I should know better than shop Craigslist and FB Marketplace.


2019 BMC Time Machine, frame size Small. I don't expect it to be a major step up over my Shiv but the main reason I pulled the trigger is because it will allow me much more forward movement in my saddle position. I never feel like I can sit far enough forward. I have both my Shiv and my Cervelo maxed out now. I haven't played with this yet but it looks like I can get at least another inch, maybe two, more forward.

Adjusting the saddle position will be my first change, followed by a longer stem to keep the reach right. I'm probably also going to replace those aero bars and I'll swap out wheels. If this bike turns out like I expect, it will be my primary bike and I'll keep the Shiv as a back up and for hilly routes. I haven't weighed it yet but it does seem to be a bit heavier than the Shiv. But it could just be those heavy wheels.

Aahhhh! That's great! That's a great bike! I think to dial it in you may wish to change out those Mavics. I don't know what your budget is, but you can get some great Chinese wheels in the $1000 range. Congrats!

Ya, those alloy Mavics are already off the bike. I am looking for a good rim brake wheelset I can run tubeless but I avoid Chinese wheels as much as possible (let's not go there). I've already maxed out the forward saddle position and put a longer stem on it. I really need to cut down the shifter cables though. They're out of hand. I hope to be able to take it for a test ride this weekend. I'll have to wait until then just because of how hot it is this time of year and that will be the only time I'll be able to get up and get a ride in early morning.

Suggestion - cut down the cable housings last. If you've never had a far enough forward position, you may well find that after you've ridden this, you've adopted and can go even farther. I'd even leave them long until I've ridden at least my first competition. Replacing those housings with ones a cm longer because you went too far is a lot harder then it was back when I was racing and all of that housing was in full view!

I know looking at the too long housings will be a challenge but not making that last little tweak because it was to much work would be a crime.

Go on Ebay for some Carbon rimmys. I scored a set of excellent condition DT Swiss Arcs 1400 for $950 for the pair. Unreal deal. I think you run Reynolds, on a bike, right? They have great offerings for decent prices. There's some excellent offerings on eBay right now, like this with Conti GP5000s!):

https://www.ebay.com/itm/20566597677...temCondition=4

Been shopping Fleabay for a few weeks. Just haven't pulled the trigger yet.

Nice looking bike. It does look you’ll be able to get the seat forward a bit more. But as far as the height…geez, doesn’t look like there’s much room for adjustment with that setup.

Dan

I'm 5'4" so it was surprisingly close right where it was.

Already moved the saddle as far forward as the adjustment will allow. Also put on a 130mm stem and moved the bars and pads forward another ~1 inch. I have only ridden up and down the street a couple times after work but I'm really liking it so far. Hoping to get out this weekend for a longer ride and see how it feels after a few miles. Also, about to pull the trigger on some Roval wheels and hang those alloy Mavics in the Garage.

Congratulations on the new bike! I really like a "forward" position, so I get it. The cables do look a bit out of control, but I agree with @79pmooney, I'd wait until you've full dialed in the cockpit to make any changes. When I went to a more forward set-up , it took a few hundred miles to get the cockpit reasonably dialed in.

Oh, of course. I figure I *may* trim an inch or so off them but I would definitely leave myself a little room to experiment. Getting ready to pull the trigger on a Roval wheelset this weekend.

Well that was disappointing.

I made some preliminary changes to get the bike ballpark close to what I think it should be and took it out this morning. The bike felt super slow, slower than my aluminum 2000 Ridley Cheetah. Some of it, I think were those heavy alloy Mavic wheels and butyl tubes. But I'm sure some of it, probably a larger portion, was due to the windy conditions.

I did see flashes of speed. On a couple stretches of my route I was riding with a tail wind and I was seeing speeds slightly faster than what I have seen on the Shiv in similar winds.

The other thing is I am really not happy with that saddle that's on there now. Even though I have it positioned at a neutral angle, I continually slid forward to where I was almost sliding off the saddle. I have ridden with a positive seat angle in the past with good results. I'm going to give that a try for another ride or two but if that doesn't solve my issue, that saddle will go in the spare parts bin.

I intend to purchase a pair of Roval CF wheels here in the next couple days and set them up tubeless (like my Shiv). Between the wheels and altering the seat angle, I'm hoping I can get this bike to be equal to the Shiv at the very least. If I can't get it at least equal, I will be sorely disappointed with this bike.

That is a very nice bike. I really like the behind the seat storage box. I have been looking for one that fits my bike, but it looks like because of the funky curve it has, there isn't one that fits. Hopefully with the new wheels, you can get it up to par with your Shiv.

Funny story, when I took my bike out for the first time last weekend, I was about 4-5 miles slower than my road bike. I was like what the heck is going on. I couldn't figure it out. So I kept going in hopes that it was just me getting used to the new bike. Then I took a look down, didn't realize I was on the small ring. Doh! Switched it up to the big ring and away it went!

Working on getting this bike sorted. I plan to ride this for the Tri Cities (WA) 70.3 in a few weeks. I'm probably about 90% there, just need a little fine tuning. I started off moving the saddle as far forward as I could since that was the whole point of this bike anyway. From there, I changed the stack and reach to be relatively close to what my Shiv is after being fitted. Because of the more forward position, that's going to change a bit too, and that will require a little more experimentation.



So for starters, I swapped out that saddle with a Sella Italia Watt Superflow. The Fizik that came on it had no nose and I felt like I was constantly fighting to keep from falling off the front. Second, and most obvious, I swapped out those heavy Mavic alloy wheels for a set of Roval Rapide 50mm I picked up from an Ebay seller. Got to tell you, that was the easiest tubeless set up I can imagine, so much easier than either of my Reynolds wheels. Hell, I mounted them last night, filled them with air to set the bead and they held air all night long without any sealant! I put sealant in them this morning, aired them back up and went for a 36 mile ride. Bike was flawless. The other thing I did was replace the stem with a 130mm from Zipp and extend both the aero bars and elbow pads forward. I still need to trim up those cables though. Freshly waxed chain. I would also like to find a top tube bag that bolts to this frame and I have another cassette with a 30T final gear coming from Jenson.

I'm a little surprised it's not noticeably faster than the Shiv but I think there might be more in it as I get it dialed in. Today, I did a 36 mile route I've done a few times before. It was definitely in the ballpark but not any faster than the Shiv. I also want to hang a couple more bottle cages off the back of that seat post. Sella makes a bracket for that saddle but it would occlude access to the bento box, which I am only using as a tool box, so I want to make something that flairs out a little bit and hides the bottles behind my legs.

How's the "feel" of the bike? Does it feel fast? Looks great! I just raised the height of my aero risers significantly to 85 mm. I also went from 10 to 11-speed with a NOS Ultegra 6800 RD and a brand new Ultegra 12-speed crankset with 160 mm crankarms. Can't wait to ride it this weekend.

I spent the last couple nights with the bike here in the living room, able to tinker with it while I had TV on in the background. Got the cables shortened up so that looks much more tidy. And tonight I cut a full inch off the seat post to get me down to about the same height as I am on the Shiv. One thing I'm not a really big fan of on these designs is there is precious little room for adjustment on the seat post. It was slammed when I got it but looking at the design and the clamping method, I would guess there is less than two inches of available travel within the frame. Post is too long and you have to cut it down. Too short and you just have to buy a new one.

It does feel fast. It's at least comparable to my Shiv, but I have to be honest, I am still so impressed with just how good that Shiv still is. Maybe after I spend a little more time sorting this bike out, I'll feel the same way about it. As of right now though, it feels like any more gains will only be marginal.

Planning on doing a BRICK with it this weekend. Probably won't be too long but I do still want to put some miles on it before I take this up to Washington for the HIM. Less than three weeks away right now so I pretty much need to start my taper by this time next week.

For cages behind the seat, how about one of the X-lab turbo wings? Would that give you clearance into the bento box still?

Concur with TX. That is a very aero bike. All those attachments…the water bottles, the pump, the top tube bento bag…they all detract from the aero efficiency. I’d move all that stuff to behind my body if possible.

Dan

I'm actually a tad jealous of Jen's and Tex's new bikes. Both are super good looking.

I don't know. I'll have to check into that. But I'm looking at this seat post they have and I'm thinking about using that. Before I got this, I assumed that the clamp slid on a rail of the seat post and therefore was unusable in any other configuration.

However, when I got to looking at it, the clamp actually bolts to the seat post and there are four different bolt holes to which the clamp can be mounted. Since I intend to always run the saddle in the forward most position, that actually frees up the back two (the third one is partially obscured) bolt holes for whatever I want to do. I was thinking of maybe making some kind of "wing" design thing that bolts to that seat post that would allow me to hang a couple of bottle cages behind either thigh.

For short courses, that's all I would run. But for longer events like a HIM or FIM, I could still mount one or two cages on the frame for even more fluid capacity.

Thanks. My only complaint is the color. I mean, it's a beauty and all, but most of my stuff is blue. And I'm a girl so I feel compelled to color coordinate with my bike!

That's funny. After I looked and yours and Texas' bike last night, I jumped on the Quintana Rood web site. You can custom color bikes. I love the metallic-silver look, with the holograph lettering. Those Trek-Lidl bikes that were using at the Tour de France are pretty sick looking too.

Ya, that's all great if you're buying new. But when buying on the used market, you buy what's available.

It seems like the red portion is actually a wrap. Thinking of peeling it off and doing a wrap in white or white/grey so it's more neutral.

I'm telling you, I can have 100 million in the bank and I still don't think I'd part with the 12K Quintana Roo wants for a decked out bike. I just can't. I can buy a freaking top of the line Japanese street motorcycle for that amount. Great bikes, but the price seems so absurd.

There are ways to compensate for a non-perfect bike color.

But people have seen my bikes, and said "OK, that's way too much overcompensation."

I hear you. The exception to that (for me) is the Cervelo P3X/P5X. If I had FU money and I found one in the right size, I would have to. Love that bike.