Monday, May 14, 2012

MaidenVoyage of the new Frankenbeik

Many thanks to @ihadanidea Frankenbeik has been given a new life, new drive - many more miles to pedal.
review of the first ride - new 105 compact crank (vs. previous ultegra 600 crank 53/39) offer increased transfer of power as well as noticeably increased torque; the consequence of stiffer crank arms and smaller (albeit slightly) chainrings.

In the cassette, the only change made was dropping from 12-25T to 11-25T.   Increase in torque made the 50T-11T combo spin easier that previous 53T-12T, even though it's a higher gear ratio.

 both ft and rr derailleurs functioned flawlessly -
105 Brake calipers much more grabby with less effort than previous Ultegra 600 generation. (I'll lay that at the feet of moving from a single pivot to dual pivot design).
Shifters:  new shifters were awesome. - though having spent the past (almost) 20 years riding butterfly shifters, my thumbs found themselves looking for the shifters before I realized they were no longer there. Thumbs were much happier for their absence.
Don't get me wrong - these butterfly shifters have worked great over the past 2 decades.  Although they're indexed for 7spd suntour cassette -which I never could get to run quite right, on the friction setting (contrary to all professional counsel) they served me from the 6-7 speed transition, into the 8 - and finally into the 10sp cluster.  Paired with the Dura Ace rear derailleur worked flawlessly - just gotta be willing/able to work with a bit of subtlety. (Some of you reading may find irony in that).
There may be a bit of lament, letting go of these shifters;  they've been a part of every bike I've ridden since the Motobecane SuperMirage I came out of college with, thru the days of the giant Trek 800 I purchased after I killed the derailleur hanger on that frame. After several years riding a 63cm bike (that mis-appropriated geometry took its tole on my shoulders, for sure) - downsized to a 56 cm Bianchi frame - what I perceived as 'blue' was infact purple - or a deep lavender.  yeah, the family got a kick out of my colorblinddisability (I'm always good for the comic relief)- but I road the purple bike for 2+ years before getting the red Kona frame which now resides beneath my butt.
Who knows what further manifestations my pedular form of transportation will take - LBS said the headset is a bit pitted and in need of being replaced - I can't tell the difference - seems to steer smoothly to me.
Looking forward to many more miles on these piecepartedbike - how many more 1day STPs does it have in it?  who knows.
Peace to all.



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