After a brief hiatus, the story of the condensed water vapors return. While I was gone, I learned that the body shop bent the frame on my Norco while ripping out the seatpost.
So, I bought this-
Got my 190mm crankset in the mail the same day-
Buying the correct size crank arms (about 21.5% of your pubic bone height) was the best decision I ever made with concern to long term cycling. The spin is so natural, very easy to adapt your cadence as you go, and the response to sudden hard input is phenomenal. I've tried arms from 165-175mm before and they would always just spin up to an optimal cadence very quickly and motivate me not to push harder than that. This is why the biopace rings and toe cages were so beneficial for my cadence. 15mm may not seem like much but now I fully understand the importance of having a full range of motion with your spin.
As for the bike itself, it may not seem much different in design to my old Norco, but the double-butted chromoly in the main triangle is certainly considerably stiffer than what I was used to but the hi tensile used in the fork and rear of the frame is still of excellent quality - You feel almost everything over the bumps - just some compliance.
this could be because the bike is clearly in really good shape sitting away in a garage or basement somewhere with relatively little use. It has some nice upgrades on it like a really solid rear Damco rim.
The brakes have been upgraded to Tektro M315's. Im really enjoying the easy adjustability and significantly improved stopping power. These type of centre pulls still have a little bit of flex to the calipers, which is tremendously helpful for avoiding tire lock during hot corner entries.
The frame's geomtery has changed slightly compared to the Norco. The resr chainstays are 5mm shorter at 430mm, the headtube is a bit steeper and fork rake has been dialed down somewhat. It contributes to better cornering response which certainly ers toward the side of sport touring stability. My bottom bracket height is about 275mm which is enough pedal clearance as long as im careful and lift up an inside crank of I have to. This bike has very high potential both in a straight line and around the bends.
if you're still reading this, you might be wondering about the drop bars. I prefer bars closer to shoulder width (50cm) these bars are about 42cm. I ride mostly in the hoods and I am really enjoying the otherwise appreciable increase in efficiency, although someone of my size will obviously have a bit more trouble getting super low. I still have to ride with the bars above the saddle, but as I've been losing weight over the last couple months I've been able to go more aggressive witu the riding position and much faster. With 34/50t front and 13-28 six speed rear, im reasonably well equipped for tackling most hills in my area. After anything past a mild sloping downhill, im almost out of gearing with 50/13. Hill climbing is wear the cranks have been most helpful. 28t in the rear certainly isn't enough for any serious hill while riding loaded, but otherwise doable. Just 15mm in crank arm length has changed the gearing considerably and brought it much closer inline with what I need to maximize efficiency.
All in all, I can't help but wonder what a higher end vintage with full chromoly and campy groupset or something more modern with maybe a titanium frame would feel like. I thought the Norco was good until trying out a merely mid-range nishiki at best.