Nice to be able to post once again to one of my favorite threads here. Yesterday was a balmy 75F and I finally got the chance to take my Bianchi Premio out for a short 15 mile shakedown ride. Being off a bike for 3 months took its toll on the legs.
But it was fun nonetheless. No notable routes, just bike lanes through a few neighborhoods with Red Mountain basking in the afternoon sun. I did a few laps with some short climbs to test my legs, and survived.
The Bianchi rode very smooth compared to my AL Trek daily rider I used to have. The Accushift drivetrain performed crisply after I swapped the existing 6-spd Uniglide chain for a modern narrow 9-speed chain. (Thanks for the suggestion, GlennFordx4!) It was making a heck of a racket before.
The only surprise was the poor braking performance. I installed a pair of short-reach Shimano 105 SLR single-pivot brakes I was gifted with by Irvri. These are the 'mighty powerful 105's' Sheldon Brown loved. I was expecting decent braking, but I got no stopping power at all. The brake pads are original, and I sanded them down before I installed them.
I paired them with my current favorite levers....a pair of NOS Tektro-made levers I found at the shop and bought for 10 bucks! They look identical to the Tektro R100/200a.
After setting up the brake calipers, I notice that there is a 4-5mm gap between pad and rim wall when I have the levers set to the desired pull travel I like. That's more gap than I've seen with my past brake set ups...conventional, aero, single and dual pivot. My only conclusion is possibly these levers are for linear pull brakes. But I don't recall Tektro making a set in the past with this body/lever style. I will have to iron out this mystery.
Overall, I managed to make this 53cm frame to fit me and the bike feels great!
