[LiveFreeRideHard]

After a couple weeks of riding and reading many threads here on TwoSpoke I've learned many different things about riding and road bikes. I decided to get rid of the Dawes. It was a nice bike but I was just looking for more. Plus between paying for a fit, replacing the seat, and looking into replacing the shifters (Shimano Soras(I was very unhappy with them)). I was told I'd be better off getting my money back and saving to buy a better entry level road bike more suited to what I'd like to do. So after the return and selling one of my guitars and some of my doubles in my video game collection I headed off to my LBS that deals exclusively in road bikes. I was properly fitted and test road some bikes. I can say I'm the proud new owner of a Felt F85. That is the proper size and fit for me. Im already feeling more comfortable in the seat. It has Microshift shifters paired with Shimano 105's so i can now shift in both directions while in the drops. I did two separate 8 mile sessions yesterday had a few slight adjustments done. And did my longest ride so far hitting 26.33 miles. I am so much happier with this bike and feel now I can really start setting new goals and pushing myself to try and reach them. Plus I explained my concerns with the saddle from the Dawes and was told that if I have any issues I can try different seats of equal value until I find the right one without having to put more money into the bike unless I choose to. I'm very happy I made this decision. Can't wait to get another ride in tomorrow or maybe even later today.

 

[kneedrachen]

 

[kneedrachen]

Congrats!!!!!!!!

 

[LiveFreeRideHard]

thanks knee. what does that 4th sign say in the picture I can't make it out?

 

[John_V]

Congrats on getting your new Felt. That's a very nice bike and should give you miles and years of great riding. If you continue to have saddle issues after trying OEM equivalent priced saddles, you may want to check out some of the ISM Adamo series of saddles. Your bottom end will thank you for it.

 

[LiveFreeRideHard]

thanks john! I was looking at them while I was there they look sweet and from reading your thread and reading reviews online it seems they have a reputation for comfort. I was shocked today when I hit 14M and felt good enough to keep going. I'm going to give this seat a few more days and see if I adjust better but so far the bike, the fit, & the seat feel like a huge improvement from the dawes. And don't get me wrong I still feel the dawes was a nice bike for the price for someone who wants to do some recreational riding but I really wanted to go beyond that.

 

[SixtyPlus]

Congrats on the new bike! I looked at the Felt lineup and really liked what I saw. Great value!! But, went with Bianchi.

 

[rola643]

What exactly are mircoshift shifters??? I've never heard of that before

 

[LiveFreeRideHard]

I was told rola that they are a slight step up from tiagra's. I don't know how true that actually is or if they were trying to pitch a sale but regardless I'm just very very happy I can now shift in both directions from the drops something that cannot be done with sora's unless you have incredibly huge hands.

 

[omnivox42]

Congratz on the new bike. Your training will now hit new levels.

My bike has the soras and it takes some practice to use while in the drops. I have worked a system. Someday ill swap for better shifters. They are the only thing I dislike on my bike.

 

[LiveFreeRideHard]

thanks omni. you know what I mean then it's almost like they are designed for both directions on the hoods but only one in the drops. I tried reaching for the other shifter from the drops but I don't have big hands and found myself shifting my hands into very awkward positions to try and make the reach and almost every time I still couldn't make it. plus I lost a few pounds not that I want to be a weight weeny but this bike is 22lbs lighter than my last bmx bike. sometimes I think it's crazy that a bike so much larger in size is so much lighter but those are the marvels of engineering.

 

[omnivox42]

thanks omni. you know what I mean then it's almost like they are designed for both directions on the hoods but only one in the drops. I tried reaching for the other shifter from the drops but I don't have big hands and found myself shifting my hands into very awkward positions to try and make the reach and almost every time I still couldn't make it. plus I lost a few pounds not that I want to be a weight weeny but this bike is 22lbs lighter than my last bmx bike. sometimes I think it's crazy that a bike so much larger in size is so much lighter but those are the marvels of engineering.

Can't wait to see what you post about your rides on the new wheels.

 

[LiveFreeRideHard]

I'll have to keep you updated omni.

 

[kneedrachen]

"This Thread Is Useless Without Pictures" with some ******* spelling errors.

 

[rola643]

I was told rola that they are a slight step up from tiagra's. I don't know how true that actually is or if they were trying to pitch a sale but regardless I'm just very very happy I can now shift in both directions from the drops something that cannot be done with sora's unless you have incredibly huge hands.

That's one of the benefits of SRAM. I can pull the shiftier into the bar when I am in the drops and use one finger to shift in either direction

 

[LiveFreeRideHard]

yeah these ones don't pull in but rather shift sideways but now I can at least shift either way with one finger comfortably as opposed to how the sora's are designed

 

[LiveFreeRideHard]

and here knee I certainly don't want this thread to be useless so here's a pic lmao.

 

[John_V]

Congratz on the new bike. Your training will now hit new levels.

My bike has the soras and it takes some practice to use while in the drops. I have worked a system. Someday ill swap for better shifters. They are the only thing I dislike on my bike.

My old Defy has the old style Sora shifters on them and I thought they were much faster shifting than the paddle shifters when riding on the hoods. I did have shifting issues with them in the drops, but at the time, I didn't ride the drops that much. The new Sora's have dropped the thumb-shifters and use the conventional, two paddle STI system but there are still some new bikes that have the older Sora's. I saw some of the new Sora's at the Specialized concept store, yesterday.

 

[EvilGreg]

What exactly are mircoshift shifters??? I've never heard of that before

I was told rola that they are a slight step up from tiagra's. I don't know how true that actually is or if they were trying to pitch a sale but regardless I'm just very very happy I can now shift in both directions from the drops something that cannot be done with sora's unless you have incredibly huge hands.

Microshift is a small new component company. They make quality components at a much lower price point. You can check out their website here.

 

[omnivox42]

My old Defy has the old style Sora shifters on them and I thought they were much faster shifting than the paddle shifters when riding on the hoods. I did have shifting issues with them in the drops, but at the time, I didn't ride the drops that much. The new Sora's have dropped the thumb-shifters and use the conventional, two paddle STI system but there are still some new bikes that have the older Sora's. I saw some of the new Sora's at the Specialized concept store, yesterday.

Did you get to play with the new Sora's? Depending on price I may see if i can swap to the new Sora's as I spend 50/50 time in the drops.

http://www.bikeradar.com/news/article/shimano-sora-and-tourney-2013-first-look-33204/