Go Faster New Bike Recommendations ?

Why not just take off the fenders, rear rack, handlebar bag, and dump the
waterbottles? I'm sure it'll come within a few pounds of any other road bike
you'd consider buying. ... and that few pounds isn't gonna do anything to
help you "go faster", unless you're going faster up hill and you only weigh
like 100lbs yourself.

Sorry for not answering the question and ranting.. hehehe

Mike
http://mikebeauchamp.com

"Steve Sr." wrote in message
...
Well, I have finally decided that I need to get a lighter weight bike
so that I can start to be able to keep up with some of the faster
folks on club and shop rides.

I am currently using a Cannondale T2000 as an all-purpose road bike.
It was originally bought mostly for commuting so it has fenders, rear
rack, and front handlebar bag. I made the mistake of putting it on the
bathroom scale once and it topped out at about 38 pounds with full
water bottles.

Anyway, I'm in the market for a lighter weight regular road bike and
would like some feedback on possible options. Cost is a consideration
but not an overriding one.


Here are the things that I want to have on the new bike:

1. The frame material I am leaning toward is TI. I have found that the
Cannondale aluminum is pretty stiff and produces a pretty bumpy ride
despite the wider tires. I am leaning away from carbon as too
expensive and maybe not rugged enough and steel as too heavy. You can
correct me if I'm wrong here. I wouldn't mind having the braze-ons for
adding a rear rack for credit card touring.

2. Tripple front crank with 170mm crank arms. I have a 29" inseam and
the 170s seemed to make my legs much happier. The Cannondale
originally had 175s.

3. Wide range cogs in the back but not quite as wide as the 11-34 on
the Cannondale. Something like 12-27 would probably be good
compromise. This may dictate a wide range (i.e. mountain) deraileur.

4. Shimano 9 speed drive train if still available. 10 speed if not. I
don't really see a need for an extra gear and the T2000 is also 9
speed so I have a source of emergency replacement parts..

5. Shimano components. Ultegra minimum. I don't want to start a
Shimano/Campy war here but I already have the tools to work on
Shimano.

6. Sealed bearing hubs in the wheels. I'm tired of repacking bearings.
They don't have to necessarily be cartridge bearings but should be
sealed well enough to prevent water and dirt from getting in during a
ride in the rain or a hosing off cleaning.

7. Micro-adjust seatpost. I really like the Thompson seatpost that
came with the Cannondale.

8. Brooks leather saddle.

9. I'm open for suggestions on wheels. It seems that there are too
many choices out there. I'm looking for light weight / reliable.


Here are the things that I don't want:

1. Anything that falls into the category of "stupid light" I am
currently riding about 3-4K miles a year and would like the bike to
last many years.

2. "twitchy" road race handling. The bike should be stable enough to
ride "no hands" for short distances.

Based on this very particular "wish list" it seems that it amost might
be better to buy a frame and then build the bike up from scratch. I am
mechanically inclined enough to accomplish this. The issue then
becomes finding and procuring all of the necessary parts at decent
prices. I don't know how big of a hit in cost I'd take doing it this
way versus changing parts out on a new "stock" bike.

As always thanks for your insight and suggestions.


Regards,

Steve Sr.