Arph's (too many) bikes

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Arph
Posts: 132
Joined: Tue Jun 30, 2020 3:30 pm
Location: France

by Arph

Hi there,

Long time reader from France, finally decided to join, and will of course start with an introduction of my bikes. The rider is 36, mostly rides on the Longchamp ring (look it up it is a nice place to ride fast in a pack, kind of a 3,5 kms outdoor velodrome with a leg-burning false flat), is heavy, average on the flats and sucks when the road goes up :oops: :lol: Oh and he is kind of a maniac wheel buyer :noidea: :mrgreen: Used to be a true weight weenie, but not that much anymore.


The bikes:

Pinarello Prince FX 2019, size 55, 7,5 kgs - the flat-out speed machine for the flats:
I built it for my last birthday, to help bear the lockdown, WFH in a flat with 2 young kids :roll: Heavy (7,5 kgs with 55 clincher Fulcrums, without bar tape), very stiff, I can feel the wheels move but not the frame, not confortable, but faaaaast 8) Wouldn't take it for une Etape du Tour or Paris-Roubaix for sure, but love it for fast pack riding. Oh and it has a good ol' screw on bottom bracket (screw pressfit, all of them :D) Saddle has been tilted a bit to the front, and fit is just fine, very close to the Bianchi below.

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BIanchi Infinito CV 2014, size 55, 7,44 kgs - the fast and confortable everyday cobble machine:
A bit lighter, built in 2015 for the Paris-Roubaix sportive, it quickly became my go-to bike, as it is a perfect blend of confort (really, CV is impressive, and the bike fits me like a glove) and efficiency. I then slowly optimized it without any concession on reliability and useability. 7,44 kgs with the same 55 clincher Fulcrums. Only gripe is the freaking PF30 bottom bracket :evil:

Original build in the Roubaix Velodrome, with FMB 27 tubulars 8) :smartass:
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After it got a more decent build, along the coast in Northern France, as flat as it gets :lol:
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Kinesis GranFondo Ti v3, size 55,5, 9,33 kgs complete - the all-weather, sporty-commuting machine:
I know, not even 40 and I have a Ti winter bike, with medium reach brakes, full-sized mudguards, a titanium rack (the bike is TI, I had to !) and a Spurcycle :noidea: I got bored on fiddling with removable mudguards and ending up with wet feet and a dirty bike nonetheless, so I retired my aluminium Orbea Aqua (catchy name for a rain bike ;)) and looked for a metal bike accepting 28 mm tyres, mudguards and a rack. I fancied titanium, and couldn't find many options that wouldn't blow the bank. Fit is just fine with a 100 mm stem instead of the 110 I usually use. I ride it in the winter, for rainy days and dirty roads, and to commute on the few days when I try and squeeze a quick ride in the evening (thus the rack for the bag - I hate riding with a backpack).

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Soma Perscadero 2017, size 54, 11, 12 or 13 kgs depending on the day :lol: - the commuter / allroad bike :
I built this to have an allroad bike (no gravel thank you), in the spirit of the French randonneuses, with shiny components and long-reach rim brakes. It sports Paul Racer polished brakes, as powerful as they are beautiful, a Ti rack (because why not), a Spurcycle to help sneak through traffic. I use it year-in year-out for commuting, and school drop / collection.
I have 2 pairs of Hed Belgium for this bike, one very heavy with 32 DT Comp spokes and Record hubs, and dead-riding and unflattable Schwalbe Marathon Plus in 32, and one lighter, faster, built with 24/28 CX Rays on Hope RS4s, and shod with Compass / Rene Herse Bon Jon Pass (35) that feel like riding a magic carpet, such a great feeling :)
To me this is the perfect commuting machine with powerful brakes, full fenders, front and rear racks, lights, strong tyres, quite nimble geometry for a tank :)

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With a box instead of a child ;)
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RETIRED (and missed, but I have too many bikes already) Orbea Orca, size 55, 6,1 kgs as pictured - got it to 5,9 during my weight-weenism heydays ;)

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Edit: corrected some ugly grammatical mistakes (hope I got them all :? :oops: ).
Last edited by Arph on Wed Sep 16, 2020 10:46 am, edited 2 times in total.

by Weenie


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mrfish
Posts: 1749
Joined: Wed Mar 28, 2007 12:49 pm
Location: Near Horgen, Switzerland

by mrfish

Liked that Orca when it came out. The surfacing was really special, like a top car designer had worked on it. Best in black and white of course.

The Soma is pretty cool. What are the Ti racks?

Also the pic of your Prince isn't working. Any chance you can fix it?

Arph
Posts: 132
Joined: Tue Jun 30, 2020 3:30 pm
Location: France

by Arph

yes that Orca frameset was a looker, the only part that didn't look great was the frame / fork junction.

Normally pic of the Prince FX is fixed.

THe TI racks are a Tubus Carry on the Soma (discontinued, got it in clearance for the price of a stainless steel one), and a Tubus Airy on the Kinesis.

reedplayer
Posts: 816
Joined: Sat Nov 14, 2015 10:10 am

by reedplayer

the orca is still a great looking frameset. ususally i prefer simple, classical frame-design, but nevertheless always liked the orca (especially the black/white version).

mrfish
Posts: 1749
Joined: Wed Mar 28, 2007 12:49 pm
Location: Near Horgen, Switzerland

by mrfish

Prince looks great!

Arph
Posts: 132
Joined: Tue Jun 30, 2020 3:30 pm
Location: France

by Arph

Thank you for the nice words :)

I took a DECISION: I can't seriously sell my Orca for a few hundred euros, it is too nice a bike for that and I like it too much. So, I decided to give it a decent retirement, and ordered a pair of Sram Force deraileurs for it. Now I just have to find some used brakes to build it again (the ee brakes, Red deraileurs and Arundel cages seen on the pictures are now on the Prince FX). I'll use it on the trainer and maybe for a hilly road ride or 2.

A pic from a few years back, 5,9 kgs complete with computer (the Stronglight cranks ended like all their siblings):

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Next step is to switch the Bianchi to 11 speed, so that I can still share wheels between bikes. Good thing is that Sram 10 and 11 road deraileurs are compatible so I just bought a pair of Force 22 levers. Bad thing is that Sram's design for 11 speed levers is not compatible with iLink anymore :

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So I ordered Jagwire Elite Sealed cables and housing to replace a perfectly functional iLink kit ...

While I am at it, 4 other pics of the Bianchi:
- with Giant SLR0s tubeless, great wheels but tubeless is a PITY IMHO (with those wheels and Hutchinson tyres it was 2 years ago anyway) - So I sold the SLR0s ('cause I had too many wheelsets) - and ended spending the cash on the Fulcrum 55s clinchers :unbelievable: :noidea:
- with Bora One 35s / Veloflex Carbon,
- with Fulcrum 55s /Conti Pro ltd - the real deal, with latex inner tubers
- with Shamals / 27 mm FMB Paris-Roubaix tubulars - on a test ride a few weeks before RVV sportive last year
(As I wrote, I have a tendancy to buy wheels just because I like wheels ^^)

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And a pic of the Prince, on the Britany coast, so windy that I couldn't leave it upright to take a picture :!: :

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Now the bike has bartape (eventually), with ee barkeep plugs (3-time as light as Nittos, but they don't hold as well as the Nittos that are faultless in that regard) and a K-Edge Garmin mount with a Go-Pro adapter where I can mount a light if need be.

Arph
Posts: 132
Joined: Tue Jun 30, 2020 3:30 pm
Location: France

by Arph

And while I am at it, the Kinesis with FMB tubulars, buttery sweet ride but not a combination I use regularly:

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Arph
Posts: 132
Joined: Tue Jun 30, 2020 3:30 pm
Location: France

by Arph

Dura Ace clinchers on the Kinesis are approaching the end of their life (there isn't much metal left on the brake tracks), so new wheels are coming (for once I have a real reason to buy wheels :lol:).
Built will be Hope RS4s (black), Duke Roadrunner 30 mm (aluminium clinchers - less aero than Aforce 33 but more sturdy, and lighter than DT RR511), and 20/28 F/R CX Rays (24 in the rear would have been OK, but I sometimes ride this bike with a heavy Ortlieb bag (7 kgs), and I intend to keep those wheels forever (or for as long as there is metal on the brake tracks ^^).
Only issue for the builder is to get those RS4s. English stuff, during Covid and bike boom, after Brexit, what could possibly go wrong ? :lol:

Arph
Posts: 132
Joined: Tue Jun 30, 2020 3:30 pm
Location: France

by Arph

Wheels have arrived. Seems that the hubs swam by themselves through the channel (only reason I can see for such a long wait :lol: ).

1657 grams, that's light :shock: But they'll be fine for flat winter riding.

And the Orca is rebuilt, 6,742 kgs with the heavy Sram Force / Shimano 105 groupset, and the clincher C24s, not that bad. Managed to ride it for 2 hours between downpours last weekend, it is still a treat, light, responsive and stiff, precise and easy handling. I am more than happy that I kept it. Going back to 23 mm GP4000S II was less bad than I expected.

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I replaced the filthy Lizard Skins bar end plugs by a pair of spare Nittos I had. They are heavier, but won't move and look the part.

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Arph
Posts: 132
Joined: Tue Jun 30, 2020 3:30 pm
Location: France

by Arph

Kinesis updated: wheels (Duke Roadrunner 30s, Hope RS4s, 20/28 CX-Rays), Dura Ace 7900 12-27 cassette, Sram Red 22 cranks, WheelsMFG angular contact bearings BB, full titanium Speedplays, Syntace P6 HiFlex seatpost, Cateye light on the rear rack. I just haven't changed the bars yet. Savings on the cassette, cranks and pedals just cover for the porky wheels : still 9,3 kgs :)

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by Weenie


Visit starbike.com Online Retailer for HighEnd cycling components
Great Prices ✓    Broad Selection ✓    Worldwide Delivery ✓

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Arph
Posts: 132
Joined: Tue Jun 30, 2020 3:30 pm
Location: France

by Arph

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Kinesis updated again: switched to 11 speed with Rival 22 levers, Force 22 FD (the 10-speed Force worked but barely cleared the 11 cogs in the big ring), KMC X11EL chain, and Ultegra 12-25 cassette.
Took that occasion to also change the bars I had in stock for 2 years :shock: : Easton EC90 SLX3 in 44 (42 at the levers) - same as on the Bianchi.
And finally I replaced the full Ti Speedplay by Wahoo Speedplay Powrlinks, that basically are Speedplays that broadcast power :mrgreen: :arrow:
All in all, bike still weighs 9,3 kgs, the bars just compensate for the heavier pedals and levers.

Dirty bike pic as that's the intended use case ;)

Now expecting delivery of a 40 cm c-c ZIPP SL70 for the Pinarello, the 44 is too wide and I'm not aero enough with it :roll: Pinarello also got new wheels, but they require a proper picture.

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