Pete Derkowski
September 27th 06, 01:59 PM
Hi all,
Although I've riden a 10 speed all over heck and back as a teenager, I
haven't done much riding since, so 50 I've decided to get back into riding
again (I used to love just taking off and ending up somewhere else, on roads
I'd never been down - I'd ride all day over the summer vacations).
So I checked out a lot of bikes and due to an end of season sale :-) , and
wanting something a bit more relaxed fitting than an actual racing position,
I ended up with a 2006 Trek Pilot 2.1 with s.p.a. (a single shock absorber
on the seat stay). I wasn't actually looking for a spa, but that's what
the place had, and they took $300 off the price, so there ya go. I traded
down on the pedals - it comes with clipless, and since I'm not that serious
of a rider yet, and didn't wanna buy special shoes, so I got clip pedals,
and added Crane Creek cross-top brake levers, a large Topeak large wedge
bag, a cable type combo lock for those rare times I'll leave the bike
unattended for 5 mins to grab a drink, and a computer (forget the name, it's
wireless but does not do cadence) and bought a couple of camelback bottles
last nite. 122 miles so far on it ( I only get to ride a couple of times a
week - farthest was a 32 mile ride a week ago).
Being a newbie to all this new technology, I have some Qs. I don't know a
lot of web sites yet (just started to look at Sheldon Browns last night, so
maybe he has some answers, not sure yet).
Things like...
In buying tubes - I have 700 x 25 tires, so I take 700 x 18-25 tubes... I
found they come with either long preston valves (60 mm) or regular length
preston valves... what is the difference??? I bought 2 Continental tubes
last nite from Nashbar (another Q - whad'ya think of Nashbar? good place to
shop?) of the long valve variety (had my first flat y'day, so figured I'd
stock up). I can't figure out why a long valve stem would be better than
a regular length one. I went back/forth for like a half hr before I figured
I'd better get the same as the bike came with, so I got the long ones.
I have Shimano 105 shifters, and it says "Flightdeck" on them. I thought
this was just a name Shimano gave them since they combine shifters and
brakes... but in another entry in this newsgroup, people are talking about
their 'flightdeck' as in their computer. So now I'm thinking - ? Is
there some computer that works with my 'flightdeck' shifter/brake combo? Or
are computers just also called 'flighdecks' and Shimano named their shifters
that to be cool. ??
I've had tons of stupid Qs like this over the last month, but for some
reason I can't think of them right now - these are the 2 most recent.
Appreciate any answers you give - things like the above might be common
knowledge for many, but for a newbie, it can get a bit confusing.
Pete (think I'll get myself to a store and buy a patch kit or tube today and
get the bike back on the road - its gonna 2 weeks for Nashbar's stuff to
come in)
Although I've riden a 10 speed all over heck and back as a teenager, I
haven't done much riding since, so 50 I've decided to get back into riding
again (I used to love just taking off and ending up somewhere else, on roads
I'd never been down - I'd ride all day over the summer vacations).
So I checked out a lot of bikes and due to an end of season sale :-) , and
wanting something a bit more relaxed fitting than an actual racing position,
I ended up with a 2006 Trek Pilot 2.1 with s.p.a. (a single shock absorber
on the seat stay). I wasn't actually looking for a spa, but that's what
the place had, and they took $300 off the price, so there ya go. I traded
down on the pedals - it comes with clipless, and since I'm not that serious
of a rider yet, and didn't wanna buy special shoes, so I got clip pedals,
and added Crane Creek cross-top brake levers, a large Topeak large wedge
bag, a cable type combo lock for those rare times I'll leave the bike
unattended for 5 mins to grab a drink, and a computer (forget the name, it's
wireless but does not do cadence) and bought a couple of camelback bottles
last nite. 122 miles so far on it ( I only get to ride a couple of times a
week - farthest was a 32 mile ride a week ago).
Being a newbie to all this new technology, I have some Qs. I don't know a
lot of web sites yet (just started to look at Sheldon Browns last night, so
maybe he has some answers, not sure yet).
Things like...
In buying tubes - I have 700 x 25 tires, so I take 700 x 18-25 tubes... I
found they come with either long preston valves (60 mm) or regular length
preston valves... what is the difference??? I bought 2 Continental tubes
last nite from Nashbar (another Q - whad'ya think of Nashbar? good place to
shop?) of the long valve variety (had my first flat y'day, so figured I'd
stock up). I can't figure out why a long valve stem would be better than
a regular length one. I went back/forth for like a half hr before I figured
I'd better get the same as the bike came with, so I got the long ones.
I have Shimano 105 shifters, and it says "Flightdeck" on them. I thought
this was just a name Shimano gave them since they combine shifters and
brakes... but in another entry in this newsgroup, people are talking about
their 'flightdeck' as in their computer. So now I'm thinking - ? Is
there some computer that works with my 'flightdeck' shifter/brake combo? Or
are computers just also called 'flighdecks' and Shimano named their shifters
that to be cool. ??
I've had tons of stupid Qs like this over the last month, but for some
reason I can't think of them right now - these are the 2 most recent.
Appreciate any answers you give - things like the above might be common
knowledge for many, but for a newbie, it can get a bit confusing.
Pete (think I'll get myself to a store and buy a patch kit or tube today and
get the bike back on the road - its gonna 2 weeks for Nashbar's stuff to
come in)