parris

^ COOL Congrats Vicki!

I've been on the Calfee site but haven't found the geometry charts. Where on the site are they listed?

Vicki Vicki Vicki... Don't be afraid to beat the heck out of the Kirk when you get it as they're built to take it . I've actually put a few chips in the paint of mine due to some of the roads I've ridden down. Also the thought's I've seen for the Gunnar seem to make a lot of sense so having the Kirk built as a go fast road bike is good. My JKS is built for road racing although I haven't raced in many years and at that it's still better behaved than any of my other bikes that I've had.

Given what you've just typed the numbers on the Calfee don't look bad. You "may" need or want a slightly shorter stem but things don't look out of left field with it. What you said about moving to the back of the saddle is what a lot of cyclists do when they're pushing a largish gear or climbing seated and is completely normal. Just curious do you know where your fitter has your knee set up in relation to the pedal spindle? he/she would've dropped a plumb bob from your knee and set saddle fore/aft so the string would fall within a certain range. It's cool stuff

Hey Vicki I was typing and just saw your post re seat tube angle. 73.5 is a nicer number than 75 as far as fit and such. you may be closer than you think fit wise between the 2 bikes. After all these years I still get jazzed with this stuff

In looking at the numbers the Calfee "should" feel and handle sportier. Not twitchy like a crit bike but easier for when you want to change your line and such. The higher b.b. number, slightly steeper heat tube angle, and the shorter chain stays will act in concert for this. You don't want to move the saddle forward to compensate for the longer top tube and stem combination. If a shorter stem and even shorter reach bar can get the fit where it'll work for you that's the way to go but messing with saddle position is coming at the fit backwards. Saddle height and fore/aft is probably the most important part to get right on any bike first. then adjust the bar and stem combo. I say this as someone with a bad and unforgiving knee brought on by wear tear and injury. Vicki do you feel cramped or stretched out on the Gunnar? Do you have any neck, arm, upper/lower back pain after long rides? Do your hands ever get numb? You said that you ride in the drops a fair amount. How do you feel on the hoods and tops as far as reach? Do you find like you have to push yourself back onto the saddle due to sliding or "tipping" forward? Do the bars on your present bike feel to high or low? One of the things with the Calfee that will be different than the Gunnar is that it appears the Calfee has a level top tube versus a sloping top tube on the Gunnar. This will make for a bit less stand over height and for identical bikes may have a slightly different ride feel. Sorry for the 20 questions but if there's something on the Gunnar that's close to the edge it's good to know before looking at the Calfee.

Vicki your thought to bring your bike for comparison is good. something else to add is to bring a tape measure and check some things such as saddle to stem, saddle to bar lengths. Also measure the saddle to bar drop difference between the two bikes. It looks like you have compact bars on your bike now in comparison to the Calfee so discount the drops and only measure the difference between the saddle and the tops of the bars. This will give you a good idea on what may need to be changed. What is the ht, st, angle on both bikes? If you can find geo charts you may get lucky and find that the numbers are quite close. Cool stuff indeed!

Hey Vicki I've got a couple of quick questions about your current bike fit. is your frame measured 49 ctc or ctt? what stem length are you running? and roughly how much seat post is showing? That Calfee appears to be a screaming deal if the fit can be made to work.

very nice and purposeful. I hope you enjoy it for a long time!

Hey Vicki You guys for the most part seem to be doing a fair amount of "stuff" when it comes to the hobby from where I sit:). I'm playing around a little bit with the position on the Kirk but that's just the process that happens with me when I get a bike and not a reflection on that bike in particular. It's little things like adjusting saddle angle, saddle fore/aft position, and handlebar height. things are very very close at this point which is a good thing. It doesn't seem to matter how well I measure bikes and such there's always some adjustment. The bike is lively with a good amount of "jump" when I get on it. The mix of tubing along with the design and the Terraplane seat stays allows the bike to have the best of both worlds as far as ride. I continue to be impressed by how the Terraplane option lets me carve higher speeds on corners with bad and rough pavement. one of the things that's nice is that when I do lay it into a corner it doesn't try to climb out or fall into the turn. It holds the line nicely which actually took a little getting use to when compared to the Bridgestone which requires a little more input to change direction. I know the want for the bike to be in your hands once the decision has been made. But the waiting period isn't really that long when compared to other types of custom items. The time also gives the time needed to figure out the components, wheels, bar, saddle, wheel/tire combo, and the toughest thing paint scheme. TAKE YOUR TIME with this last item. I waffled on going with white panels behind the builders logo and decided to save the money by not going with them and that's the one choice i should have done differently. To my eye the large block logo could really use some contrast to balance it out. Also don't let someone talk you out of components you may have in mind. If you want to go red go with red, DI2 go DI2 etc. saving a few hundred now may have you wishing that you went with your first choice a few years down the road. I asked Dave what he liked and had good luck with as I was coming from old school gear. What he said was that even the basic stuff that's out today is light years better than the stuff that he and I worked on back in our shop days and he was right. I couldn't believe how easy the bike went together. It really was silly in how easy it was. If you've got particular questions about paint and that part of the process I'm happy to pm you with my experience good and bad. Parris

I haven't been around in a while given that with the season here in NY is getting shorter and colder by the day I haven't had much to contribute other than to mention that some of the photos and rides that you all have posted look really great! I finally have something small to add which is that I've got some different parts to hang on the Kirk and the Bridgestone. The Kirk will be getting a Force compact crank for a while and the standard road crank will go on the shelf for a bit as I'm hoping to keep my knees together and I'm just not up to doing some of the hills these days with a 39 up front. The Bridgestone is getting Deda bars and stem along with some 10 speed bits to bring it into the present. That bike has been 8 speed friction for a long time so it'll be decent once things come together.