I'm spent. 35 miles this weekend. I installed my clip-in pedals and just went for a ride around town to get used to them. By the time I got back I was wondering why I didn't do this before. To those of you who are on the fence, DO IT. So much more efficient.

This morning I went on a group ride and the area in my prior post. New-old seat is so much more comfy (now to see if I can find an exact match online or I'm going to have to swap seats across 3 bikes). Started getting the creak again at the end of that ride (10 miles). Also had no rear brake for the entire ride cuz I messed it up bleeding it the other day.

With a wonky rear brake and a mystery creak, I said what the he** and drove up to Maybury, about 15 minutes from spot #1 .  Checked out the creak - rear axle was TOTALLY loose. One problem down, one left (no rear brake). Made it through both spots, 28 miles total, and only fell twice - no fault of the clipless, I was trying to manage downhills with only a front brake which isn't fun.

Hahahah, yeah, non-committing is my thing.  My other commuter-style bike will get these handed down to it once I get used to them.  I tend to use that bike riding around town a lot and sometimes it's my road workout bike so it makes a lot of sense.

Now, if I could only get the old pedals off my Chiner...

Get the Ritchey pedals works with SPD cleats, lighter and cheaper then Shimano comparisons.


http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/ca/en/ritchey-pro-mountain-v5-paradigm-mtb-pedals/rp-prod54960

Huh?  The link you sent were $98 pedals, plus $10 shipping.  I know CRC has codes/sales/etc, but both of the Shimano's I listed above are under $50...

I've used MyTracks too, and Strava.  I like MyTracks because it can plot Speed/Elevation/HR vs. time for free.  Strava costs extra ($50/year!!!) to get the HR graph.  Strava is good, though, for sharing routes, but again unless you are using hardware that can export a GPX file, you can't really import it into anything.

I used GPX Viewer to help navigate a new route last week (Samsung Galaxy Nexus that's WiFi-only).

First frustration-free rides of the year this weekend, after installing the right-size seatpost.

After work on Friday, I hit some new-to-me trails about 5 minutes from work.  Fiddled with the seat positioning a little bit.  The trails (Dearborn, MI - right along Hines Drive) are relatively flat, twisty, but every-so-often you have a short, wicked climb of about 30 feet when you come up from right next to a river up to the upper banks (hard to describe).  Couldn't do most of those climbs. Because this was my first time there, I got lost a few times into some areas with standing water, but at the end I did two laps of about 8 miles a piece.

Sunday was gorgeous - low 70's, sunny, and I had already gotten the yard work done on Saturday so I went out to some trails I helped build at Hines Drive in Plymouth.  There are two sections - Lakeview & Riverbends.  Lakeview is just that - up and down the shores of Newburgh Lake.  There are some flowy sections, but it's still fairly technical (at least to my novice skills).  The good news here is that I'm making climbs I wasn't able to do in the fall - 50% bike, 50% the engine. 

Riverbends is more flat, and shorter, but faster.  Because this goes right down to the shore of a river, it tends to dry out really slowly.  When combined, the two sections are about 3-4 miles, so that was 7 or 8 miles down & back.  Was still feeling it, so I went to another trail that is notorious for drying out slowly, and that was the case Sunday.  Had to hop on the gravel two-track after only a mile or two - shoulda stayed at Lakeview/Riverbends.  By that time though, I had developed a small issue and my a** was sore so I headed home.

The issues I've got now:
1) bottom bracket has developed a creak, only under power.  I'm used to this with my old SS CX bike with a press-in bottom bracket, so this is new to me.  I think I'm going to spend this week looking into the drivetrain issues (creak, and my rear derailleur issue pointed out prior).  I'm also wondering if my spacer use is correct on the BB.  I *think* I have zero on the non-drive side and 1 on the drive-side (XT 2x10).

2) I can't seem to get this seat to be comfy.  I've been playing around with the position (fore/aft, angle), and I'm almost out of angle adjustment (tilted nose-down).  I'm going to throw on an old seat I have to see if that fixes it - didn't have any comfort issues, but it's a boat anchor.

Thank you for the offer, Peter.  I do appreciate it.  I have already purchased those components and they are arriving within the next few days.

I will followup with the pictures you want on the seat post.

No, I got hosed.  Both were ordered from him.

Order was IP-057 and IP-SP5 seatpost.  057 is a 31.6mm frame, SP5 is a 31.6mm post.

There is no identification on the post indicating part number or diameter.  They grabbed the wrong post and threw it in the box, and forgot to throw in the chainstay protector.

When I told him they missed the protector he asked for more shipping.  I said forget about it.

I'm not complaining, just annoyed.  Cost of doing business, I guess...

Measured today. Seat tube is 31.6 dead on, measured in 3 places. Seat post ranged from 30.8 to 31.2, average of 30.9. Problem?