Originally Posted by
dugla
Ok,
Thanks for the tons of useful input. Very cool.
If I try and distill responses down I think I have a punch list.
First, more context:
- My Fuso is at130mm and this was key to some of the changes I made. I had the local shop build me a wheel. Hub: Shimano 105 5800 36 hole 11-Speed rear hub. Cassette: Shimano 7-Speed 11/28. Rim: Mavic Open Sport 700c. So out with the old freewheel in with the cassette/freehub basically.
My todo list:
- upgrade to the latest Shimano 105 11-speed groupset
- (maybe) replace my front wheel with some Mavic coolness
- more hills
My goals are rather modest: ride comfortably at 17-18mph in the local group ride which is 36 miles-ish. A key aspect of this is "solving" riding on the rolling hills here in Mass. (Lexington/Concord/etc.). This is where the 11-speeds should pay dividends. I think I will get there. My weekday hill loops - 3 1-hour sessions per week - are getting faster and longer. Around 1400 ft of elevation in an hour, typically. I don't really have the time to do 40/50/60 mile rides.
I think you're going to get there with or without the upgrades because the practice thing is the most important and you're committed to it, you just might have more fun with more gears, so what the hell, why not.
I live in Nashua, but I ride from home through the area you're talking about a lot. Those hills are great, just the right size to be fun up and down, and the roads while far from perfect, are pretty decent. I may have waved back at your group a few times.