At Last I've Got Her

Here she is. My new Specialized Dolce Elite. Rode her home and what a difference. She flies:D

Only thing I'm not too keen on is the clips. Methinks I'll be going clipless very soon, in fact, sooner than soon.

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y22...e/PICT0092.jpg

The front derailleur doesn't seem to be shifting as it should (maybe I'm not used to the bike yet) so will see how it goes over the weekend. LBS is closed on a Monday so if it still doesn't feel right I'll take her back on Tuesday for them to adjust. LBS is within 5 minutes of where I work so I could put her there and collect her after work. Apart from that, she feels great:D

Very nice!! I love the color!!

me too! congrats on a nice looking bike. happy trails to you!

Hot stuff! Nice paint job. Go clipless--I did last year, after riding for years with toeclips, and I've never looked back.

Wishing you many happy miles together!

One thing I find totally different is I have suicide bars on my Raleigh (it's OK they're Weinnman (sp) and work perfectly) my new bike doesn't so it feels a bit alien at the moment.

LBS threw in a free wireless computer:D Very nice of them:D

Also put on a bottle and cage and treated myself to a new pair of gloves (both with good discounts).

Can't be bad:D :D :D

One thing I am going to do is move the seat slightly forward.

Ooh! I'm like a kid with a new toy:D

P.S. My son took one look at my bike and christened it...Tallulah!!!

Beautiful!

Nice bike! Enjoy!

If your front derailleur just seems hard to shift, try asking them to lube the cable so it shifts more easily- I suffered for months with my new bike not knowing that a bit of easy lubing on the cable inside was all it needed to shift like butter- they just hadn't bothered doing that to begin with. Made a HUGE difference. Worth a try if that's what the issue is. :)

Good idea Lisa. It just seems that I have to push the shift for the front derailleur much further than the one for the rear, almost as if it has too much travel compared to the rear shift. Could be just me not being used to the bike, but it's something I'll be keeping an eye on.

suicide bars?

I'm so glad you finally got your bike. I had trouble with the throw on the front ring too, finally ended up getting a bar end shifter on that side. I hope you don't have to do that, the levers are so much more comfortable.

Have many wonderful trails on your beautiful bike.

Don't forget, the chain has a lot further to go when you change at the front than when you change at the back, so it should feel different.

It's probably me not being used to her yet. At the moment she's still sitting in my living room propped up against the sofa. Hubby's relegated to the armchair. It's pouring rain outside and I don't want to get her wet:p

'splain me the suicide bars, Lucy!

Suicide bars are the extra brake levers that go along the front of the handlebars so if you're on the top of the bars you can pull the brakes on with the suicide bars - so called because some of them are notorious for failing. Weinnman brakes provided they are adjusted properly are OK.

Ohhhh, those. I was unfamiliar with the terminology :D

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Originally Posted by Python

Good idea Lisa. It just seems that I have to push the shift for the front derailleur much further than the one for the rear, almost as if it has too much travel compared to the rear shift. Could be just me not being used to the bike, but it's something I'll be keeping an eye on.

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This is usual, I think. It took me a long time to get comfortable shifting through my front chainrings for this reason too. You just have to get used to it (I'm comfortable with it now). I have to give mine a big hard shove to upshift, and a much shorter click to downshift.

Pretty new bike! Congratulations :)!

What a Beautiful bike..enjoy and hope you get your shifting worked out..

Python! How exciting!

Congrats on the pretty addition to your life... wishing you many many many hours of pleasure and fun

:D

I've got my beady eye on a Trek Madone as well at the moment;)

Said to hubby today we might have to get rid of our wooden shed (well it's seen better days) and get a proper bike house. He said, looking hang-dog "I thought you might say something like that". He knows me:p

Meanwhile the Dolce is still decorating my living room...:cool:

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Originally Posted by liza

This is usual, I think. It took me a long time to get comfortable shifting through my front chainrings for this reason too. You just have to get used to it (I'm comfortable with it now). I have to give mine a big hard shove to upshift, and a much shorter click to downshift.

Pretty new bike! Congratulations :)!

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I never could quite get the throw for the front derailleur. I got a bar end shifter put on instead. I like the friction shifter, I can 'cheat" and fine tune it easily.

Beautiful Bike! Congratulations!
:D :D :D :D :D

How long did it take for you to get her?
You know you appreciate something more if you work for it and you worked for it!

I think it was back in March that I first saw and fell in love with her. She's definitely been worth waiting for. Took her to work today and was amazed at the smoothness compared to my Raleigh. I moved the seat forward a bit at the weekend and I feel I'm sitting more comfortably now. The seat has been left on the low side (I've got short legs) at my request but I think I will probably move it up by an inch or two once I get more used to the bike - in a couple of days.

Definitely don't like the clips and straps on the pedals - they're a pain in the neck. I've only been using the right one. The left one I've not been bothering with as it keeps going upside down. More hassle than it's worth. Not sure what type of clipless pedals I should go for - SPDs or what.

Recommendations please girls (got to be something that's easy to clip in and out of).

What a difference going up hills. On the steepest part of the hill (on the way home is all uphill) normally with my other bike I can go 7.5 mph max, usually it's around 6.5 - 6.9 mph. I went shooting up the steep part of the hill today at 9.1 mph. I only used the second chain ring. Going to have a play later on with changing the front derailleur to get the feel for it. Just so happens we have new neighbours - and she's a keen cyclist:D At last I've got someone to cycle with. She's coming round when she finishes work and we're going to have a tour of the cycle paths - once we fix her bike - it's lost a pedal. There's a couple of pedals going spare on my son's old mountain bike so we'll put them on.

Yeeha!!! I can feel FUN coming up:D

hi-- i just started out too-- had clipless put on right away as advised by LBS lady-- they are easy to get in and out of shimano A-520 road pedals - SPD fitting-- they set the pedals on max looseness and they are so easy to get out of - just rotate heel outwards and i am popped out - no worries--

so glad i went straight into clipless - all the power is transferred right to the pedals-- they are a dream. so i recommend the shimano A520 as a beginner - they have been great for me anyways--

batsheva

I have clips on my Giant OCR3. It just took me a couple of "falls" to get used to them:confused:

I found out that you can get them adjusted so you can get out of them very easily. I never had a problem again. Couldn't bike without them.

I have to ask: I tried a beautiful Dolce last weekend just for fun and I thought it was awful. Do some of you own one. I was really interested in that one, but after trying it, changed my mind. The LBS didn't adjusted anything on it, I just tried it as is. The breaks, shifters and handling was awful. Let me know after a few days of riding if it's a comfortable bike.

My new bike is the Dolce Elite and I like her. The gear shift (back derailleur) is an absolute dream. Just click up and down as required. The brakes are good too. Just gentle pressure. They're not like my old bike's brakes which you had to use quite a bit of pressure with - as is common with older bikes. Handling is different to my other bike but I've only had my bike since Saturday and already I'm getting used to the handling. I find it very precise. To start with I found I was swinging corners wide but now I'm taking them better than with my old bike.

Could be that the bike you tried didn't fit you. That would throw your balance off and make the bike difficult to handle. You need a bike that fits you. The other more experienced ladies on the forum will correct me if I'm wrong on this as I'm still a relative novice to cycling.

For my own Dolce Elite, I think I'm going to have a long and happy, fun-filled relationship with her:D

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Originally Posted by Python

Recommendations please girls (got to be something that's easy to clip in and out of).

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SpeedplayFrogsSpeedplayFrogsSpeedplayFrogs
:D:D:D

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Originally Posted by zencentury

SpeedplayFrogsSpeedplayFrogsSpeedplayFrogs
:D:D:D

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Rivit Rivit