Another Cheap Buy

On Tuesday, March 30, 2021 at 11:52:52 AM UTC-7, jbeattie wrote:
On Tuesday, March 30, 2021 at 9:40:26 AM UTC-7, wrote:
On Friday, March 26, 2021 at 10:50:27 AM UTC-7, Tom Kunich wrote:
On Thursday, March 25, 2021 at 4:17:33 PM UTC-7, Tom Kunich wrote:
I was having problems finding the sort of aluminum frame I was looking for, for a price I was willing to pay. Since I am impressed with Felt and they are selling off old stock, it appeared that I was going to have to buy one of those for about $500. Since this is where I stop buying and selling I don't mind paying that. But the catch is that it is a disk bike and I am most definitely not a fan of disks. Neither is a large portion of the pro peloton though they are being sponsored and can't contradict the sponsors. Only Chris Froome feels the freedom to say what he feels.

That would mean that I would have to buy hydraulic levers and disks and actuators. I prefer rim brakes on aluminum wheels.

So I ran across a Douglas in my NORMAL size for less than $200 for frame, California sales tax and shipping.

Douglas was the house brand of Colorado Cyclist when they were a booming business before the Democrats decided to punish business success.

It looks to be everything I am on the market for. A fork can be had for a wave of the hand and if a carbon fiber fork is good enough for Greg Lemond and Eddy Merckx it's good enough for me. An EC90 can be gotten for less than $70 new and you don't need to get a superlight and worry about its strength since the regular fork in only 20 grams heavier than the super-light. Although I have a new set of new set of Fulcrum disk wheels they can be used with rim brakes. They were cheaper than dirt since all carbon is everything today. I have all of the rest of the parts taken from the Look. So cables and handlebar tape is all that is needed. Depending on the position of the stops, maybe not even cables. The handlebar tape is still on the aluminum bar I removed. The cables are still run and from the pictures it appears that the Look stops were further away than that of the Douglas.

With the coming of warmer weather, the demand for bikes is shooting up. The dealers again can't keep up with the demand. There were 20 boxes in the Specialized dealer yesterday when I got there. 5 people were actually buying bikes not just looking. Though most of them were kids because that was the only display bikes they still had. Di2 is not only popular but since the change to wireless is only effecting the new levers and the main battery. people won't be too willing to have the newest Di2. Besides, the latest and greatest is 12 gears and EVERYONE is catching on that they're being played.

The weight of the Eddy Merckx Elite looks like it will come out very near the Trek Emonda without working hard at it. The 3T stem and handlebar is quite a bit lighter than the integrated Look bar that is on the Madone I just sold. Carefully looking over the Rock Bros Keo copies gives me the idea that they are made in the same factory that makes the Look Keo standard pedal. They even weight a bit less. The mechanism look like a slight improvement. If you're going to give the Asians your technology you should remember that their engineers are just as good as yours and can and will improve it and sell it cheaper.

I went through the entire gamut of bikes over the last ten years since I recovered. Older carbon fiber like I was originally injured on except for better forks. Steel because it rides SOOO much better, new and newer steel that is so stiff it might as well be new CF, then the absolute top of the line carbon fiber bikes and their strengths and weaknesses. You CANNOT tell quality control of the layup from the outside. You have to depend upon reputation and Hambini did a very good job of showing that there was poor quality in the industry. So back of "almost as light but a HELL of a lot more reliable" aluminum. They are usually too stiff, but now that we are riding 28 mm tires that problem is solved. The difference it made on my Time was breathtaking! With 23 mm you could NOT ride that bike. With 28's it was a dream come true. I should have kept that bike since unlike most carbon fiber bikes it had alternate layups of Kevlar which doesn't tear like carbon fiber may.

And wouldn't you rather pay $1100 for a top of the line Aluminum bike than $12,000 for a carbon bike with Di2? Electric shifting is nice and it is better than manual shifting but it is too little for the extra price and when was manual shifting bad?

I have these carbon fiber saddles that weigh next to nothing. They are maybe 10 grams heavier than some of the slotted and "bendy" saddles. They are just slightly less comfortable than the San Torino. When I was doing long climbs i used to have to stretch my back all the time. Surprisingly, when I started using the slotted saddles that disappeared and my back problems disappeared. Live and learn. And use the cheep Chinese carbon saddles rather than the expensive Italian ones. The saddles are surprisingly comfortable without any padding. I would not have thought that possible.
I am beginning to get inquiries for the two high end carbon bikes with Di2 I have left. Since spring is coming on people will be more and more interested in getting a new super-speed bike. So they ought to go out the door at asking prices.

For the Douglas I just bought a Look fork. They have by a country mile the highest quality control of all CF manufacturers and tis being a new fork I won't have anything at all to worry about for the rest of my life.
Colorado Cyclist didn't respond to the email I sent asking for a rather expensive Cane Creek headset. They it turned out that I sent it in the "feedback" box. So today I sent it to the regular sales email. This is sort of an odd completely flush lower headset so they might have to special order it. I'll see how that all works out. Cane Creek makes good parts and the bike appears to have been designed specifically for that sort of headset. I would prefer not to use Chinese or FSA copies.
What do you mean by "odd completely flush lower headset"? Pick one: https://www.parktool.com/blog/repair...dset-standards Is it one of these bikes (Douglass Fusion)?: https://store.bicycleczar.com/60cm-D...p/11160367.htm

If so, it has an integrated headset, which are as common as fleas. Are you going down another rabbit hole?

Did you notice that none of those pictures shows the lower bearing? That is the one that is flush, to fit flush against the bottom of the fork which has a flat surface and by the way - THAT IS THE BEARING THAT TAKES THE LOAD. So it has to be a tapered roller or open race ball bearings. Also the press-in depth measurement is very small so it was designed specifically to use a special headset. Why in the hell are you even commenting on something you don't know a ****ing thing about? I have a whole **** load of internal and external micrometers, digital and manual English and Metric calipers. I have 250 lbs of American and Metric tools, all of the dozens of special tools for the many, many atandards that have been in use for at least the last 60 years and Ultrasonic cleaners and automatic heating wax pots and my specially formulated wax and Teflon mixtures. You probably have a tiny percentage of this and you haven't even SEEN this thing but you know all about it. Is that the lawyer in you?

On Tuesday, March 30, 2021 at 3:55:41 PM UTC-7, John B. wrote:
On Tue, 30 Mar 2021 09:35:09 -0700 (PDT), Tom Kunich
wrote:

On Monday, March 29, 2021 at 9:38:14 PM UTC-7, wrote:
On Monday, March 29, 2021 at 7:28:54 PM UTC-5, wrote:
Douglas was the house brand of Colorado Cyclist when they were a booming business before the Democrats decided to punish business success.

With the coming of warmer weather, the demand for bikes is shooting up. The dealers again can't keep up with the demand.
Got a call from my financial advisor today and he intends to sell some small cap funds in a 401 account I have to lock in the profits I made and put it in a large cap fund to be able to make higher rates in the present market.
So the d-mn Democrats are punishing businesses like Colorado Cyclist. And yet other bike shops cannot keep up with demand and are having to turn away paying customers. ??? So which is it? Are the Democrats, who now control the House, Senate, and President, driving businesses out of business or making businesses so successful they cannot keep up with demand?

So you are selling stocks for a profit and investing the money to earn even higher rates of return. While the Democrats are in control? That doesn't make sense. If the Democrats are in control, shouldn't you be putting everything into cash and hiding it under your bed and buying guns and building a bomb shelter to fight off the attacking zombies and undead? Why/how are you making money while the Democrats are in control? Everything should be losses.
Since you don't live in the USA why are you discussing business conditions here?
Why ever not Tommy? After all the U.S. stock market is not closed to
foreigners. In 2019 foreigners owned some $8.63 trillion worth of U.S.
equities through the end of the second quarter of 2019, which is the
equivalent of 35.3% of the total market capitalization of the S&P 500.
--
Cheers,

John B.
John, tell us what you know what is happening in California bike shops. You have a habit of acting as if you are an American after living on Thailand forever.

On Tuesday, March 30, 2021 at 4:18:10 PM UTC-7, wrote:
On Tuesday, March 30, 2021 at 11:52:52 AM UTC-7, jbeattie wrote:
On Tuesday, March 30, 2021 at 9:40:26 AM UTC-7, wrote:
On Friday, March 26, 2021 at 10:50:27 AM UTC-7, Tom Kunich wrote:
On Thursday, March 25, 2021 at 4:17:33 PM UTC-7, Tom Kunich wrote:
I was having problems finding the sort of aluminum frame I was looking for, for a price I was willing to pay. Since I am impressed with Felt and they are selling off old stock, it appeared that I was going to have to buy one of those for about $500. Since this is where I stop buying and selling I don't mind paying that. But the catch is that it is a disk bike and I am most definitely not a fan of disks. Neither is a large portion of the pro peloton though they are being sponsored and can't contradict the sponsors. Only Chris Froome feels the freedom to say what he feels.

That would mean that I would have to buy hydraulic levers and disks and actuators. I prefer rim brakes on aluminum wheels.

So I ran across a Douglas in my NORMAL size for less than $200 for frame, California sales tax and shipping.

Douglas was the house brand of Colorado Cyclist when they were a booming business before the Democrats decided to punish business success.

It looks to be everything I am on the market for. A fork can be had for a wave of the hand and if a carbon fiber fork is good enough for Greg Lemond and Eddy Merckx it's good enough for me. An EC90 can be gotten for less than $70 new and you don't need to get a superlight and worry about its strength since the regular fork in only 20 grams heavier than the super-light. Although I have a new set of new set of Fulcrum disk wheels they can be used with rim brakes. They were cheaper than dirt since all carbon is everything today. I have all of the rest of the parts taken from the Look. So cables and handlebar tape is all that is needed. Depending on the position of the stops, maybe not even cables. The handlebar tape is still on the aluminum bar I removed. The cables are still run and from the pictures it appears that the Look stops were further away than that of the Douglas.

With the coming of warmer weather, the demand for bikes is shooting up. The dealers again can't keep up with the demand. There were 20 boxes in the Specialized dealer yesterday when I got there. 5 people were actually buying bikes not just looking. Though most of them were kids because that was the only display bikes they still had. Di2 is not only popular but since the change to wireless is only effecting the new levers and the main battery. people won't be too willing to have the newest Di2. Besides, the latest and greatest is 12 gears and EVERYONE is catching on that they're being played.

The weight of the Eddy Merckx Elite looks like it will come out very near the Trek Emonda without working hard at it. The 3T stem and handlebar is quite a bit lighter than the integrated Look bar that is on the Madone I just sold. Carefully looking over the Rock Bros Keo copies gives me the idea that they are made in the same factory that makes the Look Keo standard pedal. They even weight a bit less. The mechanism look like a slight improvement. If you're going to give the Asians your technology you should remember that their engineers are just as good as yours and can and will improve it and sell it cheaper.

I went through the entire gamut of bikes over the last ten years since I recovered. Older carbon fiber like I was originally injured on except for better forks. Steel because it rides SOOO much better, new and newer steel that is so stiff it might as well be new CF, then the absolute top of the line carbon fiber bikes and their strengths and weaknesses. You CANNOT tell quality control of the layup from the outside. You have to depend upon reputation and Hambini did a very good job of showing that there was poor quality in the industry. So back of "almost as light but a HELL of a lot more reliable" aluminum. They are usually too stiff, but now that we are riding 28 mm tires that problem is solved. The difference it made on my Time was breathtaking! With 23 mm you could NOT ride that bike. With 28's it was a dream come true. I should have kept that bike since unlike most carbon fiber bikes it had alternate layups of Kevlar which doesn't tear like carbon fiber may.

And wouldn't you rather pay $1100 for a top of the line Aluminum bike than $12,000 for a carbon bike with Di2? Electric shifting is nice and it is better than manual shifting but it is too little for the extra price and when was manual shifting bad?

I have these carbon fiber saddles that weigh next to nothing. They are maybe 10 grams heavier than some of the slotted and "bendy" saddles. They are just slightly less comfortable than the San Torino. When I was doing long climbs i used to have to stretch my back all the time. Surprisingly, when I started using the slotted saddles that disappeared and my back problems disappeared. Live and learn. And use the cheep Chinese carbon saddles rather than the expensive Italian ones. The saddles are surprisingly comfortable without any padding. I would not have thought that possible.
I am beginning to get inquiries for the two high end carbon bikes with Di2 I have left. Since spring is coming on people will be more and more interested in getting a new super-speed bike. So they ought to go out the door at asking prices.

For the Douglas I just bought a Look fork. They have by a country mile the highest quality control of all CF manufacturers and tis being a new fork I won't have anything at all to worry about for the rest of my life.
Colorado Cyclist didn't respond to the email I sent asking for a rather expensive Cane Creek headset. They it turned out that I sent it in the "feedback" box. So today I sent it to the regular sales email. This is sort of an odd completely flush lower headset so they might have to special order it. I'll see how that all works out. Cane Creek makes good parts and the bike appears to have been designed specifically for that sort of headset. I would prefer not to use Chinese or FSA copies.
What do you mean by "odd completely flush lower headset"? Pick one: https://www.parktool.com/blog/repair...dset-standards Is it one of these bikes (Douglass Fusion)?: https://store.bicycleczar.com/60cm-D...p/11160367.htm

If so, it has an integrated headset, which are as common as fleas. Are you going down another rabbit hole?
Did you notice that none of those pictures shows the lower bearing? That is the one that is flush, to fit flush against the bottom of the fork which has a flat surface and by the way - THAT IS THE BEARING THAT TAKES THE LOAD. So it has to be a tapered roller or open race ball bearings. Also the press-in depth measurement is very small so it was designed specifically to use a special headset. Why in the hell are you even commenting on something you don't know a ****ing thing about? I have a whole **** load of internal and external micrometers, digital and manual English and Metric calipers. I have 250 lbs of American and Metric tools, all of the dozens of special tools for the many, many atandards that have been in use for at least the last 60 years and Ultrasonic cleaners and automatic heating wax pots and my specially formulated wax and Teflon mixtures. You probably have a tiny percentage of this and you haven't even SEEN this thing but you know all about it.. Is that the lawyer in you?

You obviously wasted money on tools because this is headset 101, and all you need is a couple of hex wrenches. The Douglas Fusion is spec'd with an integrated headset. I have those on FOUR bikes -- they are not mysterious or unusual. In fact, didn't you replace the headsets on the Treks? Same headset design (different dimensions). Why is this such a big deal?

Since your Look fork doesn't have a formed bearing seat, you need a crown bearing seat (or what we used to call a crown race) which comes in the box with your run of the mill, common as fleas integrated headset. Here, watch this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jL_Z...=CyclingWeekly Five minute operation.

Now, the interweb could be wrong, and the Douglas could have an internal headset, but it doesn't look like it from the picture, https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/8rwAA...mQ/s-l1600.jpg

From what I can tell, it was spec'd with a Tange integrated headset, 1 1/8" https://tinyurl.com/4uh2pwud Go buy one of those.
And why did you buy that off-brand bike in the first place? It looks like a left-over from Bike Island.

-- Jay Beattie.

PS Did you buy a compression plug for the fork?

On Tuesday, March 30, 2021 at 5:41:42 PM UTC-7, jbeattie wrote:
On Tuesday, March 30, 2021 at 4:18:10 PM UTC-7, wrote:
On Tuesday, March 30, 2021 at 11:52:52 AM UTC-7, jbeattie wrote:
On Tuesday, March 30, 2021 at 9:40:26 AM UTC-7, wrote:
On Friday, March 26, 2021 at 10:50:27 AM UTC-7, Tom Kunich wrote:
On Thursday, March 25, 2021 at 4:17:33 PM UTC-7, Tom Kunich wrote:
I was having problems finding the sort of aluminum frame I was looking for, for a price I was willing to pay. Since I am impressed with Felt and they are selling off old stock, it appeared that I was going to have to buy one of those for about $500. Since this is where I stop buying and selling I don't mind paying that. But the catch is that it is a disk bike and I am most definitely not a fan of disks. Neither is a large portion of the pro peloton though they are being sponsored and can't contradict the sponsors. Only Chris Froome feels the freedom to say what he feels.

That would mean that I would have to buy hydraulic levers and disks and actuators. I prefer rim brakes on aluminum wheels.

So I ran across a Douglas in my NORMAL size for less than $200 for frame, California sales tax and shipping.

Douglas was the house brand of Colorado Cyclist when they were a booming business before the Democrats decided to punish business success.

It looks to be everything I am on the market for. A fork can be had for a wave of the hand and if a carbon fiber fork is good enough for Greg Lemond and Eddy Merckx it's good enough for me. An EC90 can be gotten for less than $70 new and you don't need to get a superlight and worry about its strength since the regular fork in only 20 grams heavier than the super-light. Although I have a new set of new set of Fulcrum disk wheels they can be used with rim brakes. They were cheaper than dirt since all carbon is everything today. I have all of the rest of the parts taken from the Look. So cables and handlebar tape is all that is needed. Depending on the position of the stops, maybe not even cables. The handlebar tape is still on the aluminum bar I removed. The cables are still run and from the pictures it appears that the Look stops were further away than that of the Douglas.

With the coming of warmer weather, the demand for bikes is shooting up. The dealers again can't keep up with the demand. There were 20 boxes in the Specialized dealer yesterday when I got there. 5 people were actually buying bikes not just looking. Though most of them were kids because that was the only display bikes they still had. Di2 is not only popular but since the change to wireless is only effecting the new levers and the main battery. people won't be too willing to have the newest Di2. Besides, the latest and greatest is 12 gears and EVERYONE is catching on that they're being played.

The weight of the Eddy Merckx Elite looks like it will come out very near the Trek Emonda without working hard at it. The 3T stem and handlebar is quite a bit lighter than the integrated Look bar that is on the Madone I just sold. Carefully looking over the Rock Bros Keo copies gives me the idea that they are made in the same factory that makes the Look Keo standard pedal. They even weight a bit less. The mechanism look like a slight improvement. If you're going to give the Asians your technology you should remember that their engineers are just as good as yours and can and will improve it and sell it cheaper.

I went through the entire gamut of bikes over the last ten years since I recovered. Older carbon fiber like I was originally injured on except for better forks. Steel because it rides SOOO much better, new and newer steel that is so stiff it might as well be new CF, then the absolute top of the line carbon fiber bikes and their strengths and weaknesses. You CANNOT tell quality control of the layup from the outside. You have to depend upon reputation and Hambini did a very good job of showing that there was poor quality in the industry. So back of "almost as light but a HELL of a lot more reliable" aluminum. They are usually too stiff, but now that we are riding 28 mm tires that problem is solved. The difference it made on my Time was breathtaking! With 23 mm you could NOT ride that bike. With 28's it was a dream come true. I should have kept that bike since unlike most carbon fiber bikes it had alternate layups of Kevlar which doesn't tear like carbon fiber may.

And wouldn't you rather pay $1100 for a top of the line Aluminum bike than $12,000 for a carbon bike with Di2? Electric shifting is nice and it is better than manual shifting but it is too little for the extra price and when was manual shifting bad?

I have these carbon fiber saddles that weigh next to nothing. They are maybe 10 grams heavier than some of the slotted and "bendy" saddles.. They are just slightly less comfortable than the San Torino. When I was doing long climbs i used to have to stretch my back all the time. Surprisingly, when I started using the slotted saddles that disappeared and my back problems disappeared. Live and learn. And use the cheep Chinese carbon saddles rather than the expensive Italian ones. The saddles are surprisingly comfortable without any padding. I would not have thought that possible.
I am beginning to get inquiries for the two high end carbon bikes with Di2 I have left. Since spring is coming on people will be more and more interested in getting a new super-speed bike. So they ought to go out the door at asking prices.

For the Douglas I just bought a Look fork. They have by a country mile the highest quality control of all CF manufacturers and tis being a new fork I won't have anything at all to worry about for the rest of my life..
Colorado Cyclist didn't respond to the email I sent asking for a rather expensive Cane Creek headset. They it turned out that I sent it in the "feedback" box. So today I sent it to the regular sales email. This is sort of an odd completely flush lower headset so they might have to special order it. I'll see how that all works out. Cane Creek makes good parts and the bike appears to have been designed specifically for that sort of headset. I would prefer not to use Chinese or FSA copies.
What do you mean by "odd completely flush lower headset"? Pick one: https://www.parktool.com/blog/repair...dset-standards Is it one of these bikes (Douglass Fusion)?: https://store.bicycleczar.com/60cm-D...p/11160367.htm

If so, it has an integrated headset, which are as common as fleas. Are you going down another rabbit hole?
Did you notice that none of those pictures shows the lower bearing? That is the one that is flush, to fit flush against the bottom of the fork which has a flat surface and by the way - THAT IS THE BEARING THAT TAKES THE LOAD. So it has to be a tapered roller or open race ball bearings. Also the press-in depth measurement is very small so it was designed specifically to use a special headset. Why in the hell are you even commenting on something you don't know a ****ing thing about? I have a whole **** load of internal and external micrometers, digital and manual English and Metric calipers. I have 250 lbs of American and Metric tools, all of the dozens of special tools for the many, many atandards that have been in use for at least the last 60 years and Ultrasonic cleaners and automatic heating wax pots and my specially formulated wax and Teflon mixtures. You probably have a tiny percentage of this and you haven't even SEEN this thing but you know all about it. Is that the lawyer in you?
You obviously wasted money on tools because this is headset 101, and all you need is a couple of hex wrenches. The Douglas Fusion is spec'd with an integrated headset. I have those on FOUR bikes -- they are not mysterious or unusual. In fact, didn't you replace the headsets on the Treks? Same headset design (different dimensions). Why is this such a big deal?

Since your Look fork doesn't have a formed bearing seat, you need a crown bearing seat (or what we used to call a crown race) which comes in the box with your run of the mill, common as fleas integrated headset. Here, watch this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jL_Z...=CyclingWeekly Five minute operation.

Now, the interweb could be wrong, and the Douglas could have an internal headset, but it doesn't look like it from the picture, https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/8rwAA...mQ/s-l1600.jpg

From what I can tell, it was spec'd with a Tange integrated headset, 1 1/8" https://tinyurl.com/4uh2pwud Go buy one of those.
And why did you buy that off-brand bike in the first place? It looks like a left-over from Bike Island.

-- Jay Beattie.

PS Did you buy a compression plug for the fork?

Here. Even more help. https://www.fsaeasyheadset.com/ Can't go wrong.

-- Jay Beattie.

On Tue, 30 Mar 2021 16:22:03 -0700 (PDT), Tom Kunich
wrote:

On Tuesday, March 30, 2021 at 3:55:41 PM UTC-7, John B. wrote:
On Tue, 30 Mar 2021 09:35:09 -0700 (PDT), Tom Kunich
wrote:

On Monday, March 29, 2021 at 9:38:14 PM UTC-7, wrote:
On Monday, March 29, 2021 at 7:28:54 PM UTC-5, wrote:
Douglas was the house brand of Colorado Cyclist when they were a booming business before the Democrats decided to punish business success.

With the coming of warmer weather, the demand for bikes is shooting up. The dealers again can't keep up with the demand.
Got a call from my financial advisor today and he intends to sell some small cap funds in a 401 account I have to lock in the profits I made and put it in a large cap fund to be able to make higher rates in the present market.
So the d-mn Democrats are punishing businesses like Colorado Cyclist. And yet other bike shops cannot keep up with demand and are having to turn away paying customers. ??? So which is it? Are the Democrats, who now control the House, Senate, and President, driving businesses out of business or making businesses so successful they cannot keep up with demand?

So you are selling stocks for a profit and investing the money to earn even higher rates of return. While the Democrats are in control? That doesn't make sense. If the Democrats are in control, shouldn't you be putting everything into cash and hiding it under your bed and buying guns and building a bomb shelter to fight off the attacking zombies and undead? Why/how are you making money while the Democrats are in control? Everything should be losses.
Since you don't live in the USA why are you discussing business conditions here?
Why ever not Tommy? After all the U.S. stock market is not closed to
foreigners. In 2019 foreigners owned some $8.63 trillion worth of U.S.
equities through the end of the second quarter of 2019, which is the
equivalent of 35.3% of the total market capitalization of the S&P 500.
--
Cheers,

John B.
John, tell us what you know what is happening in California bike shops. You have a habit of acting as if you are an American after living on Thailand forever.

Tommy boy, the discussion was in reference to your remark "Since you
don't live in the USA why are you discussing business conditions here"
which was a reply to a post that questioned, "So you are selling
stocks for a profit and investing the money..."

And now you fly off on a tangent and start to talk about California
bike shops.

Tell us, is your problem - in addition to your flights of imagination
- a lack of reading comprehension? Or simply that you aren't capable
of following the theme of the conversation?

As for being an American, well the U.S. Government thinks I am. After
all I served the U.S. for 20 years, fought in two wars (to make the
world safe from Communism, we were told during the Vietnam conflict)
and they still pay me my retirement.
--
Cheers,

John B.

On Tue, 30 Mar 2021 16:18:08 -0700 (PDT), Tom Kunich
wrote:

On Tuesday, March 30, 2021 at 11:52:52 AM UTC-7, jbeattie wrote:
On Tuesday, March 30, 2021 at 9:40:26 AM UTC-7, wrote:
On Friday, March 26, 2021 at 10:50:27 AM UTC-7, Tom Kunich wrote:
On Thursday, March 25, 2021 at 4:17:33 PM UTC-7, Tom Kunich wrote:
I was having problems finding the sort of aluminum frame I was looking for, for a price I was willing to pay. Since I am impressed with Felt and they are selling off old stock, it appeared that I was going to have to buy one of those for about $500. Since this is where I stop buying and selling I don't mind paying that. But the catch is that it is a disk bike and I am most definitely not a fan of disks. Neither is a large portion of the pro peloton though they are being sponsored and can't contradict the sponsors. Only Chris Froome feels the freedom to say what he feels.

That would mean that I would have to buy hydraulic levers and disks and actuators. I prefer rim brakes on aluminum wheels.

So I ran across a Douglas in my NORMAL size for less than $200 for frame, California sales tax and shipping.

Douglas was the house brand of Colorado Cyclist when they were a booming business before the Democrats decided to punish business success.

It looks to be everything I am on the market for. A fork can be had for a wave of the hand and if a carbon fiber fork is good enough for Greg Lemond and Eddy Merckx it's good enough for me. An EC90 can be gotten for less than $70 new and you don't need to get a superlight and worry about its strength since the regular fork in only 20 grams heavier than the super-light. Although I have a new set of new set of Fulcrum disk wheels they can be used with rim brakes. They were cheaper than dirt since all carbon is everything today. I have all of the rest of the parts taken from the Look. So cables and handlebar tape is all that is needed. Depending on the position of the stops, maybe not even cables. The handlebar tape is still on the aluminum bar I removed. The cables are still run and from the pictures it appears that the Look stops were further away than that of the Douglas.

With the coming of warmer weather, the demand for bikes is shooting up. The dealers again can't keep up with the demand. There were 20 boxes in the Specialized dealer yesterday when I got there. 5 people were actually buying bikes not just looking. Though most of them were kids because that was the only display bikes they still had. Di2 is not only popular but since the change to wireless is only effecting the new levers and the main battery. people won't be too willing to have the newest Di2. Besides, the latest and greatest is 12 gears and EVERYONE is catching on that they're being played.

The weight of the Eddy Merckx Elite looks like it will come out very near the Trek Emonda without working hard at it. The 3T stem and handlebar is quite a bit lighter than the integrated Look bar that is on the Madone I just sold. Carefully looking over the Rock Bros Keo copies gives me the idea that they are made in the same factory that makes the Look Keo standard pedal. They even weight a bit less. The mechanism look like a slight improvement. If you're going to give the Asians your technology you should remember that their engineers are just as good as yours and can and will improve it and sell it cheaper.

I went through the entire gamut of bikes over the last ten years since I recovered. Older carbon fiber like I was originally injured on except for better forks. Steel because it rides SOOO much better, new and newer steel that is so stiff it might as well be new CF, then the absolute top of the line carbon fiber bikes and their strengths and weaknesses. You CANNOT tell quality control of the layup from the outside. You have to depend upon reputation and Hambini did a very good job of showing that there was poor quality in the industry. So back of "almost as light but a HELL of a lot more reliable" aluminum. They are usually too stiff, but now that we are riding 28 mm tires that problem is solved. The difference it made on my Time was breathtaking! With 23 mm you could NOT ride that bike. With 28's it was a dream come true. I should have kept that bike since unlike most carbon fiber bikes it had alternate layups of Kevlar which doesn't tear like carbon fiber may.

And wouldn't you rather pay $1100 for a top of the line Aluminum bike than $12,000 for a carbon bike with Di2? Electric shifting is nice and it is better than manual shifting but it is too little for the extra price and when was manual shifting bad?

I have these carbon fiber saddles that weigh next to nothing. They are maybe 10 grams heavier than some of the slotted and "bendy" saddles. They are just slightly less comfortable than the San Torino. When I was doing long climbs i used to have to stretch my back all the time. Surprisingly, when I started using the slotted saddles that disappeared and my back problems disappeared. Live and learn. And use the cheep Chinese carbon saddles rather than the expensive Italian ones. The saddles are surprisingly comfortable without any padding. I would not have thought that possible.
I am beginning to get inquiries for the two high end carbon bikes with Di2 I have left. Since spring is coming on people will be more and more interested in getting a new super-speed bike. So they ought to go out the door at asking prices.

For the Douglas I just bought a Look fork. They have by a country mile the highest quality control of all CF manufacturers and tis being a new fork I won't have anything at all to worry about for the rest of my life.
Colorado Cyclist didn't respond to the email I sent asking for a rather expensive Cane Creek headset. They it turned out that I sent it in the "feedback" box. So today I sent it to the regular sales email. This is sort of an odd completely flush lower headset so they might have to special order it. I'll see how that all works out. Cane Creek makes good parts and the bike appears to have been designed specifically for that sort of headset. I would prefer not to use Chinese or FSA copies.
What do you mean by "odd completely flush lower headset"? Pick one: https://www.parktool.com/blog/repair...dset-standards Is it one of these bikes (Douglass Fusion)?: https://store.bicycleczar.com/60cm-D...p/11160367.htm

If so, it has an integrated headset, which are as common as fleas. Are you going down another rabbit hole?

Did you notice that none of those pictures shows the lower bearing? That is the one that is flush, to fit flush against the bottom of the fork which has a flat surface and by the way - THAT IS THE BEARING THAT TAKES THE LOAD. So it has to be a tapered roller or open race ball bearings. Also the press-in depth measurement is very small so it was designed specifically to use a special headset. Why in the hell are you even commenting on something you don't know a ****ing thing about? I have a whole **** load of internal and external micrometers, digital and manual English and Metric calipers. I have 250 lbs of American and Metric tools, all of the dozens of special tools for the many, many atandards that have been in use for at least the last 60 years and Ultrasonic cleaners and automatic heating wax pots and my specially formulated wax and Teflon mixtures. You probably have a tiny percentage of this and you haven't even SEEN this thing but you know all about it. Is that the lawyer in
you?


Tell us Tommy boy how a bearing in the bicycle frame can "fit flush
against the bottom of the fork"? After all, most bicycles have a wheel
mounted on the bottom of the forks.

Perhaps that is your problem... You can't tell top from bottom or up
from down, as it were.
--
Cheers,

John B.

On 3/30/2021 2:52 PM, jbeattie wrote:


What do you mean by "odd completely flush lower headset"? Pick one: https://www.parktool.com/blog/repair...dset-standards

Good reference site. Anyone have comments on the advantages or
disadvantage of the various "standards"?

--
- Frank Krygowski

On Tuesday, March 30, 2021 at 6:18:10 PM UTC-5, wrote:
On Tuesday, March 30, 2021 at 11:52:52 AM UTC-7, jbeattie wrote:
On Tuesday, March 30, 2021 at 9:40:26 AM UTC-7, wrote:
On Friday, March 26, 2021 at 10:50:27 AM UTC-7, Tom Kunich wrote:
On Thursday, March 25, 2021 at 4:17:33 PM UTC-7, Tom Kunich wrote:
I was having problems finding the sort of aluminum frame I was looking for, for a price I was willing to pay. Since I am impressed with Felt and they are selling off old stock, it appeared that I was going to have to buy one of those for about $500. Since this is where I stop buying and selling I don't mind paying that. But the catch is that it is a disk bike and I am most definitely not a fan of disks. Neither is a large portion of the pro peloton though they are being sponsored and can't contradict the sponsors. Only Chris Froome feels the freedom to say what he feels.

That would mean that I would have to buy hydraulic levers and disks and actuators. I prefer rim brakes on aluminum wheels.

So I ran across a Douglas in my NORMAL size for less than $200 for frame, California sales tax and shipping.

Douglas was the house brand of Colorado Cyclist when they were a booming business before the Democrats decided to punish business success.

It looks to be everything I am on the market for. A fork can be had for a wave of the hand and if a carbon fiber fork is good enough for Greg Lemond and Eddy Merckx it's good enough for me. An EC90 can be gotten for less than $70 new and you don't need to get a superlight and worry about its strength since the regular fork in only 20 grams heavier than the super-light. Although I have a new set of new set of Fulcrum disk wheels they can be used with rim brakes. They were cheaper than dirt since all carbon is everything today. I have all of the rest of the parts taken from the Look. So cables and handlebar tape is all that is needed. Depending on the position of the stops, maybe not even cables. The handlebar tape is still on the aluminum bar I removed. The cables are still run and from the pictures it appears that the Look stops were further away than that of the Douglas.

With the coming of warmer weather, the demand for bikes is shooting up. The dealers again can't keep up with the demand. There were 20 boxes in the Specialized dealer yesterday when I got there. 5 people were actually buying bikes not just looking. Though most of them were kids because that was the only display bikes they still had. Di2 is not only popular but since the change to wireless is only effecting the new levers and the main battery. people won't be too willing to have the newest Di2. Besides, the latest and greatest is 12 gears and EVERYONE is catching on that they're being played.

The weight of the Eddy Merckx Elite looks like it will come out very near the Trek Emonda without working hard at it. The 3T stem and handlebar is quite a bit lighter than the integrated Look bar that is on the Madone I just sold. Carefully looking over the Rock Bros Keo copies gives me the idea that they are made in the same factory that makes the Look Keo standard pedal. They even weight a bit less. The mechanism look like a slight improvement. If you're going to give the Asians your technology you should remember that their engineers are just as good as yours and can and will improve it and sell it cheaper.

I went through the entire gamut of bikes over the last ten years since I recovered. Older carbon fiber like I was originally injured on except for better forks. Steel because it rides SOOO much better, new and newer steel that is so stiff it might as well be new CF, then the absolute top of the line carbon fiber bikes and their strengths and weaknesses. You CANNOT tell quality control of the layup from the outside. You have to depend upon reputation and Hambini did a very good job of showing that there was poor quality in the industry. So back of "almost as light but a HELL of a lot more reliable" aluminum. They are usually too stiff, but now that we are riding 28 mm tires that problem is solved. The difference it made on my Time was breathtaking! With 23 mm you could NOT ride that bike. With 28's it was a dream come true. I should have kept that bike since unlike most carbon fiber bikes it had alternate layups of Kevlar which doesn't tear like carbon fiber may.

And wouldn't you rather pay $1100 for a top of the line Aluminum bike than $12,000 for a carbon bike with Di2? Electric shifting is nice and it is better than manual shifting but it is too little for the extra price and when was manual shifting bad?

I have these carbon fiber saddles that weigh next to nothing. They are maybe 10 grams heavier than some of the slotted and "bendy" saddles. They are just slightly less comfortable than the San Torino. When I was doing long climbs i used to have to stretch my back all the time. Surprisingly, when I started using the slotted saddles that disappeared and my back problems disappeared. Live and learn. And use the cheep Chinese carbon saddles rather than the expensive Italian ones. The saddles are surprisingly comfortable without any padding. I would not have thought that possible.
I am beginning to get inquiries for the two high end carbon bikes with Di2 I have left. Since spring is coming on people will be more and more interested in getting a new super-speed bike. So they ought to go out the door at asking prices.

For the Douglas I just bought a Look fork. They have by a country mile the highest quality control of all CF manufacturers and tis being a new fork I won't have anything at all to worry about for the rest of my life.
Colorado Cyclist didn't respond to the email I sent asking for a rather expensive Cane Creek headset. They it turned out that I sent it in the "feedback" box. So today I sent it to the regular sales email. This is sort of an odd completely flush lower headset so they might have to special order it. I'll see how that all works out. Cane Creek makes good parts and the bike appears to have been designed specifically for that sort of headset. I would prefer not to use Chinese or FSA copies.
What do you mean by "odd completely flush lower headset"? Pick one: https://www.parktool.com/blog/repair...dset-standards Is it one of these bikes (Douglass Fusion)?: https://store.bicycleczar.com/60cm-D...p/11160367.htm

If so, it has an integrated headset, which are as common as fleas. Are you going down another rabbit hole?
Did you notice that none of those pictures shows the lower bearing? That is the one that is flush, to fit flush against the bottom of the fork which has a flat surface and by the way - THAT IS THE BEARING THAT TAKES THE LOAD. So it has to be a tapered roller or open race ball bearings. Also the press-in depth measurement is very small so it was designed specifically to use a special headset. Why in the hell are you even commenting on something you don't know a ****ing thing about? I have a whole **** load of internal and external micrometers, digital and manual English and Metric calipers. I have 250 lbs of American and Metric tools, all of the dozens of special tools for the many, many atandards that have been in use for at least the last 60 years and Ultrasonic cleaners and automatic heating wax pots and my specially formulated wax and Teflon mixtures. You probably have a tiny percentage of this and you haven't even SEEN this thing but you know all about it.. Is that the lawyer in you?

Please. It is very inappropriate to use curse words. Especially in a public forum. Now...I have a few manual tools, both standard and metric. I have never ever even thought about how much they weigh in total. That is an odd concept, weight of tools you own.

On Tue, 30 Mar 2021 22:01:05 -0400, Frank Krygowski
wrote:

On 3/30/2021 2:52 PM, jbeattie wrote:


What do you mean by "odd completely flush lower headset"? Pick one: https://www.parktool.com/blog/repair...dset-standards

Good reference site. Anyone have comments on the advantages or
disadvantage of the various "standards"?


Good Lord Frank! The old style setup with the fancy chrome plated
upper and lower races is OLD while the new style in various forms is
NEW and therefore must be better.
--
Cheers,

John B.

On Tuesday, March 30, 2021 at 7:01:13 PM UTC-7, Frank Krygowski wrote:
On 3/30/2021 2:52 PM, jbeattie wrote:


What do you mean by "odd completely flush lower headset"? Pick one: https://www.parktool.com/blog/repair...dset-standards
Good reference site. Anyone have comments on the advantages or
disadvantage of the various "standards"?

Good question. Think of it as the new golden era of headsets -- after the last golden era of headsets (English/JIS/Swiss/French/Italian -- and whatever Andrew identifies). The good news is that we're again reaching a stasis -- integrated, although there are several flavors of integrated. The other good news is that the bearings last a very long time. I'm using the HS from my totaled Supersix in my CAADX. Installing the headset took five minutes, or six minutes (I had to install a crown bearing seat). The other bikes have molded bearing seats.

O.T., but still bicycle related, I had a draggy front disc on my Synapse, so I decided to take off the caliper and clean the pistons, and when I took off the caliper (flat mount), a bunch of water came dripping out of the caliper mount holes, so I dropped the fork and poured out the water. I probably reduced bike weight by 40 grams. Having a integrated headset made it super easy. I do wonder, however, how the water got in there.

-- Jay Beattie.