I am going to pick up the SystemSix on Tuesday.
I am also going to take pictures of Ms. Rosie sometime before that, since I said I would. Those will be the "before" pictures for my next bike project, in which I will be changing out the wheels and adding fenders, fatter tires, and hopefully some cute panniers to my little workhorse. The more I ride the Salsa, the more I am sure that this is where she will really shine.
Because as a race training bike? She sucks. :) Oh, I can go reasonably fast, but between the compact crankset, the relaxed geometry, and the added weight (compared to my Orca)...it's crazy hard for me to hang in a paceline over 20 mph. Also, I'm having some issues with the horizontal dropouts. Namely, that I cannot seem to get the rear skewer to tighten enough to keep the wheel from tipping and rubbing the chainstay when I put any kind of torque on the bike. I can roll easy all day long with no problems; but if I want to sprint, or climb, or do anything else that requires pedaling while standing...I'm asking for trouble. I even traded out the skewer for a beefier steel one that came with a stationary trainer, and it still got all sideways on me Sunday* when we were out doing hill training. Which, by the way, this just in--I pretty much suck at all around, no matter what bike I'm on. It was so not a good day.
So anyway, between the problems with training on the Salsa and my general impatience, I decided to just suck it up and write a huge check on Tuesday. I'm anxious to see how different the new bike feels post-Salsa, and whether I'll actually perform any better on it. The first real ride will be Tuesday night hammerfest, so what better way to find out?
*prompting a David Millar-esque moment in a ditch off of FM 1374...not one of my finest. But there was only one witness, and I did feel better afterward. Whether it was the bike throwing or the sitting in the ditch and having a good cry that eased the mood, it's hard to say. :)
Posted by Joy at August 7, 2008 01:03 PM