http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/...s/IMG_0952.jpg

Victor is finally wrong! YEA!

You suck Squeegee!
I'm pretty bummed out now. :(

I kind of like this but I do prefer how the carbon forks look with the polished frame.

Haha you can just call me Sunny man, squeegee sounds weird. And yeah, black polished frame+black carbon fork looks great.

I meant I like the original high polished one better. :x

Awesome, now we're close enough to go by real names now. :D

Woo, 800th post!

I've had mine for about a month and half. This is my first road bike in a long time. The specs looked good so I bought it. It's still pretty much stock except for the pedals. I find a few things a little troubling though.

1. The cranks are long and hinder sharper turns.
2. The geometry makes minor directional corrections very edgy.

Mine's 50cm. I'm 5'8" with 30 inseam and it fits quite well.

squeegeesunny, That black bike looks awesome! I wish they offered it in black when I bought it.

there is nothing long about a 130mm stem. in road cycling (racing) 120-140mm stems are normal. this subforum (and culture) just tend to use short stems.

That's weird, I haven't had any of those issues, but mine is a 58 cm though...and I love the stock pedals.
My only complaint is the stock saddle, it flat out sucks.

Squeegeesunny, thanks for the picture. Think I did a right choice. Black looks pretty cool but I do prefer polished frame.

That's mime

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_7UoKSzUAEgM/TG...0/IMG_4124.jpg

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_7UoKSzUAEgM/TG...0/IMG_4134.jpg

Everything is stock. Just put two bottle holders and flipped the stem;)

Stem feels too long to me. Thinking about buying a shorter one.

This thread just excites me that much more for mine. I work at a bike shop and couldnt get a deal this good. I just ordered the all black in a 54. Im an avid mountain biker, and this is my first road bike. I plan on utilizing the freewheel. Also, i have a set of TT levers and bullhorn bars on the way.
Somebody post non-BD photos of the BLACK SST AL!!!

AH, I want the black so bad.. But already have the SST AL :cry:

How much do you think a 3 month old SST al is worth?

I just got into bikes less than a month ago and decided to get the SST AL as my first bike (aside from those Wal-Mart and Toys R Us mountain bikes). My bike came in with a few scratches on the body, but no biggie. It came with a freewheel and a track cog. The freewheel is 17t and the track cog is 18t. I'm planning to swap those out. Not much to complain about as this is my first legit bike. The saddle seems comfortable to me. But the pedals, I hate. There is like a lot of friction and it doesn't spin freely when spun. 2/4 reflectors that came attached to the pedal have fallen off for me and the bike is only a week old (exactly a week old today). I've noticed some clicking sounds, but again, no biggie. Went to my LBS to get it fixed and man were they nice. Fixed it for free and pumped my tires from a hand pumped 50 psi to a recommended 120 psi. I love this bike, so does a lot of my friends.

I'm confused; is this implying that tires can't be pumped to 120 psi by hand? /genuine question

Granted, if you are a using a portable pump like this:
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/I...Full/28858.jpg
then yes, it can be quite difficult to get to 120 psi. If that is the case, I strongly recommend buying a nice floor pump.

Congrats on the new bike! :thumb:

I didn't try the stock pedals. I'm not sure if the stock pedals would hinder turns. I put my eggbeaters on and my shoe sticks out about an inch. Does the 58cm come with 170mm or 175mm cranks? I might need shorter cranks.

Yea, that's what I meant. I used a portable pump and tried to get it to 120 psi. I even needed me dad's help to get the wheels to 120 psi with a floor pump. I'm just very weak. :D

arkadi4: Did yours arrive without the big Dawes decals? If the new ones are shipping that way, then I'll definitely be ordering in the bare-finish. The geometry looks a little long for me as well, and if I end up ordering one I'll likely have to install a slightly shorter stem to compensate (I like the look/feel of longer stems, oh well). Looking at a 62cm most likely, I've yet to see any photos of that size... anyone?

2010 is (mostly) decal-free save for some little ones, and I believe all of the pre-2009 models came with giant, ugly decals under the clearcoat.

No big decals. Only small ones. Couple of them on the fork are easily removable.

Trying to decide between either a 60cm or the 62cm. I'm 189cm (6'2 1/2) with an inseam of 89cm (35"). Not sure whether to go with the 60cm (only 55cm CtoC!!!) and a reasonable 58.5cm top tube, or the 62cm (57cm CtoC) with a more intimidating 59.5cm top tube.

Every time I think I've come to a decision, I read or interpret another piece of information differently and become confused again.

Anybody? Thoughts?

Do you have a long torso and arms?

If so, the 59.5 top tube might fit your reach better, but it's hard for us to say whichever size is more suitable for you.

Vixtor: No, not at least in proportion to my height

With instruction from Competitive Cyclist:
Inseam 88 cm
Trunk 67.5 cm
Forearm 35.5 cm
Arm 74 cm
Thigh 62 cm
Lower Leg 57.5 cm
Sternal Notch 154 cm
Total Body Height 189 cm

-----------------------------Comp. Fit---------The Eddy Fit------The French Fit
Seat tube range c-c ---->57.7 - 58.2----- 58.9 - 59.4----- 60.6 - 61.1
Seat tube range c-t ----> 59.4 - 59.9----- 60.6 - 61.1----- 62.3 - 62.8
Top tube length ---------> 57.0 - 57.4----- 57.0 - 57.4----- 58.2 - 58.6
Stem Length -----------> 12.2 - 12.8----- 11.1 - 11.7----- 11.3 - 11.9
BB-Saddle Position -------> 76.3 - 78.3----- 75.5 - 77.5----- 73.8 - 75.8
Saddle-Handlebar ------->57.6 - 58.2----- 58.4 - 59.0----- 60.1 - 60.7
Saddle Setback ---------> 7.0 - 7.4---------- 8.2 - 8.6-------- 7.7 - 8.1


C-T--------C-C-------- TT---------WhlBse---- StndOvr --ChnStay- H/T Ang- S/T Ang

60cm------ 55cm------ 585mm---- 1000mm -- 32.25"-- 410mm- -- 73.5- --- 72.5

62cm----- 57cm----- 595mm---- 1010mm-- 32.75" -- 410mm--- 74---- 72.5


I would be pretty confident going with the 60cm; except for the 55cm CtoC seat tube measurement, I don't think I've ever ridden anything under 57/58 CtoC (at least not comfortably). Then again, I would most definitely have to run a shorter (</=100mm) stem with the 62cm to make it work.

I know it's pretty much impossible to give advice on fit (which is why I appreciate your response so much).

These bikes run kind of small. If you are in between sizes I would size up.

What? There's a geometry chart. A bike can't "run small" if the chart tells you exactly what the dimensions are . . .

I am 6'3" with a 35" inseam. The 60 fits very nicely and is a comfortable ride. I'll post pics of the all black when I get it back from the LBS.

Just got my all black SST AL built today. Its a 54 and fits me well, 5'8" and ~30" inseam.
It looks much nicer in person, especially in all black, very stealthy. Also, the pictures dont do it much justice in way of tube shape. The top tube and down tube arent actually round. Also, it came with both a fixed gear and freewheel.
If anyone has questions, feel free to ask.

Finally decided, and ordered the 60cm in polished. An educated guess leads me to believe that the seat tube C-C measurement has got to be off by a cm or two (I guess I'll confirm/deny this when the bike arrives).

Thought about ordering in white, but I'm excited to have a shiny bike for once. Likely will get new pedals, seat, bars and cog... should keep me pretty happy for a while.