Two wheels good. Er, the other two wheels good.

"ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com" (ita97)
05/23/2020 at 23:15 • Filed to: None

After yesterday’s ditchbank and river ride, I went out this morning for a (mostly) road ride around the NMSU campus. I may or may not have done a loop of the pond in the grass for the express purpose of drawing a small penis in Strava. Rode the frontage road for awhile, all around campus, rode over the post office I still have a PO Box at for some reason, and then looped the interchange frontage roads back home.

Game and Fish allegedly stocks this pond, for some reason, and folks certainly fish it, but in 11 years I’ve never seen anyone catch something from this pond,

I busied myself this afternoon tinkering with the bike more. Some additional adjustments on the saddle were made, and I paid a visit to the LBS to give them more money. I picked up a bottle cage and water bottle (because I somehow no longer owned one that fits in standard cage, and I ain’t going to a big box store for any reason right now). In the spirit of lightness, I went for a hollow aluminum tube one and used then my drill at home to mill out some unnecessary material in the base. The general idea here is so that I can leave the 3L Camelback at home for shorter rides.

In the spirit of safety third (and also “please don’t hit me”), I also picked up a bright, flashy stroby light for the back of my brain bucket. I’ve got a set of lights on order for the bike itself, too.

Once the sun got to a less oppressive angle in the sky about 6:30 this evening, I went out for another road ride about an hour and a half long (didn’t take my phone with me, so no idea on the distance). T’was great fun with a couple of climbs and the correspondingly fun descents down in the drops, and my saddle adjustments had things feeling a lot better. One of the things I might be learning about myself out of this is that I might be a road biker. I’ve never previously done much beyond very occasionally riding a few miles to campus and back in my student days. However, I’ve also never before owned a bike that was really suitable for any road distance. I’m thinking picking the taller skinnier tire option on the model range was a good choice.

DISCUSSION (9)

phenotyp > ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com
05/24/2020 at 00:11

Like I’ve already said, that’s a great-lookin bike. I come from road racing/long touring, so that’s always been my geometry, but I don’t really ride like that anymore, and certainly not racing, and after riding a couple similar to yours, I really get the appeal for shorter rides. They just feel so much more maneuverable and sprinty.

Nom De Plume > ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com
05/24/2020 at 01:08

Y ou’re almost certainly going to want a zero setback seatpost. What you explained makes perfect sense now.

A second cage and bottle too. Might need a couple standoffs if it fouls the FD clamp. Or just ask for a couple presta locknuts from the service department. Schraeder valve caps cut down to to size work too.

ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com > Nom De Plume
05/24/2020 at 01:41

I put a level on the seat and it is a few degrees nose down. Along with the second adjustment forward, my ass thought this evening’s ride was a lot more comfortable. My legs felt right on the height now, at least with the street shoes I’m riding in right now. Flexibility has never been my strong suit, at all.

I’ve got a top post bag(salsa exp bag that bolts to the factory set of holes up there) on order so I’ll have a place to stash stuff. I’m thinking I should also probably add a pump and patch kit at some point too , as I’m realizing that I’m eventually going to end up further down the road from home than I’d really want to walk the bike back from after the inevitable puncture.

Nom De Plume > ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com
05/24/2020 at 10:06

Sounds like you are on your way. 0° setback seatpost would be a good idea before that one starts losing ability to hold the nose up. Used 3T Ionic 0 Pro for small money is a good example of what to shoot for; Light, strong, good quality, not a brand everyone wants to be associated with currently.

TT bag should hold a tube and few other necessities like cheap allen wrenches . I ended up settling on a Medium Lezyne Pressure Drive in a jersey pocket or a small CO2 head and cartridge when that wasn’t feasible. Minipumps suck and are expensive little PITA with the added bonus of struggling with gravel or road tire pre ssures. The only other accessory not mentioned worth considering is gloves of some kind to avoid picking gravel out of your hands.

Nom De Plume > ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com
05/24/2020 at 16:35

You didn’t happen to buy this 3T Ionic 0 Pro off ebay did you?

Looked a little short or I would’ve linked to it.

ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com > Nom De Plume
05/24/2020 at 16:48

I did. $48 seemed like a try it out and see how it works amount of money. 350mm is the length of the current, stock Salsa guide post on the bike. Should be a bit lighter, too.

ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com > Nom De Plume
05/24/2020 at 16:51

I did another small adjustment forward this morning, which maxes out the 18mm offset stock post. It felt better yet, although still like I’m reaching more forward pedaling than I’d prefer.

Nom De Plume > ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com
05/24/2020 at 17:08

Seller must have edited the ad after I looked at or maybe I’m going blind. That should be a good fit and remove some unwanted weight up high.

Nom De Plume > ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com
05/24/2020 at 18:04

That post is a good combination of over enginerd’d and being built for hard dirty offroad use.

Almost certain it won’t be long and you’ll start leaning over the bars and thinking about moving them lower and further away. Which will help recruiting muscles correctly enough you’ll start feeling sore in new and exciting ways.