how do you rate babbys first road bike? 700 bucks for this used, with a powertap g3 and ultegra di2. its a specialized sl4 tarmac pro mid-compact. holy BASED!
That's amazing for a first road bike. Congrats. Not a knock on this bike, but it's clearly from that period of time where seemingly all bikes had red/black/white colorways. I'm glad we're past that.
>>2010188Jfc that's a stealOld boomer? Dentist?
>>2010190thanks fren, its lots of fun. personally i like the colors, too many matte black bikes now.>>2010191yuppie guy in the city, proably late genx or early millennial. he was very frenly. i got computer programmer vibes from him but idk.
are those fucking schrader adapters
>>2010194no theyre valve caps. i took them off, i was told you dont need them
>>2010188That's a serious bike and serious deal. I bet it's fun.
>>2010197thanks fren, its the most fun sport ive ever done. and ive already got my first fall out of the way (forgot i was clipped in and fell at 0mph kek)
>>2010198everyone has done that lol >>2010188i'd sit down in the sun one day and desticker that front wheel so it's a bit less obvious they're mismatched.
>>2010188Not bad, but the PowerTap hub is next to useless now, since SRAM bought out PowerTap and killed off the product line completely. Not even sure if they'll service them anymore. You might want to consider upgrading to a crank-based power meter, or pedal-based, among other things you can then use any wheelset you like and still have power readings.Di2 is okay so long as you don't need to replace any of the components, they're hideously expensive compared to mechanical.I've been training and racing since 2009 so I can appreciate a road race machine like this, but many 4channers are either anti-racing, or they're poor and jealous, and will give you endless shit for displaying a bike like this.
>>2010188Oh and also that has a press-fit bottom bracket, at some point you might want to consider upgrading to a Wheels Manufacturing threaded bottom bracket shell to replace that, no squeaking, and the bearings can be pulled out and new ones pressed in easily, plus you can get angular contact type bearings which are better.
>>2010195You should leave the valve caps on. Just like how one little rock can puncture your sidewalls and wreck your tires, one little rock can knock into your valve stems and break the valve. I've seen it happen. The valve caps don't weigh anything, just leave them on.
>>2010201not a bad idea>>2010202i know its old but the powertap pairs with my garmin 530 and gives me live data so im rolling with it for now. dont fix whats not broken and all that. for now i plan on riding it into the ground fren.>4channers are either anti-racing, or they're poor and jealousI posted it on pol and the seething was epic. wagie cagies are unhinged. people around here are frenly though. what sort of races do you do?
>>2010204people damage presta valves all the time by putting the pump head on or off at an angle, and yet you think a -rock- broke one? lol
Do I need new tires? So far all I've done is clean and lubricate the chain, and put new brake pads on. Anything else I should do besides maybe new tires?
>>2010203>Wheels Manufacturing threaded bottom bracket shellcan i do that with my powertap in the rear axle?
>>2010208No, they are just old. You can use super glue to fill the large cracks, oh and when the rear is worn swap the old front to the rear so you wear the old tires out faster.
>>2010210i cant do that unless i take the tire off the wheel, my powertap axle has to be in the rear to work. should i get continental gp 5000 when i need new ones? ill just keep riding the bontrager r3's until theyre worn out. i wanna do 100 miles in around 5 hours before i upgrade anything very big.
>>2010211gp 5000's are some of the best tires right now, so yeah once they are worn out look at those. If you start getting flats frequently or see the casing threads they are toast.
>>2010212what kind of crank based or pedal based power meter would you recommend for my bike? not looking to upgrade but curious whats out there
>>2010215Don't know tbqh. I would look at like what >>2010202said and look at the pros and cons of both crank and pedal power meters.I am a no bike computer guy rn.
>>2010217oh i thought you might be him. thanks anyway fren
>>20101887/10 anon. Not a fan of this paintjob and general design but the parts and the frame are an absolute steal for that price. I generally wouldnt buy second hand carbon sleds but im a bit paranoid tho.Do you have shoes and your kit already?
>>2010254yep, MIPS limar helmet, fingerless gloves, couple lyrca padded shorts, 4 jerseys. and shimano shoes with spd-sl cleats. im all geared up fren
>>2010255Good to know fren. You know that our kind triggers cagies the most?Be safe out there, the fat positivity movement is actively trying to kill us out there. They could do anything if they get 2 minutes late to their daily MC'ds appointment.
>>2010255remember to wear glasses, eyes are fragile
>>2010263topkek, people in cities are unhinged. inconvenience them by 20 seconds and they get hysterical. i havent ridden my bike on the street yet, im gonna get a garmin varia first, and a good bike lock. theres a nice paved trail in my city for bikers only so ive been going there>>2010277i want some racing goggles kino, but ill settle for a fignon special
>>2010204I mean, people get stuck by lightning all the time, too
I undermine your power when I ride my bicycle
>>2010206>for now i plan on riding it into the ground frenOkay, but you should check the wheel bearings on that from time to time, they wear out fairly quckly compared to a normal hub, and you can't replace them yourself, it has to be done by the manufacturer, and as I said SRAM may not be offering servicing of those anymore. Trying to do it yourself would result in wildly inaccurate power readings. I've owned several of these hubs, and training and racing on a regular schedule, I'd have to send the wheel in to have the bearings replaced about every 2 years.>what sort of races do you do?Road races and crits, with a few ITTs thrown in, but I suck at TTs so I rarely bother.>>2010207FFS both valve caps weigh maybe a couple grams total and suddenly it's a big issue?Yes, I've seen them get randomly damaged. I don't understand what the controversy is over this, just leave the damn things on, better safe than sorry.>>2010209>can i do that with my powertap in the rear axle?You understand that the bottom bracket refers to the bearings the cranks are installed into, right? Your bottom bracket doesn't interfere with the rear hub at all.I'm just pointing out that you could upgrade to that and avoid the annoying little problems that you get with pressfit BB's.>>2010208Look for whatever wear indicators are present on those tires, and replace them if they're too worn. Rear tires will wear out faster and will get a flat spot in the middle. Tires can also get dried out over time and start getting these little cracks all through them, especially the sidewalls. When they get that old you're better off replacing them.>>2010211Umm.. he's talking about swapping the *tires*, not the entire *wheels*, and you can't do that anyway.You don't want to swap tires front-to-rear like that anyway. Rear tires wear differently than front tires and it'll affect your handling significantly. If they're getting worn just replace them.
>>2010333Why is this such a big issue? Just leave the fucking things on, they weigh nothing and interfere with nothing.
>>2010374>Yes, I've seen them get randomly damaged [by a rock while spinning] uh huh so you're some kind of god then ? no dude you falsely ascribed damage caused by poor pumping technique (incredibly common) to a rock (practically impossible) If it was real you'd see pro riders with valve caps (you don't). The reason presta valve caps exist is to protect the tube from the valve when it's not installed. The reason it's bad is because it's parallel to another noob habit of not inflating tires often enough (with road tires, every ride).
>>2010188Welcome to the Ubermensh anon. Now live up to the expectations.
>>2010406those are big shoes to fill fren. ill do my best sir