Just Finished Building My New Ride!!

[jstraw]

Originally posted by Ted B
The 'stem and spacer police' are a mysterious group of pro-level riders who wear black jerseys and shorts and ride black pro-level bikes (make unknown). They patrol every city and country road, and go to club rides in search of riders who break the stem and spacer laws by setting up their bikes with tall stacks of spacers and/or stems that are mounted in the wrong position.

If the 'stem and spacer police' catch you breaking the stem and spacer laws, they will stop you, ridicule you, and break your frame, wheels, and components. You will be forced to pay a large fine, and you will be condemned to forever ride a cheap bike.

Here is a spy photo of one of their bikes (with a *legal* 25mm stack):

 

[JuneBug]

Originally posted by jstraw
Here is a spy photo of one of their bikes (with a *legal* 25mm stack):

whoa. That is almost stealth. it looks almost liege-ish to me. hmmmmmm. The S&S must be pretty fast

 

[lokstah]

Originally posted by jstraw
Here is a spy photo of one of their bikes (with a *legal* 25mm stack):

You've been duped; your Bothan spies have you double-crossed. Not a chance that bike belongs to an SSP officer. There's a positive rise on that stem.

 

[Ted B]

Originally posted by limerickman
Ted - this is very a very reasonable amount of money to spend when you consider the components.
It's obvious that you're prepared to sacrifice other luxuries (such as guitars !) for the sake of your machine.

I still say it's a lovely piece of work and it's obviously got one proud owner !

Much appreciated. It's reasonable when you find that Bianchi wants $5100 ($300 more than what I paid) for a complete bike comparably equipped but with lesser wheels and the standard Record crankset. In this case, it was more cost effective to build it part by part.

Now, I have to get the thought of what I have invested out of my head. I don't want to treat it gingerly, I want to ride it like I stole it.

 

[jstraw]

Where did you find the best price on Record?

 

[JuneBug]

Originally posted by Ted B
Pedals: Record



I rode those record pedals. THey were my 'first roadie' pedals. as a mountain biker I didnt really know any better.

I prefer LOOK now . wider platform.
I did like the Campy's 'half and half' lock'in system. It has that metal component that other folks didnt have. Kinda like if an SPD pedal got a LOOK pedal drunk at a bar and had a baby.

But the system is kinda like 'belt and suspenders' .

I know its just my opinion. You get used to whatever you ride on.
I mean it took Lance Armstrong years to start riding on new pedals. He was riding on the same system for so long.
I totally cried when I thought the brand new system he took this year BROKE on that one day of the tour when that Musette bag took his bike down and he got up and rode on and then BANG hit his ***** hard on the top tube..... that Phil LIgget , during the live broadcast on OLN, said 'oh my. his pedal is broke!' remember?

chilling. last years tour is hard to watch while you work out cause you forget that stuff is coming and you go AHHHHH! when it comes on and you scream. and then you remember..Oh silly. he wins! its ok!


Campy is pretty. very pretty bike.

 

[Ted B]

Originally posted by jstraw
Where did you find the best price on Record?

I found a nice deal here:

http://www.totalcycling.com/?source=overture

The record package is offered with the FSA crankset and FSA BB upgrades as cost-effective options. Shipping to the US was quick, and there are no customs duties on group components.

 

[jstraw]

Just so you know for future reference...wisecyclebuys.com will match any price. I got my Chorus and FSA parts from them. I've heard nothing but great things about totalcycling though.

 

[gregk]

Wow- what a beautiful machine! Add me to the "jealous list"! I like your choice of components- I'm not a diehard FSA fan, but at least you're staying true to what you like. I love a bike that agrees with itself; has symmetry. I am a bit of a hypocrit, having all Campy components and Shimano pedals, but they were a gift You obviously built this bike with a goal in mind, and stuck to it- well done.

p.s. Do you train on tubulars? If so, methinksyoucrazy!

 

[gregk]

By the way, what is all this talk about the stem police? I have my stem inverted, because I got a professional fit done, and that is how it needs to be. My positioning now feels much more natural and doesn't look goofy. Sure the bike looks a bit goofier, but who cares? I'm more comfortable and faster now. The guy doing the fit made a good point- the old threaded stems stuck up so high that it was correct to have the top of it be horizontal. He noted that newer threadless stems have a much lower attachment point, so many times the handlebars would be much too low if the stem was set to be horizontal. Rather than buy a huge stack of spacers, he commonly just flips the stem to bring it to a more natural position. Lucky for me, my 100 degree ITM millenium stem brought my handlebars to the perfect height.

 

[Ted B]

Originally posted by jstraw
Just so you know for future reference...wisecyclebuys.com will match any price. I got my Chorus and FSA parts from them. I've heard nothing but great things about totalcycling though.

I've heard good things about wisecyclebuys.com. I chose Total Cycling not just because they gave as low of a price as I've seen anywhere, but they offer a convenient upgrade to the FSA carbon crankset and/or BB for very reasonable money. Many retail shops will not do that, which leaves you having to Ebay what you don't want.

 

[Ted B]

Originally posted by gregk
Wow- what a beautiful machine! Add me to the "jealous list"! I like your choice of components- I'm not a diehard FSA fan, but at least you're staying true to what you like. I love a bike that agrees with itself; has symmetry.

I appreciate your approval, and I agree with you about 'symmetry' being a nice touch in itself. The possibility of 'symmetry' appealed to me as well, and after much research, I decided that FSA was the only brand for which I really liked all their offerings where stem/bars/seatpost were concerned. And since Bianchi's top framesets come with a custom FSA headset, that was more or less the clincher.

p.s. Do you train on tubulars? If so, methinksyoucrazy!

Well then, I must be nuts.
Actually, with the advent of better tubular tires, and Tufo tubular tape (no more glue) and Tufo puncture seal, suddenly tubulars seem much more attractive. Also, the wheels I wanted come in tubular ONLY, as do many of the top wheelsets. Already there is a noticeable difference in rolling resistance between the Tufo tubulars at 175psi and my previous Conti clinchers at 110psi. I plan to get two matching yellow Tufo S3 Lite (215g), which can be run up to 220psi, so that should make for an even firmer ride, but with minimal rolling resistance.

By the way, what is all this talk about the stem police? I have my stem inverted, because I got a professional fit done, and that is how it needs to be.

Well, if we didn't have the 'stem and spacer' police, who would we have to do our dirty work for us?

Actually, that stem position (inverted) didn't work for me. I couldn't get low enough to be in an aero position that way. Many people aren't comfortable in a very low position anyway, so it's convenient for them to position the bar a bit higher.

 

[jstraw]

My Millenium is printed top and bottom, not left and right, so it's graphics are correct whether it's set at 80 degrees or 100.

Oh, and wisecyclebuys has far and away the best prices on FSA and will match any lower ones for that as well. They matched a very very low price for my FSA Platinium Pro Ti Isis BB for instance...

 

[summerk]

Wow, somebody actually got something from wise cycle buys? They just took my money, I never got my stem, they never answered any emails, never picked up the phone, never replied to my messages. Watch out!!!!

My Millenium is printed top and bottom, not left and right, so it's graphics are correct whether it's set at 80 degrees or 100.

Oh, and wisecyclebuys has far and away the best prices on FSA and will match any lower ones for that as well. They matched a very very low price for my FSA Platinium Pro Ti Isis BB for instance...