raffy

I'll trade you headphones for weed.

Just ordered a 6800 Compact crank in 165mm from Merlin. My chainrings are starting to look worn anyway plus it was only $180 so it's a worthy experiment. Now considering the closeout Stages 7900 PM

Definitely spin more than grind, I'm comfortable spinning 100-105 in a paceline spinning 2-3 gears easier than the grinders. Anything under 90 on the flats feels like I'm stalling out. I'm the kind of guy that'll probably never need anything bigger than 50x12, on our weekday night worlds sprint, I'll touch the 14 most times, 13 on a good day. Confused on whether a shorter crank benefits a spinner or not. Will it make me overspin or will it make me spin more efficient?

Yep, Ultegra Di2 is definitely one of the best values for gruppos out there right now. BTW, Stages 7900 powermeters on sale for $449. Actually something I'm likely to bite the bullet on. Question is, should I go down to 165mm from 170mm? Obviously, I'm gonna buy a matching 165mm crank if I do so but it looks like I can do any flavor of Shimano as long as it's one of the Hollowtech II ones. http://store.stagescycling.com/stages-power-meter---dura-ace-7900-p2.aspx

Sorry for your loss, Al. RIP Quest

Just my opinion Shelly and I'm very averse to committing to buying a house/condo so take it with a grain of salt - in your current situation and coming from a real house downsizing to a smaller place, I would recommend renting to see how you like (or not) living in an apartment or condo. While one can argue that whatever money you pay for rent could've gone to paying down a house, for your peace of mind and convenience especially with what you have gone thru in the last few months is probably more important than anything else right now, hence renting is probably the better choice for managing your stress level. That way you don't have to worry about the what-if's and if you do change you mind, you're only tied in for a year (or whatever your lease term is). Again, just my opinion and this is coming from someone who greatly favors convenience and stress-management over ownership and equity-building.

Yeah, over time I've developed a slight dislike for Campy. I love the look of it but not a fan of thumb shifting, esp. from the drops with my tiny hands. They can do DuraAce for $600 more but it's hard to swallow (not being Colin here) as Record should be more expensive not cheaper and it's even deeper into "I shouldn't buy this right now" territory. The advantage of doing the DuraAce deal is that the deal is not limited to the outgoing 2015 colors, it extends to 2015 colors not being phased out and possibly the new 2016 colors.

Ugh, Glory Cycles is running a "secret" sale on the 2015 Dogma F8. Basically, I can get a complete bike with 2015 Campy Record sans wheels and saddle to drive the price down for just a touch over the price of the frameset. Plus there is no difference between the 2016 and 2015 models aside from the colorways. Still an expensive bike but fairly close to the price of equivalent TOTL DuraAce builds for more common brands such as Spesh, Cannondale, Trek, etc. And the geo works great for me, nobody I know has geo that compares to their "44" which allows me to run a normal sized stem and more drop. With a long local and international vacation in less than a month, I cannot responsibly swing it. Oh well. Link to gallery for pics to one of the two colorways available in my size: https://www.flickr.com/photos/glorycycles/sets/72157649191376897

Jeff, I'll trade you my GTI, my beer collection, 1/4 bottle of Pappy 20, Rolex Explorer II and a little cash for your S4 )

Not to push you but you'll regret not eating the $85 if you decide to remove them in the future and they're already burnt in from the heat and the underneath paint is slightly darker because of lack of exposure to the sun/elements

I would personally remove them before they are baked in but I'm not one for historical sentiment so take that with a grain of salt. At least those decals are significantly smaller than the ones they put on some 911s - those can go too. I don't a flying fuck what kind of historical/retro reference they have, them decals make my favorite car kinda ugly.

Sweet Jeff! Love the blue!

Happy Birthday Ben!

Apparently that is the case! People nowadays.....sometimes I feel I'd rather err on the side of coldness/cuntiness than compassion (Snark was aimed at ex-roomie not you, Nate )

Perhaps if you go the other way just as fast, you can return them to 1x curliness?

Happy Birthday Brent!

Missed this one, happy belated!

Thanks everyone, just had a BBQ lunch and beers with the family and more to come this weekend!

RIP BB King

I am watching both too. The Giro is thru BEIN Sports and I don't mind the commentators on that one. I am not a commentary Nazi though so these may be the same 2 Brits people dislike. Did anyone read about that fucktard shithead hipster who tried to ride with the peloton in stage 2 and caused that big crash. I think it is time to set up hipster concentration camps for the good of humanity

Happy Birthday Ari!

Happy Birthday Shelly!

Don't get me stated on headwinds. John and Mike will attest to this but nothing brings out cunty doucheface Raffy quicker than headwinds. Well, next to beerdouches that is. I've said this a million times before, I'd rather ride in 110 or 35 degrees than into 15 mph headwinds. And no, don't tell me that I get tailwinds at some point because I don't give a shit about that.

Happy Birthday Ryan!

Great pic Al, glad your dad's looking strong!