Wrenching

Gentle Readers .....

I have been remiss in my writing of late.  Truth be told, I had lost my job, and was fully committed to finding  new gig.  This left little time for writing.  After about a month's worth of being unemployed, I was offered a job - a really decent job - and will be starting up there shortly.  We then took a long-overdue trip to visit family in Minnesota, which is where I am as I write this.  Things are settling back to a semblance of normal and I feel like I have the time and energy to write.  So without further gilding of the lily ......

I take care of most of the mechanical needs for our bikes.  I really enjoy the activity and feel like there are a number of benefits.  You save money, become more intimate with the working of a modern bicycle and have a better riding experience overall.  There is also a therapeutic value to the activity.

Bike shops are equipped to handle any problem that may arise with a bicycle, but it comes with a price.  Along with the cost of parts, there are often shop fees associated with the routine maintenance, repairs and upgrades that are part-and-parcel to owning a modern bicycle.  Doing this work yourself saves on shop fees, which can add up quickly and may cost ore than the parts involves.  It also frees you, the consumer, to find the best price you can on the parts you want or need,  So by wrenching your own bike, you can save a bit of money.  For me, She Who Holds The Purse Strings really appreciates this.

It may seem kind of strange to speak of intimacy with a machine, but this is what wrenching your own bike gives you.  After a while, there isn't a single part of your bike that is unfamiliar.  You know very nut, bolt, screw and other bits that are on your bike.  If something is going wrong, or out of adjustment, you know about it long before it becomes a problem.  You also know what needs to be done to fix or correct it.  Oftentimes, this level of intimacy, allows you to correct minor issues as a matter of course.  The bike is almost always in peak condition as a result.

This leads us to the overall experience in riding the bike.  Because you wrench it yourself you are always fully aware of your bike's condition.  As a result of this, you ride with greater confidence in the machine.  You ride without the worry that something may go wrong.  Everything is as it should be, so you can relax and enjoy the ride.

While all that is important, the biggest benefit I get is from the therapeutic value of the activity.  Although my cancer isn't foremost in my mind, it's still a thought that lingers, and there is always frustrations and anxieties that go along with it.  Like anyone else, my life has its share of other stresses which can sometimes weigh heavily on heart and mind.  Being able to take a cup of coffee down to The Shop and tinker with one of our bikes is a remarkable source of relaxation.  It may be a something major, like replacing a part, or readjusting the derailleurs and it may be a simple as cleaning the chain, or just detailing the bike.  Whatever I do leaves me calmer, happier, satisfied and relaxed.  The cares and concerns of the day are suddenly gone.  As Steinbeck said so well (and I paraphrase),......

The world, once again, spins in greased grooves.

So, there's a lot to be said for wrenching your own bike and there's really nothing much to it.  Modern bicycles are relatively simple machines whose workings are easily understood and learned.  You can save a buck or two, be a better cyclist, have a lot more fun and it can even help you feel better.

Feeling better is important.

Satisfied: Titanico X

I'd like to do a series of posts where I discuss bike components and kit that I've purchased and am satisfied with.  I am not a paid endorser nor do I have any business relationship with these companies.  I'm just a satisfied customer.

Your bike's most important part is the ass on the saddle.

Anyway, that's what some people say ....

Colorful metaphors aside, a comfortable saddle is more important than anything else on the bike.  This is especially true when you've been riding all day and your butt-cheeks feel like they've been pounded into hamburger. You can be hot, sweaty, thirsty, sunburned, with sore legs and back, but it all pales in comparison to the inhuman torture of a saddle that just ain't right.  As a result, a comfortable saddle is the Holy Grail of cycling.

My quest for the Grail began a few months after bringing my GT home.  It came with a decent saddle, made by a reputable company, but became very uncomfortable after about 20 miles.  I tried the Rule 5 ploy, hoping to get used to it, but my backside just wasn't diggin' the saddle at all.  So, after giving it a good 5 months I decided a different saddle was in order.

Titanico X

I tried several saddles that didn't really feel a whole lot better than what I already had.  Then, I went to a shop to look at a well-known English-made leather saddle, one that everyone raves about, only to find out that it wouldn't work on my bike.  In order to get a proper fit, the saddle needed more setback than the that saddle allowed.  The fitting specialist immediately suggested a different leather saddle that offered considerably more setback and in his opinion, would be even more comfortable than the other saddle.  This saddle was made by an American company, Selle Anatomica, and was called the "Titanico".

I'd never heard of it.

Choice of saddle is a very personal matter.  A saddle that works for one may not work for another.  The shop had a loaner saddle and we mounted to the bike so I could ride it for a weekend and decide for myself.  That decision was not long in coming.  I rode 15 miles after work the next day, and 50 miles over the weekend.  I was amazed at how immediately comfortable the saddle was.  Really, really comfortable.  I was impressed after the first ride, but by the time the weekend was over I was sold.  I ordered a saddle right away.

The new saddle arrived in time for the Denver Century where I'd be riding a Metric Century for the first time.  Ordinarily, you don't use a brand-new piece of equipment on a ride like that, but I felt confident this new saddle would serve well.  It did not disappoint.  It was a brutal day's ride, but at the finish, my butt was the only part of me that didn't hurt.

Since then, I've put a lot of miles on my Titanico.  I love it.  It's proven to be as easy to own, dependable and durable as it is comfortable.

No treatment was or is needed for the Titanico.  No cremes or oils had to applied to the leather.  The laminate, "Watershed" leather was perfect right out of the box and continues to be so. You never have to do a thing to it.  No maintenance is required and that's a good thing in my book.

Although it never required a break-in period as with other leather saddles, mine stretched just a little in the first weeks. Tensioning the saddle was simple - using a tensioning screw in the saddles's nose - and since then has required no further adjustment.  It didn't take long to find the saddles "sweet spot" - in my case just a couple degrees down at the nose.  The saddle has kept that setup and has required no further adjustment.  You can count on the saddle being the same as it was last time you rode it.

Recent picture of my Titanico X

My saddle is amazingly durable.  The rails are strong and support my 200+ pounds very well.  It holds up beautifully - after 6 months it looks every bit as good as it did the day I brought it home. Just recently I rode in a cold, shitty rain for 20 miles and left it uncovered for 1/2 hour with no ill effect.  This is a damned tough saddle.

The saddle is extremely comfortable in all riding positions. The cut-out to prevent perineum numbness works well and doesn't cause any discomfort.  It's still comfortable all day long.


So, I'm extremely satisfied with the Titanico X.  It has proven to be all that was promised and more.  It's a saddle I'd recommend to anyone, anytime.

The Bike

After riding the mountain bike for a couple months, two became things became clear.   One was that I needed a better bike than what I had.  A better bike would be ……… better.  I was riding a lot and I was riding hard.   I was riding longer distances at ever-increasing speeds.   The bike I had, simply, wasn’t going to cut it for very much longer. The second thing was that it seemed I had almost no interest in riding in the dirt.  Even when opportunities to play in the dirt would present themselves I stayed to pavement.   A mountain bike wasn’t of much use.   It was clear that a new bike was needed and it wasn’t going to be a mountain bike.

It turned out to be a road bike.  This road bike.

I enlisted the help of a new friend, Glen.  Glen was an experienced bike racer and had forgotten more about bikes than I knew.  Glen was generous with his time and knowledge, answering every question, offering advice on what to look for and what to avoid.  I learned a lot from Glen - derailleurs, brakes, wheels, saddles, tires and frames.  I absorbed as much as I could.  I wanted to be as informed as possible when the time came to buy my next bike.  I wanted it to be the best bike I could afford.

One day Glen emailed me a sale flier that listed a 2011 GT GTR Series 2 road bike.  It had the kind of components I was looking for and the price was right.  I drove down to the shop after work, looked the bike over and took it for a test ride.  Although it had been 40 years since the last time I got on a road bike, I found the GT comfortable, steady and predictable.  I liked it immediately.  After talking it over with the wife, we decided to buy it.  It was Christmas time, and money was a little tight, so we put it on lay-away with the idea of redeeming the bike in mid-February.   Three months.

That was a long three months.  Although the weather around the Holidays wasn't always suited  to riding, every time a nice day came along, I found myself wanting to get on GT and ride it somewhere rather than the POS I had.    I was like a kid waiting for a present he knew he was getting.  It was kinda fun to feel that way, but it was also kind of frustrating.  I still had the old, POS mountain bike to ride and it was, of course, better than nothing, but  it wasn't the bike that was waiting for me.  It wasn't the kind of bike I wanted to be riding.

February finally came.  We finished paying off the layaway, and brought the bike home.  I asked the mechanic to remove the spoke protector from the rear wheel.  This item is also called a "Pie Pan" or "Dork Disc".  It was ugly.  I didn't want it on my bike.  When I got home, I put Mr. Tuffy tape in the tires for better flat protection. I shit-canned the reflectors.  I took the pedals and cyclocomputer off the MTB and mounted them on the GT.

The bike was home and ready to ride.

I took the next day off work and took the GT for a long ride. Twenty five miles.  I was in love.  It was everything the mountain bike was not - light, responsive, fast and easy on the eye.  It was cloudy and cool out, but I didn't really notice.  I saw a few similarly dedicated cyclists on the road.  I nodded, smiled and waved.  I was now a Roadie.  I was one them.  We recognize our own, don't we?  They did not respond in kind.  Then a young lady on a Trek passed me.  Didn't say a word.  I wanted to say something to her about what I nice day for a ride it was, but before I could get a word out, she was gone out of earshot.  But what the hell.  It was nothing personal and this wasn't a race.  There was a long downhill at about the half-way point.  I decided to get down in the "drops" and take this descent like a pro.  Sort of.  Nearing the bottom I shot a glance at the computer: 35 MPH!!!!!!! 

Sonofabitch, that's FUCKING FAST!!!!!!

The rest of the ride was along the South Platte River. I blew through several clouds of Road Krill en route, but being peppered with gnats didn't bother me.  I was now a Roadie and was above such mundane annoyances.  I made it home, tired, but happy and supremely satisfied.  I wheeled the bike into the garage set it up in the stand, got a cup of coffee and sat with my new bike for a while.  Then I grabbed a rag and wiped her down.

I'd done alright.

2011 GT GTR Series 2

Wheels: Mavic Aksium Race
Tires: Kenda Kadence 700 X 23c
Handlebars:  Ritchey
Brakes: Tektonic R540
Front Derailleur: SRAM Apex
Rear Derailleur: SRAM Apex
Brake/Shift Levers: SRAM Apex Double-Tap
Headset:  FSA Orbit 1 Inegrated
Bottom Bracket: FSA Mega Exo
Crank:  SRAM Apex 50/34

Things I Added

Headlight
Tail light
2 bottle cages
Mr. Tuffy tire liners
Pedals from the MTB
Cateye cyclocomputer from the MTB.

Shit-Canned

Rear wheel spoke protector ("Pie Pan" or "Dork Disc")
Reflectors

Things I Changed Later

Tires
Just before the Denver Century, I changed the Kenda 23s to a set of Vittoria Rubino Pro Slick 25s.  My hope was to get a more compliant ride, which I got, but the increased tire diameter changed rollout and in effect raised my overall gear ratios.  I recently switched back to the Kendas.

Cassette
The bike came with a Shimano 12-25 cassette.  After riding with this for several months I decided I needed lower gearing for climbs and opted for the SRAM 1050 12-28 cassette instead.  Good choice.

Chain
The bike came with a Shimano chain.  When I replaced the cassette, I got a new SRAM PC 1031 PowerChain.

Seatpost
I was cursed by two reputable mechanics for the stock seatpost – a Ritchey OEM post.  Ashamed, I replaced the Ritchey with a Deda Elementi  Pro RS01.  Much nicer.

Pedals
Not really a change as the bike came without pedals. At first I used the pedals off the old MTB.  When I decided to step up to clipless pedals I chose the Crank Brothers Eggbeater 1. A friend had a factory rebuilt set with new cleats.  I like walking normally and have vivid memories of the Earth Shoe.

Eggbeaters are easy to clip in/out of and hold the foot securely.  They're a LOT more comfortable than they look.  The colors even match the bike.

Seat
The bike came with the Fi'zi:k Pave CS saddle.  That saddle was fine for about two hours of riding and then became really uncomfortable.  After trying a few others, I settled on the Selle An Atomica Titanico X to replace the Fi'zi:k.  The TX is a leather hammock-style saddle, but required no break in - immediately comfortable.  I also needed more setback on the saddle than other saddles offered and the Titanico has really long mounting rails that worked perfectly for that problem.

Note:  Choice of saddles is probably the most personal thing on road bike.  Some saddles work for some peope and not for others.  My decision to replace the Fi'zi:k is not a reflection on the quality of that saddle.  It wasn't working and for the sake of my butt a change was necessary.