forums.thepaceline.net/images/smilies/smile.gif and found a well kept, pre-owned, Scott Speedster Jr24 for her. This pic was the first day taking it out back on the local MUP. She loves it and we've already made a couple changes on her bike; Serfas youth saddle, ProMend road pedals, KMC X10SL chain and Claris R2000 shifters on the way.

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...149201cb_b.jpg

Another saddle...my fourth...as my search for some sits-bone comfort/relief continues.

Roval carbon clinchers for the Rokh. Only two rides on them so far, but loving them lots.

http://www.fototime.com/51044E3FD6B2E85/orig.jpg

Going to give the Hutchison Fusion 5 Performance 11 Storm Tubeless (someone needs to work on their naming) tires a whirl. I'm a big advocate of Schwalbe G-One Speeds, but I'm just curious to try out some other 28/30mm options; these seem to get pretty high marks all-around (grip, tread life, rolling and puncture resistance, etc) and the current price at Merlin is pretty attractive ($76, free shipping).

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...fe6016e2ba.jpg

...

Man, I love stuff that's different.

That thing is great. I hope you make a thread about it.

-Tim-

Woah that paint!