jerk's got a new ride

[jerk]

so today the jerk did a fool-hardy thing that he is very pleased with....he a bough a brand spanking new stock geometry 62cm molteni orange mx leader. yeah, the geometry isn't mine....the bike is a wee bit tall and a wee bit short...but the jerk saw it and needed it. since dario is having trouble locating chainstays for the big legs and e-richie will get to my frame in a couple of years, and because the jerk has had an itch for another steel bike since he sold his old corsa training bike a while back....and since he didn't want to wait for eddy to get around to making a custom mx leader...and because the jerk wanted instant gratification...the frame is sitting here in the living room with a 140mm salsa steel stem, a cinelli 65 hbar and a gold tiso head set...oh it's got a chorus ti post in it too....so go ahead pals how's the jerk to build this one up? the sky is not the limit so no ADA wheels or anything...but what do you guys think knowing the jerk's preferences? retro? neo-retro? modern but carbon less? ten speed dura-ace with down tube shifters?
jerk

[shinomaster]

I'll sell you some centaur brakes and a crank..har har....I like the down tube shifters with the dura ace 10....although that crank would look goofy on that sweet frame. Maybe you could find an old C record group for it?

[Needs Help]

...your stem's too long.

[dnovo]

Congrats on the MX-Leader, Jerk. I love mine. Your note brings up and interesting point, how many Big Leg Emmas have been produced? My bike is the ex-Interbike example. Have there been any others brought into the US and, if so, has Gita gotten this year's production? I have heard virtually nothing about any Pegs other than a few 8:30s. Hope Dario didn't bite off more than he could chew with the spate of new models announced for 2004. Dave N.

[dbrk]

jerkpal,
Methinks it was wise to get a Leader though I think we both know you'd be fine on a Corsa. I have Axel's Leader now and it is one stiff fella, but a lovely ride (only one so far so not much to say yet; weather has just got to turn around a bit...). As for parts, I'd say there's three ways to go: full on modernity with Chorus 10 or DA10 (skip that crank...); DA10 with dt shifters or Record 9 dtshifter (I give this higher marks for coolness and nothing lost by taking your hands off the bars, not you nor some old guy like me who is used to it); or CRecord or any mix that uses the CRec or Simplex retrofriction dt shifter (because these are the best shifters...uhhh....ever). Cranks? How about Stronglights, say, Speedlights: French, as nice as Campy, way cheaper, 130bcd, use the TA rings. Nothing not to like, decent Q (no worse than C or S), good looks, cold forged, I believe, but who really cares...makes no difference really. Brakes: I like the Mavics but it depends on whether you want silver or black, otherwise I like Campag brakes for the stopping but Shimano for the design. Wheels? That's easy 'cause I'm spending your money here. It's all in the tires. Mavic SSc 32h or even 28h rims (easy to get from BC over at Renaissance Cycles), 2x frt 28h, 3xrear 32h, and those silk Dugasts. Can you say heaven? Tufo tape and the non-gluing issue has revived tubulars as an occasion for joy (but not regular riding for me, 'cause the best tires are still mightily expensive, as you know).

Your comment about Emma is new news. There have been some Marcelos in addition to the 8:30s that dnovo mentions (same source, I'm sure). I know Climb has gotten his Marcelo, right? But there was at least one other. But no Emmas and no sign of my Luigino either. I too await Her Big Legs.

I'm also on the RS list at about 17 months out now. I'm hoping the Mahatma will consider old lugs and skinny top tubes for a NR bike or perhaps the ultimate Pathracer but there's time to think that over including at least one more winter. Winter does things to a man's mind.

In the meantime, enjoy your Leader. Merckx just makes great bikes. I can even marginally warm up to the aluminum crap but as race bikes only (and I don't do that anymore, though I'd rather ride a Dario than any other aluminum bike, by far). I hope our Emmas come before summer. Mr Nagasawa I hope is busy too. Life is not getting longer for me. I hope it is for you.

Ride safely those Boston streets, pal. I rode them. I know. Heck, I drove them. Only driving in Delhi was worse.

dbrk

[TimD]

There was a BLE at the Boston Bike Show, but unbuilt. Stablemates included an 8:30, a Marcelo (built), a Luigino (built), and a Fina. My Marcelo is sitting here in my office...

[Climb01742]

yep, my custom marcelo arrived a few weeks ago. no new BLE have reached these shores, i've been told. is dario trying to copy e-richie by making us wait? oh, these builders are wicked, teasing fellows. :banana:

[slowgoing]

Climb, is that custom Marcelo the climbing machine you expected? You wanted more flex in the top tube, if I recall. I have to tell you that I think that is a key feature in the good climbing bikes I have tried. I began to notice it after you brought it up.

[bostondrunk]

Could someone please elaborate on how you detect flex in a top tube????? And if you possibly could, how it helps climbing?!

[Dr. Doofus]

the jerk knows what the jerk wants on his bike....

the jerk should dump that frankfurt school negative freedom crap and ground himself in a hermeneutic with a strong positive component...the doc has been getting deeper into Paul Ricoeur and he and I are very impressed with "Oneself as Another," for obvious reasons....

anyway if the jerk really wants our suggestion he'll buy our old campy victory gruppo (which is on a really crappy SL Gitane) if he can send the check for 100.00 to our and his and my sister in Bakersfield....

[Climb01742]

boston drunk--
this reply refers only to my experience and my climbing style. out of the saddle, i move side to side a bit. ok, a lot. i like how my litespeed ghisallo climbs, and one of the reasons is it flexes a lot. in various conversations with people, ben being one person, an interesting issue came up: where do you want a frame to flex while out of the saddle? top "half" or botton "half"? if a lot of your out of the saddle power comes from your upper body, the top half could/should flex, meaning the TT. if your power/movement while out of the saddle comes from your legs, then the lower half of the frame could/should flex, meaning BB area. i've been experimenting with flex in different places to find where it works best for me. as to how you measure it? for me its been feel, but i'm sure builders have better, more technical was. some folks like super stiff bikes for climbing; some like more flex. both ben and kelly have said that during their coors racing team days, the stiffer is better for climbing idea was pretty well debunked.

and slowgoing, i'm still waiting for a DA 10 speed crank. shimano is in short supply apparently. so like the jerk, i'm riding a merckx MX Leader right now. tho mine is a little weiner 55 cm, not the big manly 62 cm that the jerk rides. maybe when i grow up.:beer:

[Marron]

I just rode my Motorola MX 75 miles on Sunday and for the terrain I covered, rolling with only one steep climb, it was sublime. Miine is built up with a '92 C-Record group sans the Delta Brakes. It's not light but the ride is terrific and I don't find it stiff at all. I ride a 61 and weight 167, so I'm not exactly a flyweight either.

Given a choice though, I'd go for a modern group with light wheels. Despite the fact that the frame is a little heavy you can probably get close to 20 or 21 pounds and in my opinion that would be a best of both worlds ride.

[Andreu]

Hope someone can put my mind at rest. I have just had some negative feedback about Pegs..."had to go to court" and "quality control issues" are the two phrases I can highlight from the note I received from a dealer in Europe (who, incidentally, is not currently selling Pegs!)
This seems to be the only negative information I have received, nevertheless, it is a bit worrying since I have a frame on order. I was wondering whether this is an isolated case or should I panic?
What are your experiences on the quality control front.
Thanks,
FA:confused:

[Climb01742]

rode my MX Leader in the melting muck this weekend. i can see why in belgium this bike would rule. thru potholes and melting slush and sand and gravel the bike tracked like a blood hound on a scent. true, on climbs, it made me work. but on the flats and rollers, it urged me on. honestly, at the end of two hours of tough, nasty riding, i felt fresh and strong, eddy's baby tranferring my lame power into really sweet forward motion. some bikes feel more special, but then you notice how fast and smoothly you're riding, and you realize that "feel" ain't everything.

jerk, if you have a 140 stem on a 62 frame, damn, son, you must be tall.:p

[jerk]

the jerk has decided he thinks....here goes:

just scored some bontrager wheels that are not for sale to the general public but are usps team issue for the northern classics...they use the hugi made bontrager race x lite hub but drilled for 32 spokes and tubular race x lite rims drilled 32 spoke and asymetrically in the back for even spoke tension....hand built three across..these are the jerk's dream wheels...and as they are black so goes the rest of the bike....naturally these wheels will have dugast paris-roubaix tires on'em.

cranks will be pmp compacts in black 'cause jerk already has'em and they work great...

ten speed d/a dt shifters with some aero levers i must have somewhere.....

tiso rder with gold pulleys and bolts....cring bolts too on the crank! the tiso hset already installed is black and gold as well....all this stuff should match the evetnual brooks swallow saddle...

chorus ti post, cinelli 65 bar, salsa 140stem all stuff the jerk has....
i think i'll get some mavic brakes just to continue the black thing and a new '04 chorus fder.....

anyway..that's what i'm thinking and jerk will post pics when it's done.

[slowgoing]

I hope it doesn't end up looking like a bug.

[jerk]

me too!

[Climb01742]

jerk, just reread your original post, and was curious--i understand the instant gratification urge totally, but what made you go for an MXL? i'm not debating the choice at all, just curious about why. thanks.

[jerk]

climb-o-
the reason i got the mx was two fold....firstly, the jerk has always had corsas...or alu teams as merckx race bikes...i was never really deemed tough enough, bi enough or fast enough to get an mx leader...and quite honestly the frame is overkill for me and just about anyone.....secondly, my ble is a while out because dario is having trouble getting chain stays....columbus sucks i guess. (on a good note luiginos are in paint as we speak and should be arriving tos our pals at gita really soon!) there are two BLEs in the country right now. one is in the possesion of mr. novoselsky and the other is hanging on the wall at international bicycle center in boston...
thirdly, upon looking at all the measurements a 62 mx really ain't all that far off from my ideal fit....it's a little tall on paper but really has the same head tube height as my aluminum merckxs which are 59.5s....the s/a is a little slack which makes the top tube effectivly in range and the reach all right with a 140 stem which should balance out the big orange beast pretty well...

o.k. honestly the jerk is going to but his tough as nails wheels on this thing, a bunch of goofy parts, big fat tubular tires and i'm going to ride the thing to work everyday over the worst roads this side of paris-roubaix....(anyone familiar with boston knows how bad it is coming into the city from the north shore....route 99/route 60 etc.) so the more neutral century geometry is going to be great. most of my other bikes were built for short powerful efforts as in kermesse racing and are really too much of a handful at lower speeds and leave the jerk with his ass kicked when riding slower than race speed or longer than 100km... (not that my commute is anywhere near that long but...) i think the geometry of the stock mx will be perfect...a powerful, fast comfortable bike for slopping through the pot holes.

really the jerk just loves bicycles and what collection is complete without a molteni painted eddy?

[shinomaster]

Are so bad that I don't think I could ride my cannondale there with out killing my back or crotch, not to mention my hands. My steel bike with a noodley quill stem was the best thing I could have had there.
The roads here in Portland are perfect because it almost never freezes, so my toy Cannondale rides smoothly..

[Climb01742]

sir jerk, how'd you score those sweet sounding wheels? they didn't "fall" off the USPS truck did they? :beer:

[jerk]

sort of....jerk's got some pals at trek and these pals like to let the jerk try new/different stuff so i can give my unbiased opinion....normally the questions are, "how'd you like'em?" "do you think they'd sell?" naturally i'll let you guys know first.

jerk