Quote:
Originally Posted by herr_oberst
Thanks for the wheel ideas. I have been leaning the Mavic direction, my buddy jyl is a Mavic advocate, for sure.
I have a Force 10 speed gruppo on my Kona Zing Deluxe and I like it just fine, but I did break a shifter last summer and it cost me 200 bucks for a new one, so that made me grumpy. Nothing rebuildable in those brifters at all...
I think hills are where my superpower is, if I have one...Not the fastest rider at the end of the century, but I can usually keep up with the fellas when they turn up the gravity.
Figured the Tarmac with it's shorter stays would help me even more!
I'm 56 and I'll be 57 when I start putting miles on this beauty!
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I started out as an Italian bike junkie, still am in many ways. I have had a bunch of Italian made rims but only a couple of sets of wheels. They were ok, but can't hold a candle to Mavic. I must confess, I have not had any Italian wheels since the Campy Neurtron. While light but I was able to beat up the rear wheel in two years. Great riding wheel BTW. I am bias. Mavic is the first company I look at when I look at wheels. I will report back with the Zipps. I screwed up, I have a set of 303s and one 404 rear for those long flat days where the big guys come out and start pounding our faces into the pavement. Too bad you aren't close to me, I loan you my zipps or mavic wheels for a few weeks to see if you like em'. I like super stuff wheels. I saw the finish to this year's Tour of CA at the Rosebowl. At the end of the race, I had a chance to see roam around and see some of their equip. Many of the European teams were riding Mavic Cosmics. It was fast, flat stage.
I hate climbs, don't really enjoy them but love rollies with a bunch of speed. Shift up a gear when you crest the hill and make em' catch ya. If anything, a head game. If you are a climber, then you have a natural gift and I tell you this, no amount of training is going make someone a good mt goat. That shorter stays in that Specalized is going to make it go like heck when you get off the saddle in the climbs. Love the way that feels. Its keeping it going is my problem.
When someone crossed my wheel and broke my collar bone and ribs early this year, my first thought was my levers. Since they carbon, I am thinking they are gone. As it turned out, I took most of the impact and the scratches were only skin deep on the levers. Saved me a few bucks there.