[Nigal]

Originally Posted by retromike3

How much does it weigh? Looks pretty light.

It's fairly nimble but it is actually about 25-27 lbs.

[Industry_Hack]

Originally Posted by Nigal

It's fairly nimble but it is actually about 25-27 lbs.

Not to knock it, but that's 7-9 lbs heavier than my Wabi. Gives me a new-found appreciation for what went into that bike.

[Nigal]

Oh you're not knocking it. It's a $300 bike. I expect very little from it. LOL! Of course the first thing I started doing when putting it together was say, "Yeah, these brakes will be first to be replaced. Seat next. I may not even put these peddles on. Next year a nice new crank.". Then I realized that I was up into Bianci Pista money.

[retromike3]

The things you can think about changing first are the things that rotate like wheels and tires. If you drop the rotating weight buy a pound I heard that its like taking seven off the frame.

A seat post to me would be on of the last things I would swap out.

saddle, handelbars and pedals , anything that makes contact with you should be comfortable.

I have been told that the only athletes that are true hard asses are cyclists. I set my brother in law up with a saddle that I liked a lot and he hated it. so I set him up with a Avocet gel saddle and he really liked it.

The saddle I was using at the time was called a Live Wire. It was a traditional saddle with a few extra curves in the rails so it gave you about a 1/8 of an inch of suspension. With a rear tire with a hundred and twenty pounds in it it made things a bit more comfy.

mike frye A.K.A. Frye Bikes

[offrdmania]

A saddle is very important and I learned a long time ago that you need to get your behind measured so that you know the correct width for your body. You can buy 30 different saddles to find one that is comfortable or get measured and make a single purchase. Specialized has a measuring system. For the longest time I though I needed a 155mm saddle but all along my measurement was 143mm. Once I picked up a 143 I have never looked back. Fits perfect. No more figiting while trying to find a comfortable spot on the saddle.

[Nigal]

Orrrrrrrrrrrr you can simply buy a Brooks B17 and be done with it. Measuring your a$$? Really? That's just soft man.

[offrdmania]

I was always running 155's, who would have known that I was a 143 until I was measured. Every 143 that I have done has fit so nice

[retromike3]

The bike I got at the the bike shop I eventually wound up working for was called Action Sports. I had a account with them and finally was able to pay it off and was able to ride my bike home. It was a Jeffrey Butler racing bike with sew ups and. It came with a Brooks Pro saddle that was half way broke in. So after about eight months of working on it with prufide and a baseball bat it finally was feeling great. Unfortunately when I sold the bike and didn't take the saddle. Its been over 20 years and I'm still kicking myself.every time I think about it.

[Industry_Hack]

Originally Posted by Nigal

Oh you're not knocking it. It's a $300 bike. I expect very little from it. LOL! Of course the first thing I started doing when putting it together was say, "Yeah, these brakes will be first to be replaced. Seat next. I may not even put these peddles on. Next year a nice new crank.". Then I realized that I was up into Bianci Pista money.

The pedals definitely show signs of cost-cutting, but I think that's because there's no sense putting nicer ones on there if they are one of the first things to get replaced. What I would do is ride it stock while keeping an eye out for deals on your local classifieds, at your LBS, or ebay. Don't go crazy on a budget SS.

[offrdmania]

On my inexpensive SS the only things I upgraded were the brakes, saddle, bars, stem, grips and freewheel. Everything else is stock and now its just right.