My Legend Ti Shipped This Week!

[ericmurphy]

Okay, here's the deal. The frame will probably show up next Thursday, and my LBS will probably be able to build it up for me by the middle of the week after. So theoretically I should be riding my Serotta in about a week and a half. Except for one little fly in the ointment.

I spec'ed the bike with a 10-Speed Flight Deck. As any of you who have tried to order one of these things knows, they're basically unobtainable right now. Shimano thinks they'll be available "in June." But I'd like to have the computer installed when I start riding the bike.

I'm a total documentation geek. Every ride I go on, I log the route, distance, my average, max, total time, etc. I also track the time and distance on all the components. And (despite the fact that the Flight Deck is not the greatest computer out there) I really want it on the bike. Hey, I'm paying $7,500 for the bike, it should be just the way I want, right?

Now, should I hold up the entire bike for the sake of the computer? Should I ride the bike without one? Or should I just put a cheap temporary computer on until the flight Deck shows up? What would you do in my position?

[Forget talking me out of the Flight Deck. I know there are better computers out there (I hope the 10-speed version is better than the 9-speed one!), but I really like that it tracks what gear I'm in, for some reason.]

[PhatMatt]

When I waited tables I could have a wonderfully pleasant experience with a customer, sharing snippets of conversation and the like and if that person or party gave me a bad tip I would immediately forget our rapport and curse them as scumbags or worse. The opposite also held true...lame customer + good tip = great person.

On the bike I too was a documentation junkie (I was as a waiter too, ask me how many lobsters I had an indirect hand in killing in 1993) until I found it began to color my ride memories much in the same way the tip a customer left would imprint, falsely in many cases, their personalities upon my brain. If my average speed turned out to be lower than I had expected a good ride suddenly was suspect. It wasn't bad enough that it caused me to ever turn away from the bike but I wasn't digging it.

Long story but the gist is I took my computer off my bike and now every ride is fun. Hell, I'm not training or downloading my info for some coach/nutritionist/guru to interpret I'm just cruising because I dig being on my bike. I know basically how fast I go so in a pinch I can figure out how far I went but I rarely even do that. I do get home feeling tired and good and happy I had the chance to zip around on my bike.

Oh yea! You had a question! Just ride the bike sans the Flight Deck. Would you really leave that beautiful beast sitting in the backroom at your LBS simply because that particular comp is on back-order? Of course you wouldn't. Or, at least, I wouldn't.

Have fun, be careful and see how a few undocumented rides feel. You might find you like it.

[BumbleBeeDave]

Seriously, though . . . CONGRATULATIONS! The Queen Bee is cheering, too, from her perch behind me leaned up against the bookcase.

Ride your new steed with no computer. Enjoy the new sensations. Enjoy the dreamy handling. Enjoy the envious looks from other riders.

Just enjoy . . .

BBDave

[vaxn8r]

There's a lot of cheap computers out there. For $7,500 invested, what's another $25. Then switch it over. You're tracking the Legend not the Flight Deck (which may be programmable later). I can't believe you could hold up riding your bike for a computer, no matter how much of a documentation geek you are.

[ericmurphy]

Matt— nah, gotta have the computer. It's never bothered me if my average isn't what I thought it would be. But I love watching the miles pile up, month after month. And I like having accurate records. It just doesn't work for me if I have to sort of, kinda, estimate how many miles I have on the bike. So there has to be some kind of computer on it.

Dave—hmm...my current bike is also resting against the bookcase! Which is exactly where the Legend will go when I get it. If I'm home, it will never be more than about ten feet away from me...

Vax—yeah, I think that's what I'll do. Put a cheap Cateye on it, switch it over when the Flight Deck comes through. I seem to remember reading somewhere in the manual that you can set a 6501 to start the odometer anywhere you want it. Presumably you can do the same thing with the 6502. But yeah, the more I think of it, the more it seems insane to leave such an outrageously elegant bike at the bike store any longer than necessary. I already told them I want to see the frame as soon as it comes in!

Thanks for giving me back my santity! :-)

[coylifut]

Put a cheapy on it and ride. As far as the data watching goes, I can respect that. If it increases your enjoyment and sense of accomplishment, track it. When I first read your post, I thought, wow that guy's really trapped by the numbers, then I realized I record just as much, but very different data. In addition to the road, I ride alot of MTB and Cross. Miles and speed do not track well and correspond to the road. Consequently, I use power and heart rate. Take the day off next week and ride all day.

[Climb01742]

eric--are you sure about the flightdeck? my LBS had one for me when i put DA 10 on my IF. unfortunately its just as mindboggling complicated as the previous flightdeck. keep bugging your shop. they are out there.

[Jeff N.]

They are definitely available now, but they're going fast.You shouldn't have to wait.Tell your LBS to get on the horn. Jeff N.

[NateM]

give them a call

[Kevan]

the computer is considered more like clutter after you've gven it up for a while. I know you don't see it that way, but I'm willing to bet you eventally will see the light. Sure, it's kinda neat to see the miles accumilate, but your bike should last more than a life time, so does it matter in the end if you haven't accounted for each and every mile? Keep in mind too that eventually that computer IS going to fail you, I can pretty much guarantee you that at the worst time the battery will run dead or there wll be some sort of hick-up caused by a nasty rainstorm you ride through that will wipe the memory clear. You will be left to guess your miles, the average, and the max. It might take thousands of miles until this happens, but it will happen. These computers eventually fail everyone.

Course, computers have their place in training, directions, or enjoying stats, but the bigger joy is just getting out to ride. Right? Do what I do:when I want to know what's going on I ask one of my riding buddies for the details. So take your new bike out for a ride with one of your pals and have him give you the details you crave. This way, you can spend all your attention becoming familiar with your steed and not worry about some silly buttons and numbers. :cool:

[Climb01742]

kevan--try the new DA 10 computer. comes with built in DVD. i watch spongebob episodes while i ride. i hope to one day get thru an entire ride without crashing. that spongebob. what a cut-up. you're just not using the right computer. :p

[ericmurphy]

Put a cheapy on it and ride. As far as the data watching goes, I can respect that. If it increases your enjoyment and sense of accomplishment, track it. When I first read your post, I thought, wow that guy's really trapped by the numbers, then I realized I record just as much, but very different data. In addition to the road, I ride alot of MTB and Cross. Miles and speed do not track well and correspond to the road. Consequently, I use power and heart rate. Take the day off next week and ride all day.

God, there's no end to what I write down after a ride: time, date, route, distance, average, max, hr average and max, time in each of three zones, calories burned, my weight, temperature, weather, and usually a hundred words or so about what happened on the ride. The performance data is actually pretty secondary; if my average speed sucks, I don't get upset. Then there's all the maintenance information I keep for the bike. If you saw my ride log, you'd probably begin to question my sanity. :-)

But the fact is, if I don't write this stuff down, I regret it. I often look at logs from years past to see what my progress looks like, and often I can bring back really strong memories of rides I did five years ago just from reading my logs. Kinda like having a diary, I guess.

Anyway, I'll start nagging my lbs. They say that once one shop has them, everyone gets them, and they have a really good working relationship with Shimano, especially for a small shop. So hopefully it will be in by the time my bike's ready. If not, I'll slap some cheap Cateye in there until it comes in.

Yeah, the Flight Deck's a bitch to program, but once it's done, it works without too much dicking around with it.