Why I ride what I ride.
dennisn
Posts: 10,601
OK, it's a boring Saturday, cold, rain, so what else is there to do?
Frame - Gios Compact Pro(steel, lugged) with chrome fork.
Why? Why not? Good looking bike, has gotten me anywhere I want to go on it with no problems. I like it. It's very unique compared to all those cookie cutter carbon things. If I were a showoff it's what I'd ride cause it gets noticed.
Shifters and mechs - DA 9 speed.
Why? Wanted something top of the line(at the time) and had the money. Don't have new 10 speed stuff because the 9 still shifts great and doesn't give me any grief. In the future I see electronic 10 DA when old number 9 gives it up.
Crankset - Ultegra Compact with outboard bearings (DA bearings)
Why? Couldn't see any reason for buying a carbon crank and coughing up all that extra money. Plus I like the idea that it's one piece of metal instead of metal and bonded carbon. Seems sturdier to me.
Gearing - Ultegra & Sram
Another case of not being able to see a reason for spending mega bucks on lightweight cassettes when steel will last twice as long. 50-36 with a 11-21 for around where I live(flatest area on earth) and 50-33 with a 12-27 when I take my somewhat annual trip to ride the Rockies.
Wheels - handbuilt(by me)
DA or Mavic hubs with Mavic Reflex or Open Pro rims with either 28 or 32 spokes.
Why? Can't imangine why I would need 2000 or 3000 dollar wheels. I don't race and I like to build my own. So far no problems with rims or hubs. What else could I ask for?
They are light and roll down the road just fine.
Tires - Tufo Elite Ride Tubular Clinchers(700x25) - Continental Sprinter Tubulars. - Tufo Tubulars
Why? - Love them Tufo tires. Tubeless, no pinch flats, no rim cuts, no tools required to change a flat, quick and easy flat changes, great ride, I believe they are sturdier than standard clinchers. There is no way you'll ever talk me into going back to regular clinchers(pain in the *ss). As for tubies I rate Sprinters as the best tire for the money and right behind are Tufo tub's.
Bars, stem - Easton Alum. Aero bars and perfomance Forte house brand OS stem.
Why? - Really like the flat areas on the bars for that bit of extra comfort. As for the stem, well, I needed a shorter one and the choice was spend over 100 dollars for a "big name" brand or spend 30 dollars on one that weighted 5 grams more but looked almost exactly like the "big name" one. As an added bonus I found that my "cheapie" stem works just as well as the "big name" one it repaced. Imagine that. Oh yea, cork tape. No particular brand.
Computer - Shimano Flight Deck - No power meter - No GPS
Why? - Tells me MORE than I ever wanted to know. Don't care about power readings
and I like to think that I can find my way around with, at the very most, a portion of a map page.
Chain - Any brand - top of the line with master link.
Why? - Gotta have a good chain. Makes me feel more secure out there.
Well, there it is FWIW.
Frame - Gios Compact Pro(steel, lugged) with chrome fork.
Why? Why not? Good looking bike, has gotten me anywhere I want to go on it with no problems. I like it. It's very unique compared to all those cookie cutter carbon things. If I were a showoff it's what I'd ride cause it gets noticed.
Shifters and mechs - DA 9 speed.
Why? Wanted something top of the line(at the time) and had the money. Don't have new 10 speed stuff because the 9 still shifts great and doesn't give me any grief. In the future I see electronic 10 DA when old number 9 gives it up.
Crankset - Ultegra Compact with outboard bearings (DA bearings)
Why? Couldn't see any reason for buying a carbon crank and coughing up all that extra money. Plus I like the idea that it's one piece of metal instead of metal and bonded carbon. Seems sturdier to me.
Gearing - Ultegra & Sram
Another case of not being able to see a reason for spending mega bucks on lightweight cassettes when steel will last twice as long. 50-36 with a 11-21 for around where I live(flatest area on earth) and 50-33 with a 12-27 when I take my somewhat annual trip to ride the Rockies.
Wheels - handbuilt(by me)
DA or Mavic hubs with Mavic Reflex or Open Pro rims with either 28 or 32 spokes.
Why? Can't imangine why I would need 2000 or 3000 dollar wheels. I don't race and I like to build my own. So far no problems with rims or hubs. What else could I ask for?
They are light and roll down the road just fine.
Tires - Tufo Elite Ride Tubular Clinchers(700x25) - Continental Sprinter Tubulars. - Tufo Tubulars
Why? - Love them Tufo tires. Tubeless, no pinch flats, no rim cuts, no tools required to change a flat, quick and easy flat changes, great ride, I believe they are sturdier than standard clinchers. There is no way you'll ever talk me into going back to regular clinchers(pain in the *ss). As for tubies I rate Sprinters as the best tire for the money and right behind are Tufo tub's.
Bars, stem - Easton Alum. Aero bars and perfomance Forte house brand OS stem.
Why? - Really like the flat areas on the bars for that bit of extra comfort. As for the stem, well, I needed a shorter one and the choice was spend over 100 dollars for a "big name" brand or spend 30 dollars on one that weighted 5 grams more but looked almost exactly like the "big name" one. As an added bonus I found that my "cheapie" stem works just as well as the "big name" one it repaced. Imagine that. Oh yea, cork tape. No particular brand.
Computer - Shimano Flight Deck - No power meter - No GPS
Why? - Tells me MORE than I ever wanted to know. Don't care about power readings
and I like to think that I can find my way around with, at the very most, a portion of a map page.
Chain - Any brand - top of the line with master link.
Why? - Gotta have a good chain. Makes me feel more secure out there.
Well, there it is FWIW.
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Comments
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Pics ....... FFS ?
A nice Gios no pics.. argh.0 -
dennisn wrote:I'm too old and technically challenged to put up pic's.
What, so we have to try and imagine what it looks like? I'm no good at that, come on, put some photos up!0 -
what cares about the specs? they are useless unless we know what it looks like0
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Where's the pics??? :? :? :?
That's like bringing salad to a bbq0
