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Only $10 for all 2026 SX, MX, and SMX series.
Edit: See you live in MI and snow outside. Switch to a trainer tire. Will work wonders.
You want a stiff/firm frame. Nothing worse when you try to push and the frame and wheels flex. The ride gets a little more bumpy but it's absolutely worth it. Never tried a ti-frame myself. They're not that common. We do have a Litespeed dealer in town, been thinking about getting one for a testride but am afraid Im going to want one too much. A brand new Litespeed T1 goes for about $4000 and that's JUST the frame.
I switched to cycling myself a couple of years ago because of bad knees. It works for me and my father. Try not to push it too much in higher gears in the beginning. Trial and error what your knee can take.
The Shop
Luxon 4-Post Bar Mounts
$189.95 - $239.95
DeCal Works Huge Plastic Inventory of UFO and Polisport kits.
I'm in the same boat as you in terms of wanting too much, but still wanted to get something I would be happy with in 8 months instead of constantly wanting to upgrade. I think I found it, I just need to get some goofy spandex and ride around with a bunch of weird dudes also in spandex
Having fun on a road bike is all about comfort. Finding a seat that makes your ass happy is the trickiest yet most important thing to do.
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The deal with cycling compared to mx is in mx there's an ending to trick parts. You get a long way with a good setup suspension and an exhaust. In cycling that gets you a rear wheel. As I said. It's a sea of parts. Find out what you need and stick with it. I think you're more than good enough with what you've got for a while. Personally I would by a set of SPD pedals and shoes. No hurry with that though. Service on a bike costs nothing. You have a good gear setup and great wheels. Find a comfortable seat and riding position and you can ride for years.
And I'm learning quickly about the trick parts, these guys are more anal about their rides than we are.... And that's saying a lot!!
+1 on the trainer tire. I have a Vittoria trainer tire that just hit 3K miles. I like it better than the continental one I had previously.
Cycling is the perfect sport if you like to geek out on details and data.
had a ti merlin then onto carbon specialized. yes the carbon is better on bumps,but ti is fine.
they make a "trainer" tire .if you want to save your rear road tire from fast wear.
if you want a better ride,replace seatpost with a carbon one.good to go.
One of the best things about them is that they will never rust and you can throw them down the road and unlike a carbon frame, they will not break up.
I would echo the other comment on the tire: get a cheapo made for a trainer to use on it.
Pit Row
When you ride your bike in the trainer it helps to put a piece of wood under the front wheel. Since the trainer lifts the rear wheel up you get the feeling of always sitting in a downhill (don't adjust anything according to that). And I find it also kind of hard to ride in an attack position on the trainer and you end up in upright position. If you do, bend your elbows or your shoulders will be in pain.
Nice set up brw I think you are good to go
He really knows his stuff.
Sweet bike
cadence or RPM at the crank is way more important than road speed. Some guys might think im crazy, but for me what works is the tall chain ring and from the largest to forth down rear cog and I rarely get out of that range of gears.
on the trainer I would set a time goal like 30 minute at a normal easy break a sweat pace, after that gets easy do some simple intervals such as 5 minutes easy spin to 1 minute of out of saddle sprint in a taller (harder) gear and do that for the 30 minutes
keep it simple and experiment and you will get that hang of what will work for you... oh yeah get some good riding bib shorts not 30 dollar cheapies or your ass will hate you for it!
workout plus you get to work on your line selection at the same time. It's also a lot of fun. I added road bikes to the mix
years later and got caught up in the light weight craze. I'm embarrassed to say that my road and mountain bikes cost more
than my new MXers.
I used to trade up every couple of years, but I stopped that in 2008 with my last Trek Madone. It doesn't have the latest
electronic shifters, internal cable routing and all that, but it's good enough for me:
Some "pearls" of knowledge I can pass on, just like anything else, invest in a good helmet. We have had more than one
member of our cycling club wake up in the hospital after being on solo rides - no memory of what happened, but their
helmets all had impact damage. In other words, they probably wouldn't have survived without those helmets. Another thing,
I recommend you practice clipping in and out of your pedals with someone holding you and your bike up before going on the
road The action is not intuitive at first and there is nothing more embarrassing than falling over because you couldn't get
your feet down. I see from the picture you already have a "hills" cassette on the back, you will really appreciate that,
especially if you only have a double chain ring up front. Like has been mentioned, a good fitting is important. Once you start
riding centuries and multi day events, you will really appreciate a bike that doesn't cause more harm than good. Finally, invest
wisely in that "funny looking' spandex, especially the shorts. A good pair of shorts and "chamois" is all that's between you and
no fun.
dogger
Post a reply to: Picked up some Ti trickness today!