fleslider 

heres a pic of the 1990 Expert TG that i am finishing up. Full RX100 groupset. except for the Brake levers which i didnt have and will add when i can find some with good white hoods.

Utilized the red chainring bolts as the RX100 Cranks, and chainrings seem to plain to me not something i usually do but i like it..

seypat

Nice! The bolts add some bling.

canklecat

That's an impressive weight reduction. Don't let Debo borrow that bike. You'll never get it back.




Titanium always seems lighter on Friday.

texaspandj

Interesting, and inspiring @hazetguy. Have you cleaned frame and if so, how bout a pic of that?
And here's Deebo from the classic comedy Friday.

Hudson308 

Hey, man.
I STRONGLY resemble that remark.

texaspandj

Yesterday was a beautiful day here in Cen-Tex. Since Sundays are my scheduled long rides, I wanted to ride my Carbon Ironman but all I have is the tubular wheels (so far), so I had to choose another Ironman and the winner was... the '86 Classic with 6 speed down tube shifters and 13-21 freewheel. Generally I ride with my riding buddy then home and later ride again. But this time he was out of town and I decided to ride one long ride of 50 miles and some change. As I said it was beautiful, blue sky, white puffy clouds, and SUNNY, YAY!
My fitness is really improving and didn't think nothing of pushing it a little. However, I should have known something was up when at a good clip, I could still take in the scenery. I was smiling from ear to ear for about 10 miles, did I tell you it was a gorgeous day? I noticed stuff on the 50 mile rolling hill route that I wouldn't normally. Like all the state flags, Texas emblems, and Texas wild flowers issued by the state in accordance with Lady Bird Johnsons beautification program. Man I wanted to stop and take some pics just to post here but I felt good and didn't want to lose the momentum.
What a day and what a ride, fun, fun, fun...well except the last 10 miles. Straight into aheadwind, 42x21, and worse my feet starting hurting from the night before (whole nother story). So I pulled over took my shoes off and then put them back on but didn't tighten them up. Ahh, much better. One thing I learned, it's much easier to ride 25 miles and rest and ride 25 miles again than just riding 50 miles straight through. Who knew?

markwesti

Glad you had a good one Tony . Knees all healed up I trust ?

texaspandj

Ehh good enough. I ran a half marathon a couple of weeks ago then ran a faster 5k a week later and didn't run long this Saturday. But it's finally ready for long runs on Saturdays again. It rarely bothers me when riding, it's the clipping in and out that it doesn't like.
To help save my injured left knee I probably should just Mount and dismount from the right/drive side and unclip from right side at traffic stops but it just feels WRONG.

markwesti

I can see how clipping in would mess with your knee , The twisting pressure .

texaspandj

They should call those knee savers.
There's a hex screw tension adjuster on the bottom of the clip in pedals I use. I've got them "minimumed out" or completely removed since my left knee issue.

canklecat

Yeah, foot retention is a mixed bag of good and bad. Clipless systems can strain the knee with an unnatural twisting motion. Toe clips usually lack any float so unless it's set up perfectly the position can aggravate other problems.

Personally, whenever my knee twinges and doesn't clear up quickly I switch to platform pedals and comfortable shoes for a few rides until the problem clears up. I don't see any significant difference in my average speed. The only downside to platforms for me is sometimes I get foot arch cramps from pedaling hard with shoes that have too-soft soles. I should get some Five-Tens or proper MTB shoes.

texaspandj

Yesterday, I rode my Miami Vice. Normally i ride my Classic on Monday's but since I rode my classic the day before and I was riding a hilly route I thought the MV was the right choice with its 13-26 freewheel. Anyways I racked classic then pulled down my MV and noticed I had a rear wheel flat. I was running a little behind as I like to be out on the road by 545 and it was inching towards 6. And instead of patching I decided to just replace with brand new spare tube. I removed the embedded glass from tire then removed tube and noticed the hole was exactly on the previous patch. Now I'll see if you can patch a patch.
My wife says just ride one of your other bikes. I said if I die out there I want my bikes in good working order when you give them away. Bet she won't ask me again.

texaspandj

I like these pics. Reminds me hot summer days. Maybe it's the blue pool colored bar tape I like.


This pic says SUMMERTIME!
Well it turns out you Can patch a patch. The initial patch was really well done so no problem. The tires themselves are very light and thin, however they have a flat protection liner. Apparently the previous flat made a cut allowing a piece of glass to get in. I've now moved the liner a little.
Now for the Second half. Once I patched it I over inflated to check for leaks. That weakened the tube and when in reinstalled and aired up wheel to 100 psi about 2 minutes later.. big loud blow out. The positive, I did another well done patch job as it didn't blow from the patch but rather the seam. Lesson learned, Do not inflate tube to 1-1/2 it's size.
Now for another update. My Classic uses 6 speed Dura Ace through out, including the down tube shifters. But after searching for more than a decade for some original 6 speed Gripshift (like at had on my Pinarello bitd) I finally found a set....on the bay. So that means it wasn't cheap. But honestly, I didn't think I would ever find some. So, lucky, I guess?
Anyways here's a pic of what I'll be receiving soon. Hopefully it'll work as I paid a pretty penny for them. The funny thing is I just wanted the shifters but had to pay for bars, brake levers, stem, and shipping. Oh well, I'll keep em for backups.

RobbieTunes

I have a set if you need some.

canklecat

Those all-in-one TT/tri aero bars need an elephant motif. Paint the forearm rests like ears, the aero bar extensions like trunks, and the rest like a mouth and tusks.

texaspandj

All 4 of my bikes have them. They're the original and first mass produced aero bars. They came out in '87. And I got my first pair at the end of the '87 triathlon season. I think triathlete magazine described them as something Dolly Parton would wear.
The gripshift came out shortly after, and I had the first generation of those too. They were 6 speed and I had the LBS install them on my pinarello in '88. When they came out with the 7 speed someone complained that you had to twist the wrist too much, to which Duathlon King Kenny Souza asked, what ***** would complain about that?

canklecat

Prototype for Centurion Elephantman aero bars:

texaspandj

Good looking out Hguy.
A little smaller I mightve had to take a shot at it.
Man I need a '85 54cm Ironman. But might have to settle for Comp TA or Turbo....umm Turbo.

texaspandj

I was in walmart and saw that in the bike section they are now selling bike shorts. (19.99) woo-hoo!....for me because im financially uhhh limited.
I was telling my wife about it and even she was surprised. I'm picking up a pair today. I usually buy mine from academy so I'm not picky. My riding buddy buys his from the LBS and is happy when he spends 75 bucks on a pair because they were discounted.
In a conversation with my wife how much some shorts cost and how expensive the sport of cycling really is for serious riders. You know 6000 dollar bikes, 100+ dollar shorts, 200 dollar helmets etc.. And then it occurred to me how much I really go the cheap route but that how somehow I get so much satisfaction passing all those people in a triathlon race. And I think that's my main motivation, I'm gonna pass you on my 30 year old bike and 20 dollar shorts, 4 dollar glasses.
I'm pretty sure if I had the disposable income my wife has I might, might, maybe, buy more expensive (possibly better) shorts, Oakley shades, and new helmet, however I'd still be on my Ironman.
Keep those cranks turning Irongents.

markwesti

@texaspandj , this reminds me of my friend crazy Dave . Not to be confused with my friend psycho Billy . Anyhow Dave was a long distance rider I'm talking across State across Country . Dave rode a Gios (it was his only bike) I'm not sure of the year for the bike but early to mid 80's non aero . On a short ride , 100 miles Long Beach to San Diego and on the return trip (the next day) he was pleased with himself and bike about joining a group of CF bike rider because when they tried to drop him he dropped them !

diomekes

That looks like Dura Ace to me...

texaspandj

Better pic coming if and when weather finally cooperates.
Well I purchased some bike shorts from walmart yesterday. They're by zefal. It has a Lot of padding and come in three sizes, S/M, L/XL, and XL/XXL. For comparison, Academys bike short are 6 dollars more and I wear Med. So I got the S/M. Although they fit well enough, the grip around the leg is Not tight. Probably made for someone with Massive Muscle legs like seypat. I'll use them on my long ride Sunday, and see if they hold up.
My goal is to ride my Carbon every Sunday long ride. However I still haven't found training wheels I like, at the price I can umm... appreciate, (It'll happen soon enough). Til then I think I'll ride my Miami Vice this Sunday. Here's it's current look. It has original everthing except: seatpost, saddle, bars, gripshift, and a 13-26 freewheel.

Hudson308 

50 years ago they used to call the 426 Hemi the "elephant motor", and some of the best were built by Ed Pink.
Sweet pink elephant!

RobbieTunes

Switching to 54's, so...
56x56 NotYourDaddy's Ironman goes. F/F/HS with Look CF fork, FSA headset.
56x56 Carbon-R goes. F/F/HS (improved fork on this 1991 Asian market model)
56x56 Turbo goes (black) F/F/HS

I have a 54 '89 Master and 54 '84 Comp TA which will be it.
Plus the funny bike frame to be finished.

I'll get over it.

texaspandj

Pics of the black turbo please.
Going on a long (ish) ride but I wanna check out the Turbo I'm interested in when I get back.