Monstermash

[QUOTE=NormanF;18100913]
Agreed. I have had a few alloy bikes and maybe it's just because the Vaya is new to me but it is the best bike I've ever ridden. None of the alloy bikes I've owned have even come close.

funbikerchick

Very nice looking bike. I don't know enough about bicycle components to speak technically but if it does what you want, I don't think anything else really matters.

Monstermash

So I would everyone's opinion on something. I just scored a great deal on a set of Crank Brothers Cobalt 3 wheels. They are black, blue, and silver as shown in the photos below. My question is, should I use them on this bike or save them for another project down the road. I really like the Crossmax wheels that are currently on the bike but the Crank Brothers in this blue seems like it would look great on it. I also have the option of painting the silver on the wheels so they are just black and blue.

What say you?

Here is a another pic of the bike so you don't have to go back to the first page to see it....



And here are the wheels...

yashinon

i like the bike as-as. The new wheels are sweet!

ColonelSanders

I think you are going to have to put the crank brother wheels on the Vaya, in order for us to see what it looks like, then offer informed feedback.

seat_boy

That's a great looking bike... how do you like the fit on the Vaya? I thought about one for a flat bar bike, but the reach is very short, especially compared to a Sirrus.

For example, in my XL size, the Vaya's reach is 385mm vs. 418mm for the Sirrus.

Chloe92us

This is my first post- put the new wheels on. The blue will pick up on the font and will look amazing. The yellow/red accents on the current wheels detract from the bike, IMHO. The bike is dreamy regardless.

Monstermash

Thank you.

I went up a size on the Vaya. Normally I would ride a 56cm road bike. My 2014 Carbon Sirrus (built on the Roubaix frame) was a large/56cm and it fit me well. For the Vaya I went with the 58cm and it fits great.



Welcome, and thank you!

I'm thinking I have to use the new wheels on the Vaya. I just bought an El Mariachi Titanium frame and I want to use the Mavic Crossmax wheelset for that build. Plus, I agree with you regarding the blue on the wheels. I also think it will bring out the darker blue Salsa logo on the frame. Although, this is just going from the photos I have of the wheels. I'm not exactly sure how dark or light the blue will be because they haven't arrived yet. According the tracking info, they will be here on Monday. I really hate UPS. It's going to take over a week for them to get here from CO. Seriously? Did they strap the box to the back of a donkey? Lol!

FamilyMan007

Great looking bike - enjoy


Thought re wheels - does it have to be one or other - use both! Mount a different tire from the current wheels to facilitate changing tire to meet particulars of the specific ride you envisage that day ?

Monstermash

Yeah, it kinda does. There's about $2k in wheels between the two sets and that's a lot of money to have tied up just to facilitate a tire change. Lol!

Plus I need to use one of the sets on my new Salsa El Mariachi Ti. Considering there isn't any blue at all on the El Mar I think I'll use the Mavic's on that bike and the Crank Brothers on the Vaya providing the color isn't too far off.

Monstermash

Here's a few photos of the El-Mar Titanium. I know it's not a hybrid but it does fit into the conversation in this thread because of the wheels. You can see why I want to use the Mavic wheelset on this bike and the Crank Brothers on the Vaya. I'm not going to use the tires that are on it. I think some Clement LXV's will do the trick!

It originally came with a white Niner carbon fork that I wasn't too crazy about so I removed the white paint, wet sanded it down to 1200 grit, and then polished it.

Monstermash

Ok, so the new wheelset came in. I think I like it.....

I thought the blue was a bit off until I noticed the anodizing on the seatpost clamp is almost exactly the same color as the spokes on the Crank Brothers wheels. Now I'm going to have to go buy the blue Salsa skewers.

Sonmi451

That looks pretty sweet. If you want to get rid of your old wheels I'm here for you!

Monstermash

What old wheels?

ColonelSanders

That is a great match actually.

You have one hell of a head turning, eye catching bike now with those wheels.

People will be asking you about your bike all the time in the streets.

Lt Stonez

Hhhmmm well i liked it better with the black wheels, but thats only me.

Monstermash

I'm on the fence. While I really liked the black Mavic wheels the Blue is starting to grow on me.



Thanks Colonel!

Sonmi451

Never mind I saw your other ride. Anyway I was finally able to get the Crossmax SL on a nice sale. Do I need UST tires? Or are you running regular tires with tubes?

Monstermash

I'm just running regular tires with tubes.

Have you given any thought to what tires your going to run?

Sonmi451

I was looking at getting Schwalbe Marathon Racer 35c (30c are out of stock) but Schwalbe said they are not compatible with UST wheels so I'm all confused now which is why I was asking.

Monstermash

That's strange. Why would they not be compatible?

I'm using Schwalbe Kojaks in 35c and I like them a lot. I've been hammering on them without any issues. And by hammering I mean over gravel, off curbs, and over a lot of crushed sea shells for a few miles.

If you happen to speak with Schwalbe again ask them why they are not compatible and then ask them is the Kojaks are compatible. If they tell you the Kojaks are not compatible I would question whether or not the person you're speaking with has a clue.

Sonmi451

So apparently I just talked to the owner at Schwalbe. She was pretty insistent I need a UST tire claiming there are too many problems with tubes & blowouts and it would void the warranty. She said running a regular tubed tire may work, they just don't recommend it.

Monstermash

It sounds like they are just covering their ass. I have had zero issues with my Schwalbe tires on UST rims.

Sonmi451

Yeah that's basically the jist I got from them. She was getting into liability and stuff so you know how that goes... Anyway, Mavic has the Yksion Elite Allroad that are UST so I'm trying to order a pair of those. They seem pretty good for what I am looking for and they are tubeless so we'll see how it goes.

Monstermash

I don't know if you guys noticed when I posted the photos of the new wheelset on the bike I had added a new set of grip with bar ends. When I saw them at the store they looked like a good match to the paint on the Vaya but when I installed them I wasn't really pleased at the way they looked. I know they look ok in the photos but it must just be the lighting because they are much brighter,

I really liked the feel of the new grips as they are larger than the old one's I was using and the fill up my hands better so I decided to scrap the barends and find another solution. The solution ended up being using a set of oversized bar end caps from a set of Cannondale grips I had laying around. I removed all the anodizing so the Cannondale logo would be removed and then I painted them gloss black. I then took a UD carbon spacer (like the ones on my steering tube) and glued one onto each of the end caps. When I put it all together it looks pretty cool and with the matching UD carbon I kinda dig it.

What do you guys think?

Before....








After...