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De-uglifiying my De Rosa

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De-uglifiying my De Rosa

Old 04-21-21, 02:46 AM
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Andy_K 
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De-uglifiying my De Rosa

So, after about three years of open heresy, I finally decided to address one of the glaring aesthetic problems with my De Rosa. Look carefully and see if you can spot the change:

Before:



After:



That's right, I finally ditched those awful period correct pedals and applied some dirt to the glaringly white bar tape. Just kidding, the pedals came off about a day after the last time I rode this bike at Eroica, and, of course, the bar tape stopped being that white about 100 yards into the first ride. Though the fact that it doesn't even look white in a picture anymore suggests that maybe I should at least try to clean it up a bit.

On the down side, my rear derailleur no longer doubles as a kickstand. Also, I lost a whole lot of range in my gearing. The old drivetrain went from 108 gear inches in the 52-13 all the way to a bit less than 24 inches in the 26-30. The new drivetrain is 48-42-30 with a 13-23 freewheel. The benefits are: (a) it's not dog ugly, (b) I can successfully shift from the small ring to the middle ring [with the 52-42-26, I had to shift from the small to the big and then back down to the middle], and (c) the jumps between gears are significantly smaller. I did lose a bit of low end range, but while I no longer have a 24 inch gear, I can still use my two foot gear on really steep climbs.

I took it out for a test ride today, including a grueling climb up and over Sexton Mountain. If you're not familiar with Beaverton (including those from Portland or Hillsboro who are wondering where the heck Sexton Mountain is), click the link for details of this Herculean feat. I was actually very pleased with the gearing. I did have to mash a bit more than I like to, but I was able to maintain a decent pace at grades up to about 6%. I've got a lot of bikes that will get me up much steeper hills, so I don't really mind limiting this one to mildly hilly routes. I put the absurdly low gearing it had before on there in an attempt to prepare for the climbs at Eroica California and ended up having to walk on all three of the big hills anyway. And, of course, as my friend Fernando says, "It's better to look good than to feel good."
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Old 04-21-21, 05:45 AM
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@Andy_K Know of Sexton Mtn. Lived on the north side of Cooper Mtn off 185th. I would commute to Hilsboro from there with nearly a 300 ft gain in 4 blocks going up 179th. Newspaper route to get up the hill! It can be done if you are in good shape!
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Old 04-21-21, 06:04 AM
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As you discovered, the secret to low gearing is to realize you probably do not need the typical highest gear ratios that adorn many bicycles. You still have 100 gear-inches on top (48/13); I run mid-90s on my road bikes, anything from 45/13 to 46/13 or 50/14, and I don't miss having anything higher.
Before I gave it to my son and regeared it to his liking, I ran a very satisfying 3x6 half-step-plus-granny on the PKN-10, 48-45-34/13-24 with a short-cage SunTour Cyclone II in back and original designed-for-double Simplex up front. The secret sauce is that 48-34 = 14 teeth = 53-39, so I put the same chain wrap demands on the rear derailleur as a standard road double would.
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Old 04-21-21, 07:00 AM
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Proud to say I noticed the change in the alien claw apparently birthing itself from the seat stay. I assume it’s moved on and seeded itself into one of your other bikes. I will also say pretty cheeky matching the Gatorade and bottle top to the frame and saddle.
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Old 04-21-21, 09:48 AM
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Originally Posted by SJX426
@Andy_K Know of Sexton Mtn. Lived on the north side of Cooper Mtn off 185th. I would commute to Hilsboro from there with nearly a 300 ft gain in 4 blocks going up 179th. Newspaper route to get up the hill! It can be done if you are in good shape!
The way I went was up Murray Blvd. It’s about 200 feet in around three quarters of a mile. I remember thinking of it as daunting when I first got into cycling, but in race terms I’d say it’s about a Cat 7 climb.
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Old 04-21-21, 09:53 AM
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Originally Posted by John E
As you discovered, the secret to low gearing is to realize you probably do not need the typical highest gear ratios that adorn many bicycles. You still have 100 gear-inches on top (48/13); I run mid-90s on my road bikes, anything from 45/13 to 46/13 or 50/14, and I don't miss having anything higher.
Yeah, I can spin this gearing up to around 30 mph, and if I’m going that fast I’m definitely going down a steep hill and don’t really need to be pedaling anyway.
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Old 04-21-21, 09:57 AM
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Originally Posted by Spaghetti Legs
Proud to say I noticed the change in the alien claw apparently birthing itself from the seat stay. I assume it’s moved on and seeded itself into one of your other bikes. I will also say pretty cheeky matching the Gatorade and bottle top to the frame and saddle.
You know, it’s not even the first picture I’ve posted this week where I purposely matched the Gatorade to the bike. They just have so many colors available. The blue cap matching the saddle was just serendipity.
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Old 04-21-21, 10:42 AM
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Originally Posted by Andy_K
You know, it’s not even the first picture I’ve posted this week where I purposely matched the Gatorade to the bike. They just have so many colors available. The blue cap matching the saddle was just serendipity.
Since I average about 2 rides a month with @Andy_K year around, I can tell you that he always matches his electrolyte flavor to the frame color.
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