[Turbo329]

Peak weight = 236 1.5 years ago
Current Weight = 190 lbs this morning


I was 190 this morning when I jumped on the scale.

BMI for my height still says I'm overweight and I am below 10% bodyfat now. Something's not right. hahahahahahahhahahaha

So which one???


Tour de France Champion

Team Machine

Supersix EVO

Madone 5.5

F1

AR3 in Kawi GREEN!

Bianchi
Sempre

Infinito

Having a hard time choosing between the two

or

 

[Turbo329]

How about this? Thoughts?

Congrats on losing the weight.

Thanks.

yeah, I haven't been a fan of Pinarello since the 'Prince'

 

[Turbo329]

Get the BMW and be done with it already...

Okay. If Melandri wins a race on it before mid season I'll buy one.

 

[Turbo329]

Get the BMW and be done with it already...

Is that you in your Avatar?

If so, post a Hi-Res. Looks good man!

 

[Turbo329]

Congratulations on the weight loss Turbo. What did you not like about the Prince?

I should have made that more clear. The Prince was the last bike by Pinarello that I liked. I don't particularly care for the styling of the Dogma and their lower end models look similar to other makes other than the forks.

 

[Turbo329]

Great choices you have. I think I would go with the BMC Impec.- great European geometry, comfortable and high cool factor.

Yeah the Impec is #1 on my list. I just gotta prepare myself mentally to part with the $$$$$. It's like a ritual that I go through. lol

However, the EVO Red package is very attractively priced for what you actually get.

 

[Turbo329]

I have a custom set of wheels that I'll probably need to have redone. I had them built when I was about 220lbs with 32 spokes. Mavic CXP33 rims with DT-Swiss 240 hubs.

I think I'm going to have a new set built and use the same bomb-proof hubs.

 

[Turbo329]

Can you even buy the Impec now?

I don't know about the general public but for me it's just a matter of "having my people call their people"

hahahahahahahhahaha J/K

I honestly have no idea.

 

[Turbo329]

Depending on how good a deal it is you might be able to swing the Kawi and a bicycle for the price of the BMW. That would be a major motivator for me.

Oooooooh, now that idea made my loins tingle.

 

[Turbo329]

get whatever bicycle on your list is the cheapest, it's the rider that makes the difference.

I agree. but I already got a cheap one.

 

[Turbo329]

Good job Nate!

I would get the Team Machine or the EVO.

The EVO may be a little too light for a big rider.

The Italian bikes don't do too much for me anymore since they're not steel.

A good Ti bike like a Lynskey or Moots would be good too.

Thanks man! It's crazy. Even though I lost nearly 50lbs and am about 190lbs-even on an empty stomach I'm still considered to be a heavier rider and I feel light as a feather.

 

[Turbo329]

A heavy rider is anybody above 170 pounds!

I think I can get down to 180-185.

But my family are saying that I'm starting to look unhealthy. lol I guess that's what happens when everyone is used to seeing you fat.

 

[Turbo329]

There is nothing wrong with that bike, the stem looks a little long (140mm???) but if you need a stem that long and that bike is made like most are nowadays then none of those factory-made bikes is going to work for you...no matter how much you spend. You really need something made for you so that you can get your seat-pedal setup where you need it and keep your stem down to around 110mm or less. Most factory-make bikes are going to have a shorter top tube than seat tube. I got tired of running long stems and still feeling cramped....all my bikes I have made now have a 58c seat tube and 60cm top tube. Much better.....

Yeah I think the stem is a tad long but not long enough to where it makes me uncomfortable. When I'm in the aero position the front wheel hub is not visible and I think that's what everyone was telling me should be the goal. I actually feel good on the my current setup. When I'm on the indoor trainer I actually pedal more efficiently by .5mph when I'm leaned over. It changes my stroke. Weird but I like it.

If I don't get a new bike I might just get a SRAM Red group or a Campy Super Record. I like the ride of Steel and I don't want to spend $3,000 on a carbon bike that's still considered to be 'Entry Level' with a mediocre groupset. I'd rather stick with Steel for now until I can get a Pro-Tour level machine and I'm around 180lbs.

 

[Turbo329]

I've thought about this for a while so I think that instead of buying a mediocre Carbon frame I'm going to get the top of the line Campy Super Record and install it on my current ride along with some other odds and ends (Carbon stem, seat tube, and bars)

...either that or SRAM Red.

 

[Turbo329]

One of my rides has super record 11. I am not a fan of it. The other bike I just built up uses 2011 sram red. I have not ridden it waiting for spring. Sram Red is new for 2012 and the mechanics of the front derailleur reads pretty slick on paper. SRAM Red - 2012 | SRAM
Used bikes in the northeast are plentiful.

Brand New 2011 Specialized Tarmac Project Black SL3 Carbon Road Frameset XL 58cm | eBay I will say that once you go Carbon, you will wonder why you waited so long.

So you think I should go SRAM RED over Super Record? I can get SRAM red for around $1,400. Can you tell me what you didn't like about the Campy?

Regarding the frame, the Allez Steel geometry works good for me. I kinda want a bike with similar geometry or a flat top tube like the felt or Cannondale. I hated the Trek geometry (Madone, 1.2). I couldn't climb for beans.

Before I drop the cash I think I'm going to get a Pro-bike fit and then compare it to the numbers on my current setup that I tuned based on feel.

 

[Turbo329]

Super records price and shifting. I ride in the drops more than on the hoods. Shifting the campy for higher gearing does not work well for me with their design thumb shifter. More of a egro problem for me. First bike was a 99 orange allez than moved to a first year tarmac. I just built the sl3 up using sram red. Seems to be a good product and a great price. Lot of racecers praise it. Now traditional vs slope, Specialized slope seems to go along with traditional sizes. One guy riding a 60cm allez moved down to a 58 sl2. My other bike is a look 585 with standard geometry. I had litespeed siena which is considered compact geometry. I coud not fit the bike even though the stem and saddle/knee/pedal said I should be fine. Felt cramp. I like being in the drops on the tarmac and stretch out. The swing on Sram on front derailleur should be pretty trick.

Thanks!

You know what man, since I'm still rocking a Steel frame I stumbled across this. It's not top of the line but it's way better than what I'm running now and since it's alloy it has a nice classic look.

The group is lighter than Ultegra and most reviews say that it's seamless shifting into the large chain-ring. I may not like the thumb shifter but I've logged many miles on Sora back in the day so it won't rattle me too much and it's attractively priced.

In Peloton Magazine's review Ben Edwards said that if you weren't paying attention you would have a hard time differentiating the Athena group from the Super Record.

http://vimeo.com/10363337

 

[Turbo329]

That's good advice socal. But I'm a little reluctant to buy someone else's carbon.


I just renewed my racing license. Gonna get it crackin' this spring. I'm ripped and ready!

 

[Turbo329]

FWIW, I've got a Super Record 11 group on one bike and SRAM Force on one. If I were building another bike I would not hesitate.. It would be SRAM. For me the campy 11 is just too finicky. It has to be tweaked and set up just right. The SRAM is more set and forget. It works every time. Don't get me wrong I'm not saying SR doesn't work. It just has to be clean and dialed in to be what you expect. Plus it costs more.

So your advice would be to go SRAM red?

I guess I'll consider that. I'm going to pass by the LBS on Saturday.

I signed up for a bike clinic and will probably do my first race sometime in March.

 

[Turbo329]

Here you go!!!




November Bicycles: Race smart. - Wheelhouse Complete Bike

Not bad. In all honesty, I was so close to buying the BMC RoadRacer with Ultegra from competitivecyclist.com. They're blowing those out for $2,099 but there's just something about the bike that I don't like and I can't quite put my finger on it. ....must be the sloping top tube. Reminds me of the Trek geometry that I didn't like.

 

[Turbo329]

Okay.

I renewed my race license and signed up for a new racer Clinic. Should I go ahead and sign up for my first Cat 5 race too? Any pointers/tips for the first race? Race etiquette, etc.

I've decided to race the Steel frame. It's more durable and it should be plenty fast enough for my first few races.

I do however want a better groupset. Since most here recommend SRAM, should I get FORCE or RED? I can get FORCE for under $1,000. Red will run me about $1,400-$1,500. I could also just get the FORCE group but get the RED cassette for around $1,100, maybe less.

The Campy stuff looks better in my opinion but after thinking about it, I would have to change the cassettes on all my wheels As well as rear hubs. It probably isn't worth the hassle.