Nice frame. I heard from multiple sources that they were on closeout and could be had for cheap (relatively speaking.) Unfortunately, when I looked into it, none were available in my size.

Thanks!

I heard about that, too. I know a few that got one.

If I ever got one this would probably be what I'd use it for, an unashamedly big fan of bling.

Might just do this myself though as it's so simple there no point not to. No need to worry about the 12t though, it's all about efficiency nowadays

Is the whole point of this thread an avenue to nitpick other peoples choices? By people who don't take the time to understand what they are nitpicking?

The EAI Superstar cogs are neither gold nor color banded.

https://www.euroasiaimports.com/prod.../EAI-c2044.htm

YES.


Thanks for the correction :D

I have the Gold Medal Pro 14t.

I lol'd really hard at this. Bling gold cogs are for sure attractive, but I couldn't make myself pay for them. The silver ones, though? Yeah, totally can pull that off.

Reality: Yeah, probably overkill, but if I can squeeze a few more watts out of my drivetrain, then I'll feel a hell of a lot less foolish worrying about hub and BB bearings, and tires, and bars, and wheels, and everything else I like to obsess over, and geek out about. Besides, sometimes the "optimality vs value" chart gets thrown out.

Also reality: Buying new stuff is kind of cathartic. Hence this thread. :lol:

@carleton, where did you find that lovely Felt?

Looooong story.

I need to find an adjustable stem longer than 120MM. I'm at the point on the pivot arc with the Ritchie stem that I have that if I go any lower the reach starts getting shorter. One of my goals for the 2018 season is "more aero" on the TT bars for my Giant Omnium. I'm open to suggestion!

Gotcha! :)

Does it have to be adjustable? There are some pretty steep stems on the market, if you know what angle you're looking for. Salsa and Profile Design both have stems available on QPB that are -25 and 130mm. Your local shop should have a Q account and can order one for you.

Keep an eye on eBay, as weird stuff pops up on there occasionally, too.

I haven't decided on an angle yet. I suppose I could use the Ritchie to figure out an angle, but I'd rather the reach be close to what it will be when I get the stack right. I am inclined to leave the stem installed if it works out. I'm not concerned about a weight penalty, I know those adjustable stems are on the heavy side. Having a stem I can futz with to zero in on my fit is more important to me right now.

ebay does have some interesting "stuff", doesn't it?

This is why we all have tool boxes full of stems. Even with a professional fitter, a lot of bike fittings come down to trial and error.

Just buy a bunch of budget stems that are around what you think you’ll need in terms of reach and angle. Once you settle on one, buy a nice one in that size.


Hahahaha

Double jointed adjustable stems are great for setting up a TT bar, they can often get at a position that a normal, even very steep stem cannot. There are some cheap one's out there now, I posted something a couple of months ago..., oh yeah, this one: https://www.ebay.com/itm/SATORI-Turn...-/162521558700

Thanks, guys!

Review of the VP R73-T pedal:
These are solid. First, they are made of metal, which is pretty much unobtainium these days in step-in road pedals as far as I can tell, and I like that. I was hesitant as they are LOOK KEO compatible, because I had some KEO's back in the day a bit and they had slop right out of the box at the cleat/pedal connection which only got worse as the composite pedal body inevitably wore down. TheseVP are rock solid, with no slop. Came with the fixed position cleat, which is proper for the intended demographic: sprinters.
I experimented with both a single strap in the rear position and a double strap. The single strap felt good, but I could feel some flex in my shoe on standing efforts, so I went back to the doubles, though I know they are overkill for all 75kgs of me. My shoes are trad style DMT's, so if you have much stiffer shoes like Bonts a single would be fine.
These were around ¥10,000 over here, which is cheap in a competition pedal. Excellent fit and finish, the bearings feel silky. These came with straps which actually look useable (they are laminated with the plastic center sandwich) but the straps are not as thick as an NJS strap. With the supplied strap, you will want to use a small zip tie for insurance to keep it from sliding in the mount slots when tightening down, with NJS they are just the right thickness to stay put as-is. Highly recommended if you're a sprinter looking for a pedal set up to take straps in the correct spot.
Some photos from my Instagram:

Knock, know - who's there?
FYI, ordered and notification shipped on the 1st of November, received 7th.

Got the Scatto. No issues at all. Great service at least this time.
Now, it's time to cross fingers for another package.

Awesome! They seem to do better in the offseason from past people's experiences. Let us know how the rest of the order goes. It's possible that they have smartened up after the reputation they were getting.

I just bought an Omnium Portable Trainer - I bought the road version (resistance) rather than the track version (no resistance) because it suits my needs better.

Pretty much replacing my 53cm DF3 for 56cm Dixie Flyer completely built up with new parts. So the list include a lot of parts and I even want to build up my own training wheels (loved learning to make my own racing wheels). Some of the parts are on the way, some are already purchased and some will be purchased in the next month.

56cm Dixie Flyer 2018 frame
Pro Stealth Saddle
31.6 Thomson Elite 0mm offset seatpost
Pro PLT Compact 36cm Handlebar
Generic Knurled Track grip (really liked the feeling and grip of them this year and the end of the grip stop the handlebar from knocking the paint of the frame compared to regular tape)
Thomson X4 stem
165mm Vision 386 Track crankset with BSA ABEC-5 BB
Dura-Ace knurled chainring bolts
Blackspire Chainring 50/51/52/54
Kmc X101 chain
Dura-Ace 13/14 cogs and lockring
Formula Th-50/TH-52 fix/fix 32H hubset
DT Swiss R460 Disc (so no machined sidewalls for a cleaner look) 32H rims
Champion spokes and brass nipples

Waiting for Nopinz to launches their 2018 skinsuit with number pockets to get one (if possible a short sleeves one)

Only thing left to decides is the tires (really like the looks of tan sidewall Challenge pista clincher but their sidewalls get scratched easily) and the length of the stem.

FYI, there were 25 orders made in 21 hours as this is a time frame between these 2 orders (as long as order sequence is in linear order).

Yeah. That's really not that much to fulfill. Unless the guy running the site has a day job, then that's basically an order every hour, or 3 of them per hour every 8 hour day. You have to remember that they are not handling any merchandise. They just order it from a distributor and have it shipped to you.

It's not quite that simple, but yeah, there isn't that much work involved with order taking/tracking. I worked at MEC (the Canadian version of REI), and every store had a proper shipping department. Things ordered off the website would be pulled and shipped from the closest store to the purchaser, packaged and shipped out. So even though we were dealing with actual physical inventory, the administrative side would take about 5-6 minutes for each order, logging it into the system, crossing the T's and dotting the I's. They'll have their own records of orders as well as tracking, etc, that they have to essentially duplicate when they order from the distributor. Or maybe not, as evidenced by the runaround these guys give people when things get lost.

Just popped some 36cm bars on my track bike. It's surprising how natural they feel. I think I'll need a longer stem though.