41 wrote:



Apart from being durable enough not to fall apart underneath you, the
most important thing is that the bicycle should fit well. Without this,
it will never be comfortable. Your Giordana seems to fit you well and
that is a plus. How much were you thinking of paying for it?

I was going to offer $350 which is what he paid. I have fixed it up.
When he got it it wouldn't shift and the brake cables were missing. I
had to free up the brakes, but all cleaned up fine so I think it in good
shape. The brakes and drive / shifters are all Dura Ace which I think
make my offer reasonable based on what I've seen for sale on eBay.

What I don't know is if and / or how much Dura Ace has changed over the
years nor do I know the age of these components. They do seem to work ok.

http://tinyurl.com/dnc9p
http://tinyurl.com/9gpkc

The first bike seems almost like 'mine' except for the wheels and I have
Dura Ace. I'm unclear how much better off I am with Dura Ace compared to
Ultegra, but I figure it has to be an upgrade of some sort. Thanks for
those links.

Giordana is a sport/fashion clothing manufacturer. The bike is OK but
nothing special. I can't see it being worth more than about $250,
because there are many other great bargains out there in the used or
NOS (new old stock) market, cheaper and maybe better for your needs.

Why is it comfortable? Amongst other things, you'll notice that the
handlebars are nearly level with the seat. Most new road bikes are sold
such that you can't do this, they have poseur posture, you will find
them uncomfortable, even if the geometry is otherwise the same.

Now this is a great point and shows how ignorant I am here. I noticed
that my bike's seat is only slightly higher than the bars, but I figured
that was my manner of adjusting the whole thing compared to modern
manners of adjusting. Also not being experienced, I figured they very
high seat / low bar combo was right as it was adjusted by pros at the
LBS. I'm out of seatpost which is why I left mine as is. I thought *I*
was wrong, but I see now due to your post that this is a preference thing.

I definitely do not wish to look the poseur because I can't back that
play. This may cause a laugh from some here, but I wear a tee shirt
instead of a real bike shirt because I don't want to pretend to be what
I'm not.

I also ended up with the seat a bit nose up - something the owner of the
bike questioned, but after messing around with it for a while, I find
this works for me.

The second most important thing is what size tires you can use. Most
modern poseur bikes can barely clear 25mm tires. Those are OK but most
people are better off with 28 or even 32. It depends on the road
surfaces you ride on. I believe you mention that you find the ride
harsh, that would be because the tires are too skinny and have to be
inflated too hard. Your bike does not have clearance for tires bigger
than are depicted in the photo.

I don't seem to be as tire size sensitive as others. The original tires
fell apart when I took them off to examine a tube which went flat. The
LBS said I'd worn the tubes out (?). So I got new ones and also I got
some interesting folding tires lacking a discernible bead. The tires
were 23's to replace the 28's which were rotted. While warned that these
would give me a harsh ride, I haven't notice either worse ride or the
promised greater speed. I only got them because they were $10 each and
seemed servicable.


That's why I posted - I need to make a decison or two here. For example,

my buddy said the wheels stink so do I put $300 (used) to $600
wheels on
this bike? If so, I'm committed to riding it if you also add in
altering
the shifters. I don't want to build a house on a poor foundation
(frameset).

This is all wasted money. Have you noticed any offensive odour coming
from the wheels?


OK, it's easy to make fun of me here being a stark new guy, but also I
find it very difficult to believe that experts spend all this money on
wheels to no benefit. Apparently, based on my buddy's talk, the one who
sold the Giordana to him put some junk wheels on the bike to sell it as
a bike rather than a pile of miscellany parts.

That said, I'm unclear on exactly what is wrong with these wheels aside
from perhaps the hubs. If I spin the wheels with the bike in the air,
the wheels stop spinning sooner than a similar spin on my daughters
Cross bike. That could be bad bearings or less of a flywheel effect.

I'm only going with what my buddy said.


You can get a lot for that price or thereabouts. If it is modern style,
you will find it very light, with very skinny tires, certainly no room
for fenders, and with poseur posture (although some shops may be able
to fit you right, i.e. they won't cut the steerer tube so short). It
will shift easily and have a wide range of gears, and look glossy. The
pedals will require special shoes.

I have the shoes as I needed pedals for this bike so got some almost
worn out SPD pedals and shoes to match. I needed the pedals that came
with this bike for my daughter's bike. I didn't know any bikes had
fenders any more except for those bikes which look like they come from
the 30's.

There are many other fish in the sea though. These would not be exactly
what I would get but they would be similar:

http://tinyurl.com/9sd8o
http://tinyurl.com/8y7ao

The Rambouillet looks, from a geometry standpoint, very much like the
bike in question here. Clearly this isn't like buying trucks where you
have only a few marques to choose from - which is what I thought. If you
go to an LBS here (I've been to several to buy parts to make this bike
run) there are only maybe 8 brands for sale. Seeing that the sea is full
of different fish, to strain a metaphor, opens possiblities. Thanks.


There are many, many others.

For the gearing, you could widen your range considerably by just
replacing the rear cogset with a 14-28. Any competent bike shop or
yourself should be able to do it for relatively little money ($25 for
the part?).

Cogset is what I'm calling a cluster? If I can get the gearing
reasonable for $25, that solves a lot of it. I thought I had to replace
the entire drive train as a unit. Looking at the cost of a Dura Ace
setup discouraged me quite a bit.

Brakes: you just need better pads (Kool Stop).

OK.


In sum, your bike is OK but not ideal, if you like it enough and the
price is cheap enough, go for it but don't spend more than for a new
rear cogset. There are many new models in traditional style that will
fit and ride well and be versatile for a reasonable price. There are
more new ones available, probably your local bike shop is full of them,
that for a reasonable or ludicrous price will fit poorly and be
unversatile. The market is very diverse and it helps to know what you
want and need. {

Thanks for your extremely informative reply. I can't see changing a
sport from one I'm enjoying to one I suffer doing. I'm real here. I'm
never going to be competitive - been there done that in other sports.
I'm riding for self fulfillment and enjoyment. I can't see riding one of
those extreme bikes which put me in the stinkbug position. I doubt I'd
be faster that way anyhow so it'd be a negative sum move.

-paul