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First, your bike seems to have a poorly designed seatpost or its failing. Buy a new post. I strongly recommend a Thomson. They are expensive but its will be the last post you will buy. I have used mine of a couple of bikes now. Great adjustability, strong, and light.

Second, the falling seatpost may solved by a new seatpost as well. However, make sure the seatpost clamp is torqued to spec. Before doing so, buy some friction paste from your local bike shop (also known as carbon paste). It will help create friction between the seatpost and seatpost tube. Reinsert and torque clamp to spec. Done.

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hmmm…… The chain and rings have 500 miles on them. Maybe its just the picture but I will clean them off and check them further. What is a normal amount of mileage out of a typical ring set?

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The gear side:

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Ok, here are some pictures. Upon further inspection, I don’t think there is anything particularly wrong. I can see about the same amount of the bottom bracket cage on both sides. All the dirt I cleaned away made it look worse than it was. I think thats just how its designed. However I will continue monitor it. I also realized how badly my bike needs to be cleaned

The non gear side

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The bike is new but was purchased from a Blue dealer in Golden, CO (got a steal of a dealer on it) so I am on my own for maintenance short of some type of warranty issue. I was considering the upgrade before but now that the Apex needs some TLC I am considering it more strongly. I can take a picture for you tonight once I get home from work.

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Thanks Dirt,
I was planning to have the cranks installed professionally somewhere (CycleLife or Revolution probably). Not sure what the current problem with the Apex setup is right now but I can see a small amount of threads poking out of the BB shell (maybe the adapters on backing out?). The crankset feels tight and I just did 80 miles on them without problems. However, I know it shouldn’t be like that. I know the gearing will be pretty much the same. I would stay with 48T but they don’t much Force with 48T chainrings.

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Bueller, Bueller…….Bueller

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You could get away with it. I recently brought a fully boxed up full sized brand new bike on the MARC I had shipped to my office. It was a pain but no one gave me problems. That being said, this was a one-time trip in the reverse commute direction so doing it over and over may be a different thing especially on crowded trains in the busiest commuting direction. But it the wheels fit in the overhead I wouldn’t worry about it. Have you seen the size of those of the bags the tourists drag onto the MARC at BWI?

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Hey off2ride,
I am testing a loaner arione thus week. If I like it, we will talk if your seat is still available.

Which model arione is this? K:ium rails?

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@KLizotte 14991 wrote:

You are trying to learn everything at once QuantFail! That’s very difficult to say the least.

You should consider having the LBS install a pair of flat pedals to give you a chance to get fully used to riding the bike first, learn how to shift properly, get used to how it behaves over different surfaces, etc. It will give you a chance to go on some long rides and get your muscles used to the bike too (you may find that you have to try out different saddles and make some minor adjustments to your bike’s setup – you want the bike to fit like a glove). You really want to be comfortable on the bike before you attempt clipless pedals. This period will also give you a chance to get your cycling wardrobe put together. (Yeah, the tights are expensive but if they fit properly they should last at least a decade of heavy use – they are also probably made with windproof material which you will find invaluable. P.S. a good windbreaker is invaluable too). It will also give you a chance to get comfortable riding in traffic, on the multi-use trails, on hills, etc.

Once you feel comfortable on the bike, I would then have straps or toe cages put on the pedals. This will allow you to get used to the feeling of your feet being attached to the pedals but are far easier to get in/out of. You will inevitably have to make some emergency stops while riding around town and these will help you get used to not panicking while attached to the pedals. PowerGrips are good for learning the sideways movement required to disengage clipless since they require the same movement to get out of the straps. They also have the advantage that one side of the pedal can be used as an ordinary flat pedal.

Then when you feel completely comfortable with the straps and/or cages and are desiring more of a connection to the bike, then I’d switch to the clipless set up. By then your feet will be more coordinated, you’ll feel weird *not* having your feet connected to the pedals, managing the bike will be second nature, your muscles will have built up to handle long rides, you’ll have worked out any bike setting kinks (e.g., stem height), etc. This way you’ll only have to concentrate on learning the clipless system and not anything else. There will be a trial and error adjustment period getting the tension right on the clipping in mechanism.

So all in all, my advice is to break the process down into component parts and think of them as a step-by-step process. We don’t want you to fall and break anything! Also, with the warmer weather coming up you’ll probably want to join some group rides and you really need to be able to handle your bike well to ride them safely. Depending on how much time you get in the saddle during this process, I’d say it could all be done in six months or so.

Good luck!

I have to agree with everything here. It just takes a little time to get accustomed to everything. Starting with flat pedals is cheap and reasonable.

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I don’t know that I buy the LBS manager surface area agreement. Sounds like voodoo to me but enjoy your SPD purchase. I’ll stick with my less powerful pedals. Let us know how things go.

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I am a huge fan of Crank Brother’s Egg Beaters. The make abour 4 different levels based on bearing vs bushing and materials (ie weight). Just buy what you can afford. I just bought a new set of Egg Beater 3s and love them.

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I just got a Garmin Edge 200. Its basic but it does everything I want.

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Thanks, I have heard about those. I will give Freshbikes a call to see if they have such a program with fizik since they are a dealer.

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Thanks, still trying to decide if the stock saddle on my Blue Norcross is going to work out. If not, then what? Planning a burger run on the WOD on Saturday so a decision maybe made over the weekend. Looking at Arione and Aliente.

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