2 rides on the Redline Di2

I took the Redline out on Saturday. We had a 27 mph headwind and it was cold. The wider ratios of an 11-32 and the small shift switches and long finger gloves seemed to combine to not make the ride very much fun. The second half of the ride was downwind so I could concentrate more on trying to shift properly and I started being able to judge it through the gloves. Obviously warmer weather and half length gloves would make this a great deal easier.. But it is definitely something you have to get used to. Jumping on and expecting to use it without practice isn't something you should plan on doing.. Most especially if you're like me and been using Campy for most of your life.

I went out yesterday on a power ride. That is - just short of TT effort and with a coffee stop at the half way mark.

Now my course has about 14 stoplights on pretty busy roads and a lot of stop signs as well that you have to be careful with.

Strava reported the distance as 21.3 miles whereas all f my normal speedometers show 22.5. So there is a 6% deficiency in the actual speed reported by Strava which doesn't measure the actual distance but instead just the GPS coordinates.

The route was almost entirely into or across wind with no downwind riding at all. The wind was a pretty constant 17 mph reported by the weather channel. In other words - it was a pretty hard ride.

The time for the round trip was 1:28:03 and 14.3 mph average (counting the deficiencies in distance this would be 15.1 mph). Now, the fastest ride I've ever done on this course was 15.16 so it would appear that as you get used to shifting the Di2 it really is a faster setup.

Now 15 mph average doesn't sound like much but counting the number of stop lights and signs they average out the number of stops and as a rule you probably lose at least a couple of minutes in the ride. And the faster you're traveling the larger effect these minor sounding delays make to your time.

It would be interesting to know what a nonstop two way 36 Km power ride would be. Unfortunately we don't have that much open road without traffic anywhere around here. You have to do these sorts of rides for a rather long time before you can build yourself to the point of being able to TT that distance at a steady pace. So it is a type of training ride. Because of the distance and the effort you are not exhausted after the ride and you normally are not sore. Unfortunately I walked a mile up to the bank and back so my legs are sore today and Tuesday's ride after the dentist will be a recovery ride.

On Monday, March 2, 2020 at 8:48:53 AM UTC-8, Tom Kunich wrote:
I took the Redline out on Saturday. We had a 27 mph headwind and it was cold. The wider ratios of an 11-32 and the small shift switches and long finger gloves seemed to combine to not make the ride very much fun. The second half of the ride was downwind so I could concentrate more on trying to shift properly and I started being able to judge it through the gloves. Obviously warmer weather and half length gloves would make this a great deal easier. But it is definitely something you have to get used to. Jumping on and expecting to use it without practice isn't something you should plan on doing. Most especially if you're like me and been using Campy for most of your life.

I went out yesterday on a power ride. That is - just short of TT effort and with a coffee stop at the half way mark.

Now my course has about 14 stoplights on pretty busy roads and a lot of stop signs as well that you have to be careful with.

Strava reported the distance as 21.3 miles whereas all f my normal speedometers show 22.5. So there is a 6% deficiency in the actual speed reported by Strava which doesn't measure the actual distance but instead just the GPS coordinates.

The route was almost entirely into or across wind with no downwind riding at all. The wind was a pretty constant 17 mph reported by the weather channel. In other words - it was a pretty hard ride.

The time for the round trip was 1:28:03 and 14.3 mph average (counting the deficiencies in distance this would be 15.1 mph). Now, the fastest ride I've ever done on this course was 15.16 so it would appear that as you get used to shifting the Di2 it really is a faster setup.

Now 15 mph average doesn't sound like much but counting the number of stop lights and signs they average out the number of stops and as a rule you probably lose at least a couple of minutes in the ride. And the faster you're traveling the larger effect these minor sounding delays make to your time..

It would be interesting to know what a nonstop two way 36 Km power ride would be. Unfortunately we don't have that much open road without traffic anywhere around here. You have to do these sorts of rides for a rather long time before you can build yourself to the point of being able to TT that distance at a steady pace. So it is a type of training ride. Because of the distance and the effort you are not exhausted after the ride and you normally are not sore. Unfortunately I walked a mile up to the bank and back so my legs are sore today and Tuesday's ride after the dentist will be a recovery ride.

Did the climbing ride yesterday. My idea was to take it easy. It was warm enough that I could wear short finger gloves. I came to two conclusions 1. That the shifting is different enough from manual shifting that you have to get used to it. There is no going from one to the other and thinking there's no learning period. 2. The absolute power of disk brakes will doubtless end up taking over the braking systems. They are heavier and more expensive and they are the end of "quick releases" but unless you're racing what need to you have for a quick release that is a little faster than the 12 mm axles?

The fact that you can get a really good set of wheels and that they will not wear out except as the spokes stretch from hitting pot holes and the like, probably is a good idea. And being sure that they will stop more rapidly when wet and shoes can be replace in a couple of minutes rather than the 30-60 minute just they are on rim brakes is sort of a nice feature.

So I'll admit I was wrong about disk brakes.

The climbing ride is 38 miles and 3,400 feed of climbing. Because of the brakes and Gatorskins which are entirely reliable, I could ride faster down hard bumpy roads. I even was dropping cars again. With the racing tires I was always worried about blowouts.

On Wednesday, March 4, 2020 at 7:18:59 PM UTC+1, Tom Kunich wrote:
On Monday, March 2, 2020 at 8:48:53 AM UTC-8, Tom Kunich wrote:
I took the Redline out on Saturday. We had a 27 mph headwind and it was cold. The wider ratios of an 11-32 and the small shift switches and long finger gloves seemed to combine to not make the ride very much fun. The second half of the ride was downwind so I could concentrate more on trying to shift properly and I started being able to judge it through the gloves. Obviously warmer weather and half length gloves would make this a great deal easier. But it is definitely something you have to get used to. Jumping on and expecting to use it without practice isn't something you should plan on doing. Most especially if you're like me and been using Campy for most of your life.

I went out yesterday on a power ride. That is - just short of TT effort and with a coffee stop at the half way mark.

Now my course has about 14 stoplights on pretty busy roads and a lot of stop signs as well that you have to be careful with.

Strava reported the distance as 21.3 miles whereas all f my normal speedometers show 22.5. So there is a 6% deficiency in the actual speed reported by Strava which doesn't measure the actual distance but instead just the GPS coordinates.

The route was almost entirely into or across wind with no downwind riding at all. The wind was a pretty constant 17 mph reported by the weather channel. In other words - it was a pretty hard ride.

The time for the round trip was 1:28:03 and 14.3 mph average (counting the deficiencies in distance this would be 15.1 mph). Now, the fastest ride I've ever done on this course was 15.16 so it would appear that as you get used to shifting the Di2 it really is a faster setup.

Now 15 mph average doesn't sound like much but counting the number of stop lights and signs they average out the number of stops and as a rule you probably lose at least a couple of minutes in the ride. And the faster you're traveling the larger effect these minor sounding delays make to your time.

It would be interesting to know what a nonstop two way 36 Km power ride would be. Unfortunately we don't have that much open road without traffic anywhere around here. You have to do these sorts of rides for a rather long time before you can build yourself to the point of being able to TT that distance at a steady pace. So it is a type of training ride. Because of the distance and the effort you are not exhausted after the ride and you normally are not sore. Unfortunately I walked a mile up to the bank and back so my legs are sore today and Tuesday's ride after the dentist will be a recovery ride.

Did the climbing ride yesterday. My idea was to take it easy. It was warm enough that I could wear short finger gloves. I came to two conclusions 1. That the shifting is different enough from manual shifting that you have to get used to it. There is no going from one to the other and thinking there's no learning period. 2. The absolute power of disk brakes will doubtless end up taking over the braking systems. They are heavier and more expensive and they are the end of "quick releases" but unless you're racing what need to you have for a quick release that is a little faster than the 12 mm axles?

The fact that you can get a really good set of wheels and that they will not wear out except as the spokes stretch from hitting pot holes and the like, probably is a good idea. And being sure that they will stop more rapidly when wet and shoes can be replace in a couple of minutes rather than the 30-60 minute just they are on rim brakes is sort of a nice feature.

So I'll admit I was wrong about disk brakes.

The climbing ride is 38 miles and 3,400 feed of climbing. Because of the brakes and Gatorskins which are entirely reliable, I could ride faster down hard bumpy roads. I even was dropping cars again. With the racing tires I was always worried about blowouts.

What I had to get used to is the no travel of the switches compared to the shift levers. In the beginning you prepare to wack the levers big time, but that is not necessary anymore. If you compare Di2 with Shimano mechanical shifting you can think the same. Shifting to a larger cog/smaller gear hit the switches the whole of the inside of you hand, shifting to a smaller cog/bigger gear hit the switch with your middle finger. After a while you will hit the right switch without thinking.

Lou

On Wednesday, March 4, 2020 at 10:18:59 AM UTC-8, Tom Kunich wrote:
On Monday, March 2, 2020 at 8:48:53 AM UTC-8, Tom Kunich wrote:
I took the Redline out on Saturday. We had a 27 mph headwind and it was cold. The wider ratios of an 11-32 and the small shift switches and long finger gloves seemed to combine to not make the ride very much fun. The second half of the ride was downwind so I could concentrate more on trying to shift properly and I started being able to judge it through the gloves. Obviously warmer weather and half length gloves would make this a great deal easier. But it is definitely something you have to get used to. Jumping on and expecting to use it without practice isn't something you should plan on doing. Most especially if you're like me and been using Campy for most of your life.

I went out yesterday on a power ride. That is - just short of TT effort and with a coffee stop at the half way mark.

Now my course has about 14 stoplights on pretty busy roads and a lot of stop signs as well that you have to be careful with.

Strava reported the distance as 21.3 miles whereas all f my normal speedometers show 22.5. So there is a 6% deficiency in the actual speed reported by Strava which doesn't measure the actual distance but instead just the GPS coordinates.

The route was almost entirely into or across wind with no downwind riding at all. The wind was a pretty constant 17 mph reported by the weather channel. In other words - it was a pretty hard ride.

The time for the round trip was 1:28:03 and 14.3 mph average (counting the deficiencies in distance this would be 15.1 mph). Now, the fastest ride I've ever done on this course was 15.16 so it would appear that as you get used to shifting the Di2 it really is a faster setup.

Now 15 mph average doesn't sound like much but counting the number of stop lights and signs they average out the number of stops and as a rule you probably lose at least a couple of minutes in the ride. And the faster you're traveling the larger effect these minor sounding delays make to your time.

It would be interesting to know what a nonstop two way 36 Km power ride would be. Unfortunately we don't have that much open road without traffic anywhere around here. You have to do these sorts of rides for a rather long time before you can build yourself to the point of being able to TT that distance at a steady pace. So it is a type of training ride. Because of the distance and the effort you are not exhausted after the ride and you normally are not sore. Unfortunately I walked a mile up to the bank and back so my legs are sore today and Tuesday's ride after the dentist will be a recovery ride.

Did the climbing ride yesterday. My idea was to take it easy. It was warm enough that I could wear short finger gloves. I came to two conclusions 1. That the shifting is different enough from manual shifting that you have to get used to it. There is no going from one to the other and thinking there's no learning period. 2. The absolute power of disk brakes will doubtless end up taking over the braking systems. They are heavier and more expensive and they are the end of "quick releases" but unless you're racing what need to you have for a quick release that is a little faster than the 12 mm axles?

The fact that you can get a really good set of wheels and that they will not wear out except as the spokes stretch from hitting pot holes and the like, probably is a good idea. And being sure that they will stop more rapidly when wet and shoes can be replace in a couple of minutes rather than the 30-60 minute just they are on rim brakes is sort of a nice feature.

So I'll admit I was wrong about disk brakes.

The climbing ride is 38 miles and 3,400 feed of climbing. Because of the brakes and Gatorskins which are entirely reliable, I could ride faster down hard bumpy roads. I even was dropping cars again. With the racing tires I was always worried about blowouts.

What size tire are you using? My 28mm 4Seasons have proven to be a really great winter tire for fast riding. Good grip, reasonable rolling resistance and decent puncture resistance -- not like Gatorskins, but not as harsh either and better wet grip. They're over-priced, but if you can find them on sale, they're really nice.

-- Jay Beattie.

On Wednesday, March 4, 2020 at 6:29:11 PM UTC-8, jbeattie wrote:
On Wednesday, March 4, 2020 at 10:18:59 AM UTC-8, Tom Kunich wrote:
On Monday, March 2, 2020 at 8:48:53 AM UTC-8, Tom Kunich wrote:
I took the Redline out on Saturday. We had a 27 mph headwind and it was cold. The wider ratios of an 11-32 and the small shift switches and long finger gloves seemed to combine to not make the ride very much fun. The second half of the ride was downwind so I could concentrate more on trying to shift properly and I started being able to judge it through the gloves. Obviously warmer weather and half length gloves would make this a great deal easier. But it is definitely something you have to get used to. Jumping on and expecting to use it without practice isn't something you should plan on doing. Most especially if you're like me and been using Campy for most of your life.

I went out yesterday on a power ride. That is - just short of TT effort and with a coffee stop at the half way mark.

Now my course has about 14 stoplights on pretty busy roads and a lot of stop signs as well that you have to be careful with.

Strava reported the distance as 21.3 miles whereas all f my normal speedometers show 22.5. So there is a 6% deficiency in the actual speed reported by Strava which doesn't measure the actual distance but instead just the GPS coordinates.

The route was almost entirely into or across wind with no downwind riding at all. The wind was a pretty constant 17 mph reported by the weather channel. In other words - it was a pretty hard ride.

The time for the round trip was 1:28:03 and 14.3 mph average (counting the deficiencies in distance this would be 15.1 mph). Now, the fastest ride I've ever done on this course was 15.16 so it would appear that as you get used to shifting the Di2 it really is a faster setup.

Now 15 mph average doesn't sound like much but counting the number of stop lights and signs they average out the number of stops and as a rule you probably lose at least a couple of minutes in the ride. And the faster you're traveling the larger effect these minor sounding delays make to your time.

It would be interesting to know what a nonstop two way 36 Km power ride would be. Unfortunately we don't have that much open road without traffic anywhere around here. You have to do these sorts of rides for a rather long time before you can build yourself to the point of being able to TT that distance at a steady pace. So it is a type of training ride. Because of the distance and the effort you are not exhausted after the ride and you normally are not sore. Unfortunately I walked a mile up to the bank and back so my legs are sore today and Tuesday's ride after the dentist will be a recovery ride.

Did the climbing ride yesterday. My idea was to take it easy. It was warm enough that I could wear short finger gloves. I came to two conclusions 1. That the shifting is different enough from manual shifting that you have to get used to it. There is no going from one to the other and thinking there's no learning period. 2. The absolute power of disk brakes will doubtless end up taking over the braking systems. They are heavier and more expensive and they are the end of "quick releases" but unless you're racing what need to you have for a quick release that is a little faster than the 12 mm axles?

The fact that you can get a really good set of wheels and that they will not wear out except as the spokes stretch from hitting pot holes and the like, probably is a good idea. And being sure that they will stop more rapidly when wet and shoes can be replace in a couple of minutes rather than the 30-60 minute just they are on rim brakes is sort of a nice feature.

So I'll admit I was wrong about disk brakes.

The climbing ride is 38 miles and 3,400 feed of climbing. Because of the brakes and Gatorskins which are entirely reliable, I could ride faster down hard bumpy roads. I even was dropping cars again. With the racing tires I was always worried about blowouts.

What size tire are you using? My 28mm 4Seasons have proven to be a really great winter tire for fast riding. Good grip, reasonable rolling resistance and decent puncture resistance -- not like Gatorskins, but not as harsh either and better wet grip. They're over-priced, but if you can find them on sale, they're really nice.

-- Jay Beattie.

Jay, I think that you said that you have a Trek Madone. What do you think of it? I'm beginning to get the idea that perhaps I should add a Madone to the stable and sell off everything else. Two Treks would fit just about everything. Direct mount brakes on both so that the braking always feels the same. Di2 so they always feel the same. I stumbled across a set of almost new Dura Ace levers and won the bid at less than half of the price of new levers. They were in my mailbox the next day and I didn't even realize that they were levers because the box was altogether too light. If there's any scratching on these levers I sure as hell can't spot it. If the rest of the Dura Ace components are like this the Madone could float away.

On Wednesday, March 4, 2020 at 11:05:38 AM UTC-8, wrote:
On Wednesday, March 4, 2020 at 7:18:59 PM UTC+1, Tom Kunich wrote:
On Monday, March 2, 2020 at 8:48:53 AM UTC-8, Tom Kunich wrote:
I took the Redline out on Saturday. We had a 27 mph headwind and it was cold. The wider ratios of an 11-32 and the small shift switches and long finger gloves seemed to combine to not make the ride very much fun. The second half of the ride was downwind so I could concentrate more on trying to shift properly and I started being able to judge it through the gloves. Obviously warmer weather and half length gloves would make this a great deal easier. But it is definitely something you have to get used to. Jumping on and expecting to use it without practice isn't something you should plan on doing. Most especially if you're like me and been using Campy for most of your life.

I went out yesterday on a power ride. That is - just short of TT effort and with a coffee stop at the half way mark.

Now my course has about 14 stoplights on pretty busy roads and a lot of stop signs as well that you have to be careful with.

Strava reported the distance as 21.3 miles whereas all f my normal speedometers show 22.5. So there is a 6% deficiency in the actual speed reported by Strava which doesn't measure the actual distance but instead just the GPS coordinates.

The route was almost entirely into or across wind with no downwind riding at all. The wind was a pretty constant 17 mph reported by the weather channel. In other words - it was a pretty hard ride.

The time for the round trip was 1:28:03 and 14.3 mph average (counting the deficiencies in distance this would be 15.1 mph). Now, the fastest ride I've ever done on this course was 15.16 so it would appear that as you get used to shifting the Di2 it really is a faster setup.

Now 15 mph average doesn't sound like much but counting the number of stop lights and signs they average out the number of stops and as a rule you probably lose at least a couple of minutes in the ride. And the faster you're traveling the larger effect these minor sounding delays make to your time.

It would be interesting to know what a nonstop two way 36 Km power ride would be. Unfortunately we don't have that much open road without traffic anywhere around here. You have to do these sorts of rides for a rather long time before you can build yourself to the point of being able to TT that distance at a steady pace. So it is a type of training ride. Because of the distance and the effort you are not exhausted after the ride and you normally are not sore. Unfortunately I walked a mile up to the bank and back so my legs are sore today and Tuesday's ride after the dentist will be a recovery ride.

Did the climbing ride yesterday. My idea was to take it easy. It was warm enough that I could wear short finger gloves. I came to two conclusions 1. That the shifting is different enough from manual shifting that you have to get used to it. There is no going from one to the other and thinking there's no learning period. 2. The absolute power of disk brakes will doubtless end up taking over the braking systems. They are heavier and more expensive and they are the end of "quick releases" but unless you're racing what need to you have for a quick release that is a little faster than the 12 mm axles?

The fact that you can get a really good set of wheels and that they will not wear out except as the spokes stretch from hitting pot holes and the like, probably is a good idea. And being sure that they will stop more rapidly when wet and shoes can be replace in a couple of minutes rather than the 30-60 minute just they are on rim brakes is sort of a nice feature.

So I'll admit I was wrong about disk brakes.

The climbing ride is 38 miles and 3,400 feed of climbing. Because of the brakes and Gatorskins which are entirely reliable, I could ride faster down hard bumpy roads. I even was dropping cars again. With the racing tires I was always worried about blowouts.

What I had to get used to is the no travel of the switches compared to the shift levers. In the beginning you prepare to wack the levers big time, but that is not necessary anymore. If you compare Di2 with Shimano mechanical shifting you can think the same. Shifting to a larger cog/smaller gear hit the switches the whole of the inside of you hand, shifting to a smaller cog/bigger gear hit the switch with your middle finger. After a while you will hit the right switch without thinking.

Lou

I bought a set of Pro Lite wheels from ProBikeKit UK. These are 40 mm deep aluminum wheels. I put them on the scale and they are a little lighter than the carbon wheels! They are pretty obviously from China but the workmanship is WAY better than the cheap carbon wheels. And these wheels were even cheaper!

I wouldn't say that the aero section was the best possible but I would be willing to bet that they steer a great deal better. They are tubeless ready and they are wide enough to properly mount 25 mm tires. I was pretty impressed.

On Thursday, March 5, 2020 at 9:36:41 AM UTC-8, Tom Kunich wrote:
On Wednesday, March 4, 2020 at 6:29:11 PM UTC-8, jbeattie wrote:
On Wednesday, March 4, 2020 at 10:18:59 AM UTC-8, Tom Kunich wrote:
On Monday, March 2, 2020 at 8:48:53 AM UTC-8, Tom Kunich wrote:
I took the Redline out on Saturday. We had a 27 mph headwind and it was cold. The wider ratios of an 11-32 and the small shift switches and long finger gloves seemed to combine to not make the ride very much fun. The second half of the ride was downwind so I could concentrate more on trying to shift properly and I started being able to judge it through the gloves. Obviously warmer weather and half length gloves would make this a great deal easier. But it is definitely something you have to get used to. Jumping on and expecting to use it without practice isn't something you should plan on doing. Most especially if you're like me and been using Campy for most of your life.

I went out yesterday on a power ride. That is - just short of TT effort and with a coffee stop at the half way mark.

Now my course has about 14 stoplights on pretty busy roads and a lot of stop signs as well that you have to be careful with.

Strava reported the distance as 21.3 miles whereas all f my normal speedometers show 22.5. So there is a 6% deficiency in the actual speed reported by Strava which doesn't measure the actual distance but instead just the GPS coordinates.

The route was almost entirely into or across wind with no downwind riding at all. The wind was a pretty constant 17 mph reported by the weather channel. In other words - it was a pretty hard ride.

The time for the round trip was 1:28:03 and 14.3 mph average (counting the deficiencies in distance this would be 15.1 mph). Now, the fastest ride I've ever done on this course was 15.16 so it would appear that as you get used to shifting the Di2 it really is a faster setup.

Now 15 mph average doesn't sound like much but counting the number of stop lights and signs they average out the number of stops and as a rule you probably lose at least a couple of minutes in the ride. And the faster you're traveling the larger effect these minor sounding delays make to your time.

It would be interesting to know what a nonstop two way 36 Km power ride would be. Unfortunately we don't have that much open road without traffic anywhere around here. You have to do these sorts of rides for a rather long time before you can build yourself to the point of being able to TT that distance at a steady pace. So it is a type of training ride. Because of the distance and the effort you are not exhausted after the ride and you normally are not sore. Unfortunately I walked a mile up to the bank and back so my legs are sore today and Tuesday's ride after the dentist will be a recovery ride.

Did the climbing ride yesterday. My idea was to take it easy. It was warm enough that I could wear short finger gloves. I came to two conclusions 1. That the shifting is different enough from manual shifting that you have to get used to it. There is no going from one to the other and thinking there's no learning period. 2. The absolute power of disk brakes will doubtless end up taking over the braking systems. They are heavier and more expensive and they are the end of "quick releases" but unless you're racing what need to you have for a quick release that is a little faster than the 12 mm axles?

The fact that you can get a really good set of wheels and that they will not wear out except as the spokes stretch from hitting pot holes and the like, probably is a good idea. And being sure that they will stop more rapidly when wet and shoes can be replace in a couple of minutes rather than the 30-60 minute just they are on rim brakes is sort of a nice feature.

So I'll admit I was wrong about disk brakes.

The climbing ride is 38 miles and 3,400 feed of climbing. Because of the brakes and Gatorskins which are entirely reliable, I could ride faster down hard bumpy roads. I even was dropping cars again. With the racing tires I was always worried about blowouts.

What size tire are you using? My 28mm 4Seasons have proven to be a really great winter tire for fast riding. Good grip, reasonable rolling resistance and decent puncture resistance -- not like Gatorskins, but not as harsh either and better wet grip. They're over-priced, but if you can find them on sale, they're really nice.

-- Jay Beattie.

Jay, I think that you said that you have a Trek Madone. What do you think of it? I'm beginning to get the idea that perhaps I should add a Madone to the stable and sell off everything else. Two Treks would fit just about everything. Direct mount brakes on both so that the braking always feels the same. Di2 so they always feel the same. I stumbled across a set of almost new Dura Ace levers and won the bid at less than half of the price of new levers. They were in my mailbox the next day and I didn't even realize that they were levers because the box was altogether too light. If there's any scratching on these levers I sure as hell can't spot it. If the rest of the Dura Ace components are like this the Madone could float away.

I have and Emonda SLR6 Project One directly from my friends at Trek. No Madone, which is more bike than I need.

-- Jay Beattie.

On Thursday, March 5, 2020 at 11:02:40 AM UTC-8, jbeattie wrote:
On Thursday, March 5, 2020 at 9:36:41 AM UTC-8, Tom Kunich wrote:
On Wednesday, March 4, 2020 at 6:29:11 PM UTC-8, jbeattie wrote:
On Wednesday, March 4, 2020 at 10:18:59 AM UTC-8, Tom Kunich wrote:
On Monday, March 2, 2020 at 8:48:53 AM UTC-8, Tom Kunich wrote:
I took the Redline out on Saturday. We had a 27 mph headwind and it was cold. The wider ratios of an 11-32 and the small shift switches and long finger gloves seemed to combine to not make the ride very much fun. The second half of the ride was downwind so I could concentrate more on trying to shift properly and I started being able to judge it through the gloves.. Obviously warmer weather and half length gloves would make this a great deal easier. But it is definitely something you have to get used to. Jumping on and expecting to use it without practice isn't something you should plan on doing. Most especially if you're like me and been using Campy for most of your life.

I went out yesterday on a power ride. That is - just short of TT effort and with a coffee stop at the half way mark.

Now my course has about 14 stoplights on pretty busy roads and a lot of stop signs as well that you have to be careful with.

Strava reported the distance as 21.3 miles whereas all f my normal speedometers show 22.5. So there is a 6% deficiency in the actual speed reported by Strava which doesn't measure the actual distance but instead just the GPS coordinates.

The route was almost entirely into or across wind with no downwind riding at all. The wind was a pretty constant 17 mph reported by the weather channel. In other words - it was a pretty hard ride.

The time for the round trip was 1:28:03 and 14.3 mph average (counting the deficiencies in distance this would be 15.1 mph). Now, the fastest ride I've ever done on this course was 15.16 so it would appear that as you get used to shifting the Di2 it really is a faster setup.

Now 15 mph average doesn't sound like much but counting the number of stop lights and signs they average out the number of stops and as a rule you probably lose at least a couple of minutes in the ride. And the faster you're traveling the larger effect these minor sounding delays make to your time.

It would be interesting to know what a nonstop two way 36 Km power ride would be. Unfortunately we don't have that much open road without traffic anywhere around here. You have to do these sorts of rides for a rather long time before you can build yourself to the point of being able to TT that distance at a steady pace. So it is a type of training ride. Because of the distance and the effort you are not exhausted after the ride and you normally are not sore. Unfortunately I walked a mile up to the bank and back so my legs are sore today and Tuesday's ride after the dentist will be a recovery ride.

Did the climbing ride yesterday. My idea was to take it easy. It was warm enough that I could wear short finger gloves. I came to two conclusions 1. That the shifting is different enough from manual shifting that you have to get used to it. There is no going from one to the other and thinking there's no learning period. 2. The absolute power of disk brakes will doubtless end up taking over the braking systems. They are heavier and more expensive and they are the end of "quick releases" but unless you're racing what need to you have for a quick release that is a little faster than the 12 mm axles?

The fact that you can get a really good set of wheels and that they will not wear out except as the spokes stretch from hitting pot holes and the like, probably is a good idea. And being sure that they will stop more rapidly when wet and shoes can be replace in a couple of minutes rather than the 30-60 minute just they are on rim brakes is sort of a nice feature.

So I'll admit I was wrong about disk brakes.

The climbing ride is 38 miles and 3,400 feed of climbing. Because of the brakes and Gatorskins which are entirely reliable, I could ride faster down hard bumpy roads. I even was dropping cars again. With the racing tires I was always worried about blowouts.

What size tire are you using? My 28mm 4Seasons have proven to be a really great winter tire for fast riding. Good grip, reasonable rolling resistance and decent puncture resistance -- not like Gatorskins, but not as harsh either and better wet grip. They're over-priced, but if you can find them on sale, they're really nice.

-- Jay Beattie.

Jay, I think that you said that you have a Trek Madone. What do you think of it? I'm beginning to get the idea that perhaps I should add a Madone to the stable and sell off everything else. Two Treks would fit just about everything. Direct mount brakes on both so that the braking always feels the same. Di2 so they always feel the same. I stumbled across a set of almost new Dura Ace levers and won the bid at less than half of the price of new levers. They were in my mailbox the next day and I didn't even realize that they were levers because the box was altogether too light. If there's any scratching on these levers I sure as hell can't spot it. If the rest of the Dura Ace components are like this the Madone could float away.

I have and Emonda SLR6 Project One directly from my friends at Trek. No Madone, which is more bike than I need.

-- Jay Beattie.

Well, Mine is an SLR6 as well. With such a mess in the garage but bikes that people could ride for the rest of their lives I'm just thinking of reducing my stable to two. The Madone is a time trial sort of bike and the Emonda a climber so that would seem to be a good split.