by dgasmd on Mon Jan 29, 2018 4:27 am
Weight with my crappy scale came to 14.03 Lb. I have a Park Tools scale coming in the mail, so will verify with it. I really wanted to stay under 14Lb as a meaningless goal, which is still achievable with a simply seat and seat post swap if I really wanted to. See notes below.
Build Notes:
This is my first full build ever. I have done, do, and can do pretty much everything on bikes. I do all my maintenance and repairs on my other bikes too, but have never done a full on build. That came with many questions I had to figure out by trial and error and using the help of others, forums, and many Youtube videos. This was a bit bothersome at time because a lot of simple questions had no pictures of video to verify against. Especially while using my choices of components and parts vs what came with it. In the end, it was far easier than I anticipated.
Fit:
Surprisingly enough, this bike fits me much better than my other 2. The differences are minute in terms of measurements, but enough to be noticed the moment I sat on it. The head tube is lower and shorter than even the LOOK 595, which was welcomed as it gives me more aggressive drop from saddle to bars (unfortunately I can't make my legs grow to achieve that). I am still flexible enough at my age to handle it, so I will enjoy it while it lasts. Still need to do some minor tweaking to the bar positions, the lever position, and the saddle position. I will cut the rest of the steer tube above the stem after I tweet things a little. I write this with only one ride under my belt on it.
The only negative things I noticed within 15-20 miles was that my taint had a lot of pain and numbness. I have been using the same saddle (**) for close to 10 years now without such issues at all in my other bikes. I know Selle Italia changed the shape of the saddle a bit 3-4 years ago, so it may be the reason. I tried changing the angle a bit on it from flat to slightly up on the tip as I kept sliding forward, but no difference in results. I will play with it a bit before deciding what to do with it ultimately. The second thing is that the cage in the seat tube sits so low that when a bottles gets put on it, the bottom rests on the down tube and not on the tab of the bottom of the cage. Not a major issue really since I usually just put a cut bottle there with a spare tubular and CO2 stuff. The cage does accommodate every single one of the 6 different types I tried. Comes in and out easily without being loose and having fear to loose it. The angle/action to go in and out is different than the mandibles I am used to, so in time I will get used to it I guess. Don't have to do weight lifting 3x/week anymore to be able to get the bottle in/out as I did with the mandibles.
The components:
I am a true Campagnolo user. Have been since back in the very late 80's.
-Campagnolo Super Record Mechanical with Ti in crankset, Record chain, and Chorus cassette 12-25.
-Time Xpresso 15 pedals
**Selle Italia SLR Kit Carbonio Flow
-Colnago seatpost
-Fair Wheel Carbon seat post collar
-eeBrakes with Lightweight pads
-Fair Wheel Kalloy Uno stem with Ti bolts
-Carbon-Ti X-Cap Top Cap
-Carbon-Ti X-Plug Expander
-Deda Superleggera carbon bars size 40
-Deda tape
-Alligator Mini I-Link Shift and brake Housing/Cable Kit
-Continental Competition tubulars 22
-Lightweight Gen III tubulars
-Ti no name skewers (have used them for years)
-Lightweight chinese replica cages
Ride quality:
Wile there was nothing earth shattering or super spectacular in comparison, the differences to both of my other bikes using same wheels/contact points was definitely noticeable. Soft and refined, don't feel every bump on the road as harsh, much more comfortable and "efficient" climbing out of the saddle and more so while sitting, and somehow even the pedaling felt more efficient. There is not a single place where I can say this bike wobbles or needs stiffening. I can only guess descending has to feel like it is on rails. More on all this as the miles come on and the trips on it begin!!
