Back in the saddle

[velo]

TE right here has great sales and apparel. $20 shorts will not serve you well, however. Get the best that you can. Remember, your body meets the bike in only three places: feet, hands, butt. Best take care of those parts or you might be miserable.

I'll have to look at the sales. Thank you!

I agree about getting good shorts. I do have an excellent pair of bibs from long ago that are in good condition and fit me snug, but well enough that I'm not saddle sore. I just want a second pair as backup if I don't get around to hand-washing and hanging my good pair in time for the next ride.

I did get my new pedals (Shimano Ultegra Carbon) on and at first did not like them *at all*. I was used to metal cleats into metal pedals and didn't like the plastic cleats going into carbon pedals. I toyed with cleat position and pedal tension for over an hour and finally got a combo that I felt comfortable with. I rode 18.5 mi. this morning and they felt good. No discomfort. I had to get home to get the kiddo to a lesson, or I would have ridden more. At least first impression was positive for the new pedals and shoes.

Thanks again to all for tips and ideas!

[velo]

BTW, you are quite obviously not a new rider

I know, I know...

Thank you for saying that, Muirenn. I sure do feel new. (Well, actually I feel old. )

I finally took my Klein down to the LBS to have them look it over. I'm having them do a tune-up and then I have something going on with my rear hub. It may need new bearings. The bike is in good shape overall, though, and doesn't need much more than the basic tune-up. The services manager and I were talking and he asked me about the bike. I told him that it was the 49cm frame, but was a custom build. He said, "We don't get many bikes through here like this one. Rarely with Campy components. I'm going to work on this one myself." It was nice to talk "bike" again" and it's nice to know that the head services guy will be doing the repair, etc.

So, I'll get my Klein back on Friday and am riding my old steel Lemond Alpe d'Huez for now.

A quick question. I bought new SPD-SLs and new shoes (Bontrager) week before last. I have always used SPD systems (both road and mountain) and never had a problem with them. I took the pedals off of my Klein at the bike shop and put them on my Lemond - this morning I rode for the first time with them on my Lemond. My feet were slightly aching at the end of 21 miles. Nothing bad, but enough there to make me take note. I'm assuming it's because I'm riding the Lemond (which is not a perfect fit for me, as the Klein is). I rode over 100 miles in them over the course of last week and they were fine. My area is quite flat. I'm not hammering up hills and I like to ride at a fairly normal spinning cadence on flats (90rpm or there abouts). I'm thinking "bike" and not "shoe/cleat/pedal" as being the culprit. Would this make sense? I will ride again tomorrow... about 20 - 25 again, but I'm wondering if I need to think about adjustments or if I should just leave things for the few days I'm without my Klein. TIA for any advice on that!

[velo]

Campy with a custom frame is my dream-bike. Not ready yet to drop the $$$, but I'd love to drool over yours if you post a picture. That's a 'forever' bike. The LeMond sounds sweet too.

I do use SPD-SL's, but when I changed shoes last year, I had a horrible time with the cleats until I found a very good fitter (who spent 3 hours adjusting just them ). So, I'm not the best person to ask. That might actually deserve it's own post.

The frame's not custom (I wish!). We started with the factory 49cm frame and the rest of the build was custom with Campy Chorus drive train, shifters, etc. with Zipp rims. If I can figure out how to post a picture, I'll post one when I get the bike back.

Thanks for the suggestion to post separately about the pedals. I forgot that there are areas here other than "newbie". I've been reading a lot here.

[velo]

I got my bike back from the LBS today. I can't wait to take it out tomorrow all tuned-up. It has a better saddle than my Lemond and my tushie will welcome the change.

I did get a pic of it and I think I got it attached to this post. I guess we'll see. It appears green in the picture, but the paint job is actually with chameleon paint, and it usually looks purple, especially in natural light. It depends on the angle from which you are looking. I couldn't get the picture to take with it purple (which I think is the prettier color), but maybe my hubby can, as he's the photographer in the family.

[Owlie]

Very pretty bike!