jadmt

only people offended are the ones who can't do what you are doing. Keep the wheels spinning and the speed up.

Bad Lag

I'm just giving you a hard time.

The scenery is awesome!

My riding is all in a very touristy area, so the bit about traffic is real.

For me, riding hard is going uphill without shifting ( a bit of hammering, for me). I find it easier (less stressful on the joints) to do than down-shifting and grinding my way up, as long as you have the legs and lungs for it.

Bad Lag

No offense here, just pure, undistilled jealousy. :-)

jamesdak 

No worries, I'm probably just a bit on edge all the time lately. Two years of constant pain wears on you.

I've only managed one real climb so far and man did I suck. Like 5 mph with my heart pounding in my lungs.

Where I live I purposely just ride the same local area because I just don't want to deal with traffic. I get super grouchy when cars hold me up, LOL!

plonz 

I, for one, love to see your go fast numbers on C&V machines with modern gear. A welcome return to what so many of these bikes were originally intended to do. Drop bars, skinny tires and 19+ !

I still see those Colnago C40s and Dream Machines in shop rides. Seems it’s always an older rider who never adopted modern geometry yet still gets out and hammers it. Those Colnagos always represent!

jamesdak 

Failed this morning on the Krapf. Shut 'er down at the 25 mile point with an avg speed of 18.9. The last 2.5 miles is uphill, usually windy, and has the one busy intersection to navigate. I never make up time on that section.

I think this failure helps illustrate just how good the C40 is even though it pains me to admit that, LOL!

Legs felt ok today for the most part and I was moving fast early on. But even then I could feel some occasional lactic acid build up in the quads. I think the 6 speed cassette in back is a hinderance to me with my legs still being not that strong. There's a section from 8.6 miles to the 15.6 mile turn around that is pretty much all a minor uphill. I'd say it averages less than 1% but it's still enough to reveal how my quads are still so down on power. I lost 1.3 mph avg over this section and just couldn't make it up on the return leg. Normally I can muscle through this section to maintain a decent pace but really struggle with it since the surgery. I guess the lighter weight and more gears with the Colnago last week really helped me. I spent a lot more time in the drops today than I did last weekend but it still didn't give me the edge I needed to pull this off.

Now for the bike itself, man a great little rider. The drivetrain is sooooooooooooooo quiet, I love it! Shifting is very precise after the first couple of shfits. I always have to get a feel for how any given DT setup works since I'm always out on a different bike on any given day. The FD was pulling inward a bit when I stood to muscle up some short hills. I didn't bother trying to tighten it but will next ride out on this. The cockpit on this suits me well and I am totally comfortable doing miles in the drops. It feels like it's accelerating well and sticks pretty well in tight turns. Some of the bigger hits from rough road conditions do feel a little rough on the front end when I'm in the drops. The back never feels harsh despite how tight the rear wheel is tucked in. A usual, the Vittoria Control G 2.0 tires feel like they roll slower with the Conti GP 4000s II or 5000s I run on most bikes. Maybe they were the difference today and maybe I could have snuck in a tenth of a mile faster on GP 5000s.

Such a beautiful 41 year old bike!

jamesdak 

Finally got one of the other new pickups into the "club" this morning even though it was totally unplanned. Had hacked away at the Merlin again this morning finally replacing the rusty, sticky FD shift cable. Previously I had swapped on some new Wickwerks 53/34 chainrings, a new cassette, and a new chain. I also flatted on this last week with the old tires on it so put on some Conti 5000s with latex tubes. I also swapped back in the original Dura Ace/Easton seatpost that came with it and put on a used Fizik Kurve Chameleon I had gotten of Ebay. Chased the shifting tune around a bit this morning and then while still not that happy with it I took it out for a little test ride. About four miles into the ride I realized I was moving along pretty good on it and decided to see just what kind of pace I could run on it. Finished up with 24.12 miles, 666 ft of climbing, in 1:15:27 for an avg pace of 19.2 mph. Fastest avg pace of the year. I hadn't really planned to ride fast so I went out with really diluted gatorade in my bottles and no real breakfast. This is a good ol' bike though and really does suit me well and feels good under me. Still don't feel like I have any real power though once the road turns uphill a tad.

Here's the bike as it's now set up. It is 18 lbs 4 ozs as in this pic.

plonz 

Nice! Looks like you have some naked Ksyriums on that Merlin. Still have a few sets of those myself.

Finally got my vintage average back to 19 this week so I’m joining your club whether it’s open for new members or not! On the ‘84 Raleigh Competition restomod, averaged 19.0 even for 32 miles with ~600 ft so relatively flat for my area. I needed the benefit of 5 other riders around me but it was still nice to see 19 again. Always amazes me how you really need to ride at 22 to average 19.

jamesdak 

Add the Colnago Master X Light to the club! 24.03 miles in 1:15:19 with 650 ft of climbing for an avg pace of 19.1 mph. I wasn't too sure about today's ride as there were winds to deal with and it was fairly cool. Pretty clean ride except for a stupid dump truck pulling out in front of me when I was in the groove cruising at around 23 mph. Dude was looking at me the whole time as he cut me off. I do have to say the bars are not what I need on this one. The drops are too low and make my hips feel all confined when I'm in them. The front brake cable housing it to short to let me position the bars better. I'll fix that shortly. Could have been a bit faster today I think if I had spent more time in the drops. Other than that this bike felt good under me although not the smoothest riding thing out there.




Next knee replacement is less than a month away. So I'll be spending as many of my remaining rides as I can trying to get the other "new" rides into the club. This weekend I'll be trying with both early 80's bikes, the Motta and the Krapf. Not sure if the legs will hold out but I guess I'll see what happens.

Erzulis Boat 

Funny you say that. I also have the new Master X Light, and it was not smooth either. It's "choppy" for lack of a better term. It took a lot of extra work to get the ride somewhat pleasant, but I am just about there. It's my stiffest bike that I own by a large margin in that everything on the road goes at Warp Speed straight into your skeleton. It is very stable however. Just between you and I, it's more show than go.

jamesdak 

Yeah, I mean mine does not feel that bad but I do have smoother rides. It feels very responsive for sure and seemed to carry speed well. This was the first ride out on it with new Continental GP 5000 700 x 25 tires with latex tubes. They made it feel better than the previous rides I had on it. The overall feel was not that much different than the C40 other than for some reason the C40 let's you feel all the road imperfections while taking most of the edge off of them. Hard to explain really. The Master actually felt smoother the times I was in the drops which isn't the case with a lot of bikes.

jamesdak 

OK full steam ahead old man shout at the clouds rant today about the attempt today. I swear one of these days I'm going to beat the crap out of a stupid driver! Ok, not really but sometimes I think they need it to start taking other people's lives seriously.

One of the few remaining sections of quiet back roads here has been ruined by the rich folks that bought the old Catholic Monastery and are now commercializing it. They've run a Farmers Market/Pumpkin patch operation there all summer long. So a very rough, narrow, country road now get's hundreds and hundreds of cars on it all Saturday long. The entrance to the Farmer's Market is right in the Apex of a sweeping turn with good sight lines. Well today was at least the 6th time I've almost been hit there by someone coming or going into the market. Today I was on the Motta coming into the curve at around 22 mph. Now I'm in a florescent pink jersey, gloves, and calf high socks with a bright flashing front light. This white Ford F-150 comes in the opposite lane and I make eye contact with the driver. Then the stupid idiot starts to turn into the market anyway cutting in front of me. She then panicked and stopped with her whole truck at an angle blocking the whole road. Hard on the brakes, locked the rear by accident, trying to avoid the chipseal cracks and potholes while not smacking into the truck. What in the hell is a matter with people???? The previous times have been people pulling out of the field and into my path except for once. The other time the idiot comes up behind me, tries to pass, never full clears me, and then starts turning right hooking right into me. That took me off road and fortunately not into a barb wire fence. I mean how stupid can you be. I've contacted the owners of the property as well as the Sheriff but nothing changes. This used to be the best place up here to put in long miles. I could do 7.5 mile laps through here all day long until I had a 100 miles in and never have problems with cars. Now it's ruined for months out of the year.

And before this happened I came up on three different groups of riders stopped on a bike path I was riding. They were scattered across the whole path and just gave me a stupid look each time I called out as I approached. No one moved to get out of the way. Jesus are we really that stupid now days? The icing on the cake was had at the few stops signs I encountered. Now Utah passed the "Idaho Stop Law" two years ago. So if you don't have to yield right away you can proceed though. Well the first half of the ride every stop sign I approached had one car there stopped. Plenty of time for them to go before I even got there but each time they just sat until I came to a full stop, killing my pace. Even though I waved them to go as I approached.

Anyway, the incident with the truck happened about 15 miles into the ride. I was still on pace to get the Motta into the 19 mph club but just gave up in disgust. Some days it just doesn't pay to even be out there. It was perfectly calm today but it was cold. I think it would have been easy to get a fast ride in if it wasn't for all the problems.

Rant over....

jamesdak 

What a bike, what a ride, what a fail. I totally let the Krapf bike down today but it certainly did it's best to make the club. Today was the third straight day of zone 4/5 riding for me and this old man just isn't up to that right now. That said, for most of the ride this beautiful bike was moving.




Some observations made on the bike today. The drivetrain is soooooo quiet and easy to keep things trimmed. The times I got it up to around 21 mph the bike just lightened up and cruised effortlessly, even on some minor uphill's. Acceleration was something pretty dang good also. When the legs would bog down and the speed would drop it would only take standing a few strokes to punch this 40 year old beauty up another 5 mph. Probably the short, tight rear end going to work. My position felt great whether on the hoods or in the drops. The bike occasionally felt skittish on a couple rougher sections as I was hammering it but for the most part was smooth and planted. The only negative is a few times the tires seemed to scrub off speed in sharp curves, something I've felt on my other bikes running the latest version of the Vittoria Corsa Graphene 2.0 tires. I like how they look on this bike but may swap on some GP 5000's since they feel faster to me.

For the attempt today, I did get a clean ride. A late start with temps around 55 and totally calm. I hit the turn around point at a little over 12 miles in with the avg pace at 18.7. Normally the first half is the slowest due to all the minor uphills. Should have been easy to get it over 19 mph on a normal day. But about 14 miles in I felt the afternoon headwinds begin and they just got stronger the farther along I got into the ride. Yet at no time were they really that strong. Average pace was at 19.0 with about 6 miles to go. But from there it's a lot of rolling hills and uphill. The pace kept bouncing between 18.9 and 19.0 but was a solid 18.9 with two miles to got. That part is mildly uphill with today's headwinds. I knew the legs just didn't have it so turned off the gas and cruised home. I was the fail point today.


Quick snapshot from the turn around point, beautiful day out.

Not to make excuses but I still don't feel normal when I ride. There's no real smoothness to my legs through the stroke and I still have the sensation of making a lot more power with the right leg than the left. It's been six months now since the left knee replacement so I don't know if I can blame that. Although the calf on that leg always feel funny and I still cannot get even close to normal flexibility of my quads on that leg. Normally when I stretch I use both hands individually to pull each heel up to my buttocks. I can't even get much beyond 90 degrees doing that on the left leg still. Curious to see what happens with the right leg get's done next month. Maybe my days of sort of fast riding are over...

jamesdak 

Man I am having to work for these this year. Snuck the old Merckx Corsa 01 into the club this morning even with a little wind. Another cool run with a later stop, I swear the cooler air feels harder to ride fast through. That said, I got to the turn around point today with a 18.7 mph avg. Was able to get it to 19.2 with about 5 miles left but then lost some as I struggled again. I also forgot to hit my inhaler before I left. Lungs gooped up around 8 miles into the ride. My asthma does not like riding hard in the cold or the heat, moderate temps don't seem to bother it.

Anyway, the last time out on this bike I got caught in a rainstorm even though it wasn't forecasted. The bike was covered with a fine layer of grit. Gave it a proper clean before the ride to include pulling off the chain and cassette to get all the grit out of it. The earlier rides on this bike had my wondering what all the fuss was about these bikes. But going hard on it today made it feel like a different bike today. I really enjoyed it for the most part. I just wish I had the legs to drop one more gear and run faster on this. I'm not spending much time at all this year above 22 mph which is why I'm struggling to get these latest bikes in with a decent ride average. This may be the last one I get in before the next knee replacement.

24.08 miles in 1:15:41 with 627 ft of climbing for an avg pace of 19.1 mph.




.

Kilroy1988 

@jamesdak I just purchased a Colnago C40 B-Stay with the same paint scheme as yours and am stoked. How are you liking it? Our son was born on Wednesday night and my world has officially been rocked, and I know that spending time and money restoring vintage bicycles is something that I need to put into my past for the time being. I've admired C40s since I got into road cycling back in 2009 and plan to make it my regular rider for a pleasant mixture of style and fitness.

-Gregory

jamesdak 

First off, congrats on the birth of your son!!!! You are now entering the best days of your life, enjoy every moment as they grow up too fast.

I am still totally in love with the C40. It's the best feeling C.F. bike I've ever ridden. I did back to back 50 milers sometime last year on all 6 of the old C.F. bikes and the C40 stood out as the best. I bet you're going to love it.

jamesdak 

Since this has been revived let me do a little preview for this year. I still have several rides picked up the past two years to get into the "club". My second knee was replaced in November but is still giving me issues. Flex is only around 105 degrees so clipping and riding is a problem. I can do it but there is a catch and pain at the top of my stroke. I'm sure I'll get that sorted out though and plan on a good year's riding. I should also be able to get back to frequent long climbing rides, something I've avoided the past couple of years. That always helps the flat land speed to improve.

Here's what still needs into the club:

Bianchi Giro I recently picked up for a cheap winter ride.



Kestrel 200 SCI, only got in a few rides on it last year.



Gianni Motta Personal 2001r, held back last year by my weak legs



Losa built '82 Krapf, no doubt on this one. It just missed the club twice last year on days my legs sucked. This beauty is a rocket being held back by a fat, old man.



Moser Ax, picked up this winter and hasn't seen the road yet.



Oscar Freire (I think) Olmo Forma. Too small and one I don't plan on riding a bunch. Sticky shifting so I need to swap in new cables and housing. It was fast the couple of times I took it out last year.



Kelly Bedford built Pacenti I got from Kirk. Odd geo on this for me but curious to see what I can do on it and if it's a keeper or not. Have not ridden yet due to winter roads.



Raleigh Technium Supercourse. Still trying to sell this local but did several rides on it last year.



Raleigh Racing USA Prestige. Bought as another project bike with plans to refurb and sell. Got it done but didn't ride before winter hit. Will go on sale locally soon so may be gone before I get a shot at it. I do want to ride it to see how it feels under me. I just may not be up to full speed for several months yet.
If I wind up keeping this it's getting Superbe brakes to match the rest of the components. The stock brakes suck for setup due to the odd angle the cable housing has to run into them at.



Putting all these down is sort of embarrassing. I seem to have a full blown addiction going on here with this many newer rides in the stable. Not to mention there may just be one more steel Italian coming into the fold too. And.....with who good the Colnago C40 feels I really, really want to try a Look 585. I need an intervention!!!!

squirtdad

congrats on on son. worlds greatest science experiment. Trust your gut with him and watch out for post partum depression for you wife

next thing you know you will be wrenching on very small bikes

Kilroy1988 

Thank you, James! I do believe you're absolutely right and my wife and I are thrilled.

I'm glad to hear the C40 is still tickling your fancy. I've got a 2013 Look 675 that handles as sharply as anything I've swung my leg over and is relatively comfortable, but the lack of adjustment for the integrated stem ended up wearing on me after several months of riding during the 2022 season, so I put the bike away and it's been for sale on and off since then, pretty much going to the first person who can make a reasonable offer!

I don't expect the C40 to be quite as reactive to power bursts as the Look, but I'm sure it'll make up for it in many other ways. As long as I can drill out fast rides on it during the spare afternoon or weekend hours, I'll be happy!

In the spirit of the thread, this solo ride on the Look 675 wasn't quite 19mph, but I hope the distance makes up for that a bit!

-Gregory