First Impressions

Novemer21, 2007 – The Test Ride

This was really just a test ride to make sure everything was working. I had planned on 20 to 25 miles, but ended up closer to 15. Around mile 10 I got a feeling that the headset was loose, and upon checking it, it almost imperceptibly was. The second item that was bothering me, but would not have sent me home were the front brakes. I much prefer when the action on the front and rear brakes is about equal – that is to say that the amount of travel that the brake lever travels when it is engaged should be about the same for both sides. The front was much looser and while I could have just adjusted it on the road, I was too lazy. The headset however was cause for concern even though it was definitely tight enough that I could have ridden 100′s or worry free miles.

I really only have a couple comments about the bike overall. Smooth and Effortless.

I can’t really tell if it’s the new frame, new fork, or the new wheels. Certainly I’ve changed too much all at once to be able to pinpoint what exactly is smoother and more effortless. The point being that the bike has really smoothed out the rough spots in the road and seems to glide over it. This happens without my noticing whether the bike is stiff or not. In fact, the couple of out of saddle “sprints” I did up hills would suggest that this frame is plenty stiff for me. Nice not to notice it though. In terms of effortless, I first noticed when coming off a stoplight. I pushed down on the drive side pedal to get a start and the whole bike seemed to lurch forward – rather unexpectedly. This is a bit odd to me as standing on a pedal theoretically should not transfer a perceptible amount of power, but it is something I picked up on whether in my mind or real. The point is that in the first 15 miles, there is definitely no concern over power transmission with this bike. Be it lighter and more efficient wheels, or just an effective frame design and build, this thing will go just fine. One additional not, but I’ll have to test this out more later, is that this baby can corner. It tracks perfectly in a line you pick and is very confident.
I do have a single concern that I’m confident will work itself out. The rather sudden change in bike positioning is throwing me for a loop. Remember that I’ve basically raised the handlebars by about 5 or 6 cm as well as pushing them forward a couple of cm. First of all, I feel incredibly upright. Saddle to stem drop is now about 5cm total rather than my usual 11cm or so. I’m told that this is a more normal position in general, and that my size and build would suggest this is appropriate for me as well. I’ll give it a few months and try to get used to it. Second however, and perhaps more disconcerting is the way the bike reacts to input. Again, this is a handlebar height issue – and really only during out of the saddle efforts (sprints). The lower the handlebars are (closer to the front hub) the more your hands are rotating in an axis around the hub. The further away the bars get, the more the bars move closer to a horizontal line. Basically I’m completely perplexed at the change in input and will really take some time getting used to that. As I can only lower the bar another 2 cm, I’m pretty much stuck with this one. Again, many people ride with this type of bar height above the hub, so I’m sure I’ll get used to it eventually.

Novemer22, 2007 – The First Ride (Thanksgiving Day)

Ended up with the club ride doing about 54 miles down to the beach and back. My overall first impressions are still accurate. I do have more feedback on the Campy components though, as well as general feelings about the bike and positioning. As you can tell from the link, this was a very flat ride. I’l lbe doing some hills in a couple of days and will update again.

The Campy is flawless. It may just be perfectly new components, but the crankset and bottom bracket do indeed seem smoother than my old Dura Ace stuff. I’ll chalk that up to newness. There is of course the standard stuff about not hearing the drivetrain at all, but that is also about being new or newly overhauled. The shifting seems a bit stiff, and I’m told that the Campy will break in after a couple of months and loosen up. I certainly have not gotten the hang of the different shifting concept yet, but that will come along fairly quickly. There is probably a handlebar re-wrap in my near future as I can’t stand the cable housing along the back of the handlebars. When I’m riding on the hoods, the housing seems to jut out any my palms and I think that would get uncomfortable after a couple hours. In general I’m very pleased With the Campy.

Regarding the frame and the ride, The first impressions were really right on. The thing is smooth as silk, has great steering control and tracks amazingly well through a corner. Any deficiencies at this point are rider caused, so I can’t to a full evaluation as the first 30 miles of this ride were still spent coping with the major change in handlebar height. I’ve already started getting used to where the bars are and I think I’ll be pretty comfortable there eventually.

One problem I’m having is definitely with power output. My back is probably angling up at about 10 degrees higher than it used to. I think my lower back and glute muscles are now much more involved in the pedal stroke and contribute more to overall power. That said, I’ve not only lost a bit of power, but my back was feeling a little tense in the third hour of the ride. This also will pass with training.

Overall, I have absolutely nothing bad to say about the bike, wheels or fork. It’s a bit hard to say where the benefits are coming from as I changed everything at once. Silky smooth and efficient. Light but no flex anywhere I can detect. This is a great ride.

December 10, 2007 – Climbs

I have now done several rides with sufficient climbing in them to have a feel of how this bike is going.  I must say I’m impressed, and while I really don’t know if it’s the frame, the components (including a compact crankset), the wheels, or hey – even the paint, I’m climbing faster.  I know that most people would say that this is purely psychological (and I’m usually one of them), but there seems to be some quantitative evidence of this.

• First, guys in the club who can climb the steep stuff (8+ percent grades) are telling me that I’m climbing with them far longer than usual.
• Second, my computer records are telling me that for the same rides, I’m doing better than usual compared to when I’m fit.  It’s possible that I’m more fit now than normal, but since it’s November and December this is rather unlikely.
• Third, I’m using approximately the same gear inches.  While I’d usually use the 39×25 with my Dura Ace up steep stuff, I’m now using the 34×21 up steep stuff and really waiting to get into the 23 and 25 tooth cogs until I really need them.  However, I’m not needing them nearly as often.

I’m guessing that the repositioning, while uncomfortable at first, has really helped me climb better.  Perhaps it’s allowing me to use my wight more, instead of putting so much of my weight over the front wheel.  As noted before, the frame is definitely feeling good and stiff.  Regardless of whether I am climbing better or not, the bike is a climber.  I think I actually added about half a pound from my last bike, but I’m not feeling it at all.

I did notice that on a windy day, the downhill descents seemed to blow my 30mm deep wheels around a bit more than I’m used to, but not so much that I gave it more than a first thought.  I don’t know that I’d ever feel the difference of if I’m getting through more air due to lower drag, but it might be there.  I can’t tell.  Certainly in the climbs, these wheels don’t hurt me at all, and they are probably just a tad lighter than my Hugi 240′s with OP’s and Revo’s.   I’ve only hit one big pothole hard so far (no, I’m not trying to) and the wheels are still perfectly true.

Last (initial) thoughts:

I’ve had a few questions about the positioning.  These are addressed in other parts of this blog, but I don’t expect everyone to read through 20+ pages:

1. If you had a custom frame, why do you have spacers?  Well, the fact is that I asked Carl for a bit of room.  We raised my handlebars significantly and I was not comfortable with the idea that I could not go back down just a bit.  We decided on 2cm of spacers.
2. You’ve noted that you are not comfortable.  When you buy a custom frame, shouldn’t it be perfect?  Well, yes, but given that I did raise the bars significantly (6-8cm if I remember correctly) I’d expect a significant adjustment period.  Easiest way I can explain it is to compare it to raising my seatpost.  When I used to raise or lower the seatpost by 2cm, I’d take at least 2 rides to get used to it.  Here, we’re talking about several centimeters, and I think that will take my back a few months to adjust.  As it is, I’m 4 rides into this bike and I’m already feeling much more comfortable.  I’m at the point where I doubt the bars are going to be moving down at all.

Overall I’m really really pleased with the bike.  So far I can’t find anything wrong in any way.  The frame is excellent in how it handles, but paint is beautiful, and the wheels are light and strong.  I’m riding better, I’m almost all the way adjusted to the new position that I thought would take months to adjust to, and there’s no other way to put it than to say that other people think I look great on this bike.  Definitely a winner.

This entry was posted on April 6, 2007 at 5:57 am and is filed under Bicycle, Bicycling, Bike, Cycling. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.