i felt a bit under it this weekend, sleep deprivation and a runny nosed daughter somehow managed to see me start to fight something sinusy again, but I think i may have fended this one off, maybe. no ride, but i've been tellin myself that at this point rest and recovery is just as important.
two days not riding may not be a bad thing. esp since i've rarely taken a day off the bike, yes i count commuting as a day on the bike... even if it is just 4 miles at the least... its 4 miles of intervals, with no warm up or cool down...
that and i've tried something friday and today (both down the hill to the other place and back)... ampin up the cadence a bit... focusing on ped'lin faster not harder if i wanna go fast... and it isn't quite natural but unlike that promise to go down a cog everyweek heading up college street, its something i think i can focus on as long as i don't make it an absolute challenge (too mentally rebelious to stick with something, i'll not stick with it just cause i said i would). But i did bomb up in the 21 (if that's what the 3rd biggest is, and i think it is, just too dirty to read right now).
And dirty, yes - bike is dirty, however the chain is well lubricated, as are the other moving parts and exposed metal. just cause it'll (the chain) turn anything it touches instantly the darkest black, doesn't mean it ain't well protected...
and i'll add this agreement to solobreak's comments about the 39... i'll agree that it completely is useless if you have something other/more than a 13-18 straight block in the back. and as far as chainring sizes go... no limit if ya wanna stick with 9 speed, j/k, i dunno about size variations but
hmm looking at the only crank set i'd lay any cash on at any price at the moment:
53-42T
52-39T
53-39T
50-39T
54-42T
55-42T
56-44T
seems like a nice variation there - i'd definately be picking the 55-42... if not the 56-44...
why that one? well it's flat out sexier than "Perfect 10" its light, and comes in my 'ideal' 180mm size.
yes its the dura-ace 10 speed 7800 crankset... and yes - it's far above any other crank on the market in my mind - not even the carbon record or the alloy record come close to it... the Mavic 631 is the one predecessor that sort of looks like it but, its different... i have a mavic 631 but its 177.5 and i prolly won't be using it, cause its too short...
and mavic wise i've got a Mavic bar on the Q-pro that i love... heavy- soft but perfectly shapped, shallow drops and a crit bend so that big doofus me here can be in the drops for a sprint without bashing the backs of my wrists...
not that i'll be sprinting in them anytime soon... but its hard coming up with those Cinelli Crit bend bars... at least it seemed so when i stumbled upon the Mavic's in the back room of the shop one day...
I still haven't heard back if my 'book' being pulled from storage is at the circ desk yet or not... kinda frustrating.
oh and its been a while since they were introduced... but i just couldn't stand the irony of Shimano going back to the Look design. Really really really funny... and not to mention that Mavic version actually worked damn well - of all the 'floating' ones it was one of the best - kinda big, yellow and black but really nice how easily they set up...
there was something else - oh right - thumbshifters. I love em, always have. Bonuses, easily read visual for what gear you were in, way easier than gripshift, or rapid-failure, esp when your eyes are buggin out and all, shift-em with your knuckle, thumb, finger, teeth, no need to take the hand off the bar, and bomb-freaking-proof...
and now i see that Paul Components has the answer! And can i say: that is an elegant and sweet application of their CNC machines. oooo - now i'm wondering if i've already posted that nugget... oh well - its good enough to do twice...
i'd better wrap this up before i add any more distractions.
5 comments:
Thumbshifters? They always made holes in my gloves. I like GripShift.
The new DA crank looks great, when it is new anyway. I thought about getting one, but the price is too high for me right now. I also hope the new finish is better than the plastichrome on the 9 speeds. Mine both look like hell. I have Chorus cranks that are 3 times the age that look better. The new crank looks to have some similar crap. WTF is up with that?
gripshit wore through my gloves more than the thumbshifters ever did...
My 9 speed dura-ace stuff doesn't look that bad... as far as the finish goes...
something to be said for the campy aluminum... that being said - the XT cranks on the blue bike (the salt covered ones) look nice all clean...
but that said - the DA also couple massive functionality (stiffness needed for 180 lever arms) with light weight... a good combo...
If the crank in question is to be used for 'cross, there is one other consideration. The Mavic cranks cannot use a big ring smaller than 50T. It will bolt on, but the spider will interfere with the chain. Not a huge problem, but if you want to run a 48, it doesn't work. You might want to check that on the DA too.
My 9sd DA cranks look all pitted. I wonder what they would look like if I took all the finish off?
you put it in the trainer? the ones i've seen get all pitted and funky were owned by people who sweated on them... seems the finish may be pretty resistant to all but human sweat...
and no - notplanning on that for cross...
i've got a set of the old 8speed DA 180 mm cranks on the cross bike, and a few others kickin around... as far as DA smallness... just comes down to the front der... and the bolt circle, usually... (mavic an exception) XTR works better for 48 tooth big rings down to about a 45 then for a 44-40 tooth big ring the 'compact' mt stuff like that older XT is what to go with...
No, the DA crank on my 'cross bike looks the worst. It was used when I got it, but not much, because I bought the bike from a pro who had 3 identical bikes. This was my "winter bike" and since I don't have an outdoor hose, it is often encrusted much like the bikes in your pictures. So yeah, it has had a hard life. Still though, the main reason I would choose DA over the second shelf alternative is durability. Functionally, they both work pretty well. I know there is something funky about hollowtech, but I would rather have naked aluminum that can be buffed back to new. FWIW, my cross bike has either a 38 or 39 with a 47 ring and it shifts fine with the standard DA derailleur. I was thinking the new one has, as you said, a spider similar to the Mavic (the bolts are not standard, are they?) so possibly the tips of the spider are too beefy to use a "small" big ring. I think they offer a 49T on some combos though.
Also FWIW, not based on experience, but on horror stories, I was never a fan of FSA. However, my new crank, a carbon SLK (non MegaEXO) feels VERY stiff. It could be the bike too, but at any rate it does not seem wimpy as I feared. And this is with 110 bc rings. If anything, this would be the downside of compact, as obviously you can fit larger ring sizes on there, but I would worry that the rings themselves might be too flimsy. So far, even with the 52, it feels very stiff to me. It think I have a 54T 110 laying around somewhere...
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