Catching Up

Apparently, I hadn't posted anything since April, so let me bring you up to date.




I spent 4 days in Marin wishing I had a bike, then 4 days in Portland where I did get a ride in with Ted.  I wish I could have rode more, but I was very happy with the ride we did.  Bigger hills, longer descents and cooler weather.

I took the wheels from my CX bike and put them on the Allez.  I'll explain why in a week, but the swap dropped the bike down into the 16lb range.  The wheels are noticeably stiffer, even though both wheel sets are 32 spoke and have a wide rim.  The King rear wheel is lighter than the PowerTap wheel (no surprise) but I was shocked to find that the King front wheel was much heavier than the PowerTap wheel.  Still, lighter is lighter, and the King wheel set is just that.

I threw a 6600 Ultegra chain on because the 1090 chain was showing over 75% wear.  If you want your SRAM stuff to shift better, throw a Shimano chain on it.

I sold the Allez frame and BB30 Force crank.  I had planned on keeping the frame for 2 years before upgrading, but I got a ridiculous deal on another frame that I couldn't pass up.  I really liked the Allez, and I would recommend the bike to just about everyone.  It's inexpensive, respectably stiff, surprisingly comfortable and did I mention inexpensive?

I'll have an update in about a week or so when my new frame gets built up.  Until then, have fun riding.