zacster

That looks to be just about my size...

bobwysiwyg

More my wife's purchase than mine. She bought me a Wahoo Elemnt Bolt for Xmas.

delbiker1 

No picture yet, but my latest purchase is getting a powder coating done on a 2001 Lemond Tourmalet frame/fork. . It is a basic single stage coating, color called Halloween Orange. Came out real nice. I will get a better look at it, and a picture, tomorrow in the sun. I already have all I need to move on with the build.

noodle soup

New cables and housings for the classic. I want to raise the stem about an inch(to match the fit of another bike), but I cut everything too short when I built it up.

bpcyclist

Arrived Today. Will test out tomorrow morning. Arm warmers from Cafe du Cycliste and the Outbound Lighting Road Edition.

noodle soup

with C-Record crankset

MoAlpha

Whoa-ho! Now that is the epitome of understated, classic, badass.

Russ Roth

Nice new pair of hubs for the wife's cross bike, now I just have to figure out the rims to use. Will be ordering orange nipples from wheel fanatyk, wheelsmith XL spoke 2x front and 3x rear non-drive, wheelsmith butted drive side. She's light enough and with 32spokes these will be strong enough that it should be a tough wheel.
Currently tossed between Velocity Aileron, WTB I19 CX, or lightbicycle rims. Not certain the carbon is necessary, the wtb are lightest at 406g but don't know their strength, velocity has always been good to me and it has a nice aero profile while still only 460g.

diphthong

deda handlebar tape as a double wrap job. plushy.

canklecat

Got a second Drift Ghost X video camera. Got the first in September. Tried it for awhile before committing to another, after being disappointed in the GoPro knockoffs.

The Ghost X is an outstanding value for a bike traffic/documentary video camera. I've been running 'em front and rear on my Trek 5900 and Centurion Ironman for awhile.

Lots of little features that make it better than the rest for this narrow niche purpose:

• Rotating "lens" (probably the sensor that rotates) so the camera can be mounted at any angle and preserve the full size and desired aspect. Some cameras that offer flexible mounting do it by reducing the image size or forcing a weird format.
• 1080p at up to 30 fps or 720p at up to 60 fps. Pretty basic but good to have.
• Choice of recording modes. I mostly use DVR looping with 5 minute segments. Some users prefer the tagging mode but that requires manually pressing a button and being conscious and having the use of a hand. For real emergencies, that seems unwise.
• 5 hour run time on the standard battery. And it really lasts that long. There's an optional 8-hour battery for about $30. I use only 32GB media cards and those have been good enough for three of my usual workout rides, or a long casual group ride with friends before it loops around and records over the earliest segment. An 8-hour battery and 64GB card would probably last most commuters a week between charges.
• No need to delete existing videos -- it'll loop around endlessly. But I'll occasionally wipe both cards so it's easier to sync the front/rear videos if something sketchy happens on my ride.
• Weather resistant. I've been caught in the rain. No problems. There's a waterproof case but I haven't bothered.
• Buttons are easy to reach, with audible confirmation. Good for helmet mounting.
• Speaking of helmet mounting, the Ghost X is very low profile, much better than the typical GoPro type black box.
• Good mounting options for almost any conceivable angle.
• Good Android app for controlling the camera, near realtime viewing while recording, reviewing videos and easier setting of options than using the tiny utilitarian LCD on the camera (no preview/review screen on the camera). I've used the app to show a school district bus supervisor a dangerous stunt by a driver minutes after it occurred. I just asked them to review and observe safe driving, not to punish or fire the driver. He cut diagonally across a wide curve, drifting into my lane head-on and nearly forcing me to ditch, when the lanes were more than wide enough for two buses to pass safely. Lots of cyclists use that route, and there's relatively little traffic otherwise, so there's no need for any drama.
• Very good dynamic range, resolution and clarity for a camera in this price range. Not bad at night either.
  

Neutral stuff:

• The included mounts are intended for sticking to motorcycle helmets, using heavy duty 3M adhesive tape. They might work on Bern or Nutcase type hipster helmets but not on typical vented road helmets. I built up a thick mounting platform using Blu Tack gum and similar putty from 3M. Works fine. But I mostly mount the cameras on my bike. An old neck injury makes it painful to carry much weight on my noggin for long, so I use helmet mounting only on my commuter/casual ride helmet and hybrid bike rides.
• Plastic bolt on mounts cost extra, but are decent. I got one for handlebars, another for "roll cages". The only difference is the roll cage mount has a slightly larger aperture and longer bolts. I use it on the stems or head tubes of my road bikes. The handlebar mount actually goes on my seat posts -- the shorter screws don't protrude enough to snag my legs. I might need to file down the plastic thumbscrew knobs a bit, though.
• There's an eyelet on the mounts for a safety leash, but not on the camera body itself.
• No built in anti-shake/vibration sensor. But a sturdy mount minimizes problems. I see more rolling shutter jello effect on the front mounts than rear. Not sure why. I've swapped cameras, mounts and even bikes around trying to minimize the problem. Presumably the front end just vibrates more with both the steel and carbon fiber bikes.

Negative stuff:

• Needs an eyelet on the camera body for a safety leash in case the mount fails.
• Some mode combinations disable the date/time stamp. Other reviewers noted this. I couldn't get a date/time stamp in 720p at 60 fps.
• Camera modes/options can be fiddly with just the camera, tiny LCD utility screen and three buttons. No worse than most devices with multi-function buttons though. The app makes it much easier.
• While the dynamic range is very good, US license plates are too small for any HD camera to reliably record at night. The plates tend to be blurry or blown out. Until the US switches to European style plates (which will never happen), we'll need better dynamic range and resolution to reliably record license plates. Assuming cars even use them. Texas permits cars to run without front plates, reducing the effectiveness of a rear facing camera.
• Built in mic picks up a lot of wind noise, depending on where it's mounted. Most of the wind noise is turbulence from the bike or helmet. I may try a stick-on wind muffler doodad. If a commuter relies on shouting out license plate numbers to record dangerous situations, the mic might not pick it up.
• There's an optional external mic for the USB port, but this leaves the port uncovered and vulnerable to rain. The external mic would still need a wind muffler.

jadocs

Beautiful, I will be building up a vintage soon myself. Just waiting for it to be delivered.

noodle soup

What frame did you pick up, and what components do you plan on using?

jadocs

I have Colnago Master Olympic with Record 8 that’s enroute (still sitting in customs I believe) and I have Record 11 with Reynolds wheels ready to go. I’m thinking about selling the Record 8 and Atlanta rims to recoup some costs. This has always been a dream build for me. I just received and installed a R8000 11-28 cassette last night so all I need is the bike.

Mosyosalyangoz

I bought a new road bike about two weeks ago

ririder

I picked up a 2019 Giant Defy Advanced 2. I've ridden it 3 times so far and every time I've like it better than the last.

diphthong

got the wholesale dealio from the lbs to test/critique and report back.

jadocs

I have been looking at those. Specifically the rear light (larger version?). I like the way it contours the seatpost. Please report back on your impressions.

diphthong

will do. despite my best attempts at photopgraphy, these two lights are the same physical size.

bpcyclist

Interesting idea. I have a D-shaped seatpost--do they have anything that would fit some of these more aero setups?

diphthong

i think so. personally have the old school, quarter-sized, circular diameter seat post.
with the thick rubber band, you should be able to mount on a “d” shaped seatpost unless said seatpost is ridiculously proportioned. oh...maybe that’s an issue. i’m more of an old school, skinny steel tubing guy (<2003) vs the ridiculousnessness the new century proffered.

edsta74

Added some fenders. They’re the MK3 from Crud. Riding in NYC you run over some nasty stuff. 🤢. I was tired of the mess it made of my bike. These are plastic, very lightweight and can be removed and reinstalled very easily. I’m just not sure how I feel about them. I just put them on tonight. So I haven’t tested them out yet.

canklecat

I'd be interested in hearing how those work out. I'm considering some easy on/off fenders for one of my bikes (all purpose street, light gravel, etc). I've used standard SKS Bluemels but don't really trust rigid fenders anymore, even with breakaway mounts. I've had way too much debris snag my wheels without fenders. No harm done, but it could have gotten ugly caught in a standard rigid mount front fender. It's almost impossible to avoid sticks, twigs, construction debris, etc, in some areas I ride.

edsta74

I’ll post an update after a few miles. I don’t ride any gravel here in NYC, but I’ll see how they do with the nasty crap the city streets have to offer.

diphthong

so more info/impressions...happy with the brightness on both the rear red and front white lights. either light comes with a few extra rubber straps of differing lengths and another interface mount for those ovate-styled seatposts. the light slides off the mount on one side altho it seems as if it would pop off, twist off or flip up/down to expose the charging chip for the usb port. the lights are waterproof and have (rear light) 5 settings and (front light) 8 settings respectively. the front light has this mode called “eyesaver” where a third of the light is off but the other two thirds of the light function in whatever mode you’ve got it on. huge since i’m rocking it on the top of the handlebars and that eyesaver third that would be flashing in front of my face and the remaining two-thirds is still directed where i need it to be seen.


*some specs...hope you can make them out.

will buy three more of the knog “stick” (dunno the actual name) super-utility red lights for side visibility and another for the right side handlebar to face backwards. they run about $20 apiece. both types of lights don’t have a charging cord and just plug straight into a usb port. possibly an issue for touring riding but for daily stuff, handy.

noglider 

Most people who ride without fenders and then try them wonder why they waited so long. I'm in love with my fenders.