I met Miss Understanding

(The title is a song reference from all-time favorite musician, Jason Falkner.)

   When discussing bicycle sizes I have often explained to people that I feel comfortable on bikes anywhere in the 53-57 centimeter range. Because I am rather long in the torso, I can make a low saddle adjustment and use the longer frames to my reach advantage. With a higher saddle adjustment and a longer stem, the smaller frames can also feel very comfortable.

   I was under the impression that my Pinarello (photo left) had a 55 cm frame, as that was the measurement given by the person who sold it to me. I had no reason to think differently, as it appeared to be of similar size to others in my collection and is the most comfortable to ride of the bunch. However, when someone inquired about the dimensions of the white FP2 frame I was selling, I found myself consulting an online Pinarello geometry chart and discovered I had been deceived.

   The complication arises from the fact that many modern frames have a sloped top tube, which renders the traditional seat tube measurement useless. A more accurate method of measurement would be to provide what I like to call “A-line” length. Looking at the diagram below, the “A-line” would be an imaginary line drawn from the center of the top tube/head tube junction, parallel to the ground where it would intersect the center of an extended seat tube – a representation of the location of a traditional top tube.

   By looking at the Pinarello geometry chart and taking some measurements, I confirmed that my FP2 is, in fact, a 53 cm! I then began to consider my other bicycles, and if there were any changes I would want to make to more closely duplicate the comfort level of the Pinarello. The Colnago (56 cm) has always been a dream bike of mine and has wonderful proportions, so it is a definite “keeper”, although I am now considering a shorter stem to relax the reach a bit. My Bianchi ‘cross bike is also a 56 and has upright bars, so it has no comfort issues to speak of.

   I had been working on so many red bicycles lately, I had considered throwing a bit more color into my collection and ditching the Saeco-Cannondale replica bicycle (photo right). I didn’t like its proportions as much as my other bikes, and it had quite an inferior component group, although I pointed out to my wife that I had tuned up its drive train so well that it ran quieter than any of rest of my bikes! The low-end components had made the bike very affordable at the time of purchase.

   Turns out the Cannondale should have been even more affordable, had I again not received incorrect information from the seller.

   Back when I bought this bike, it was listed as a R2000 Si, and I had no reason to believe otherwise, as the picture of the bike looked exactly the same as others I found on sites like BicycleBlueBook and BikePedia. Some of the components were different, but offering a frame with lower level parts isn’t an unusual practice for bike shops attempting to sell at a lower price point.

   When I eventually decided to sell this Cannondale, I met a gentleman who was VERY thorough – in fact, he took about a half hour to look it over, tweak things and take a little test spin around a nearby parking lot. He was struggling with the decision and told me his wife was going to inspect the bike just as closely when he got home. After much deliberation, he agreed to my asking price, and I figured that he was satisfied with everything.

   I really shouldn’t have been surprised when I received a call from him a couple of days later. His wife was getting on his case about the money he had spent, and he started a little investigating. It turns out that Cannondale made an R700 - an identical bicycle of a bit lower quality, which turned out to be the actual model of the one I sold. Ignoring the fact that I had made some upgrades, he was claiming I made some misrepresentation of the bike for sale. I told him that I had never seen anything about the R700, but agreed, after looking closely at the specs, that he was totally correct in its identification!

   I definitely didn’t want him to think that I deliberately listed the wrong model bike, and I wanted him to be happy with his purchase. I really want customers to spread a good word about doing business with me, so I quickly agreed to send him a partial refund for the difference in value between the two bicycles.

   This all leads up to the purchase of my like new 2013 CAAD10 bicycle. I briefly considered a carbon fiber Cannondale, but I already have a carbon bike that I love, so I thought a better move would be a purchase of the latest in aluminum frames (although Cannondale just came out with the CAAD12, for some reason skipping the number 11). This time I would purchase a 54 cm to more closely match the fit of the FP2.

   I had initially bought a 2012 CAAD10 in Cannondale team colors with Shimano 105 components via eBay, but the (honest) seller contacted me the next day to let me know he had discovered a dent under the top tube during packaging. Since he had listed it “like new”, he felt he should check before shipping to make sure that I still wanted to go through with the purchase. With my recent run of bad luck, I really wanted no part in buying a damaged bicycle, so I requested the refund.

   This turned out to be a really fortuitous event, since I had seen on craigslist a newer version of the bike with a bit more splash of color. I had actually made an offer on this bike a week before the eBay purchase and had been turned down, with the seller citing some other buyer. This transaction must have fallen through, and the seller was more willing to go with my price the second time around.

   I did want to swap out a compact crankset and found a very lightly used version that matched the existing components, and the one that came on the bike had seen less than 200 miles (according to the seller), so it should be an attractive re-sell item! The parts came Thursday, so I was able to take the bike out for a test ride on Friday afternoon.

   I didn’t have a particularly good riding experience, feeling a bit fatigued when I finished. By my regular standards, I hadn’t gone on a very long route, but something just didn’t feel right - I wasn’t sure if further adjustments needed to be made or if the general ride quality was poor. I did have a bad night of sleep the night before and wondered if that was also part of the equation.

   We had an unbelievably warm December day on Sunday, so I chose the Pinarello for a long ride (in shorts and short-sleeves!), but I definitely wanted to get back to the Cannondale for my ride today. I made sure to be more attentive to all aspects of the experience this time around.

   I was amazed at first to find that the two bikes were very similar in weight – had it not been for the carbon components and wheelset on the FP2, I probably wouldn’t be able to tell the difference lifting each up with my eyes closed! I decided to take the CAAD10 out on a hilly route today, and the stiff aluminum frame really shone on such terrain. There is absolutely no flex when standing on the pedals – perfect power transfer!

   However, I do think the CAAD10 feels a bit harsh on the not-so-smooth PA roads. Although I am used to the plusher feel of cork bar tape and a slightly bigger diameter bar tubing on some of my other bikes, I don’t think the problem is up front. The bike has a carbon fork to absorb vibration, and I didn’t feel changing up hand positions was any more necessary than usual.

   The technology has improved enough in manufacturing the aluminum alloy, that the extremely over-sized diameter downtube that was once a trademark of the Cannondale design is no longer necessary. This change definitely results in weight reduction, but I’m not sure some vibration dampening wasn’t eliminated at the same time. The rear stays are also spindlier, and they lack the bowed-in shape (photo left) of earlier Cannondales, which I’m sure had provided a bit of flex over bumps.

  

   Maybe I’ve been spoiled overall by the ride quality of my bikes through the years, but it might take a bit of time to get used to this Cannondale. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Over the River and Through the Woods

   Although the autumn weather has been a bit erratic, with rainy days coming in bunches and some blustery days mixed in, the temperatures have been reasonable enough that I’ve been staying in some semblance of cycling shape. It does take a bit longer to shake out the rust, but after a half hour or so I start to recall a bit of the form I was in around mid-September.

   I’m not fooling myself into thinking I could rip off a metric century, but anything around the 30 mile mark still feels pretty good. On some of the windier days I’ve turned to my ‘cross bike so that I could take advantage of some of the cover provided by the forests and rock cuts featured around the area rail trails.

   I received a surprise call from a friend returning earlier than expected from his Thanksgiving travels, and he suggested we get together for a ride Sunday afternoon. Scott was eager to put a new Cannondale through a test ride, so I created a kind of all-star route of some of my favorite circuits over the hilly topography around northern Chester County.

   Scott is about 20 years younger than me and is in very good shape, but I put in considerably more miles on a regular basis. He also is a couple inches taller with a more powerful build, so I had a bit of concern how he would handle my pace on this rolling terrain. I told him there were several places we could bail if it turned out too long, or we could simply back off the tempo if needed.

   The day was a bit overcast, but the scenery through the hills and across the farmlands in the region is always beautiful, as Scott pointed out several times, since it wasn’t an area he frequented. He insisted that I send along my MapMyRide details of the route, in case he would want try it out on his own.

   I don’t generally like to lead on rides for the duration, since I feel responsible to hold a pace with no rest, but since I was the one with (mental) directions, I really had no choice. It can also be a bit of a drag to check the location of rider(s) behind you. I was glad to find that he was right with me on all but the really tough sections, although Scott admitted at one point that he needed more hill work.

   The funny thing was that my young friend was a bit gun-shy about the downhills. I felt bad at one point when I turned around to find he was a few hundred yards behind. At least in this case, a fairly short brake application had him catching up easily. I told him that I was too used to following my crazy wife, who bombs down slopes at over 40 miles per hour. I think the image of me nervously following her down a steep descent eased any embarrassment he might have had.

   As we were nearing our return to Scott’s apartment and the bit of low sunlight that was filtering through the clouds began to fade, the temperature dropped noticeably. We both expressed a wise choice of full-fingered gloves, and I was glad to have slipped on some shoe covers to keep the chill from getting through the vented soles. Although we would have much preferred weather for shorts and short sleeves, we noted how it was nice to have such a great workout and not be sweating profusely afterwards!

   During the winter months I will be taking a break from my regular writing pace and will probably be checking in every other week or so. Things tend to slow down in the shop, and I’m determined to sell off a number of the bicycles I currently have in stock before starting any new projects. I did pick up the Monteverde frame from Bruce last week – it looks wonderful. However, the paint has to cure for about a month before applying the VeloCals in order to prevent bubbles from forming underneath the decals due to outgassing.

   I was waiting for the arrival of a few small parts before I could complete the Pinarello Prince, but I was able to put the finishing touches on that project a couple of days ago. I’ll leave you with a few photos of yet another bicycle waiting to find a new home…