First Commute on the New Bike

[fossyant]

Ah you got it from Paul - he's built me a few wheelsets in the past

 

[John the Monkey]

JohnTM, when you say STI shifters, are you talking about those that you nudge inwards towards the centreline of the bike to change gear? (excuse my ignorance on th e terminology). Also, what was your old bike? A hybrid?

STi (I think it stands for Shimano Total Integration, so it's not really a generic term) basically means shifters integrated into the brake levers. Sora uses the brake lever to shift to larger chainrings/sprockets and a thumb lever (that you can't reach from the drops ) to change to smaller. Tiagra and onwards uses the brake lever and a "paddle" type switch on the inside of the lever in the same way.

My old bike was a 2nd hand £50 road bike I bought to see whether I liked drops and skinny tyres (do I ever ) Nice old bike, steel frame with bags of character in the ride, but downtube friction shifters, and heavy compared to the SCR. Prior to that I rode a hybrid (Raleigh Pioneer Elite) that I still use for nipping to the shops etc

As much as I love my Sirrus, I'd love to get a road bike some time in the future.

Well worth trying - I wouldn't go back to a hybrid for covering distance, I think, although the riding position etc of a drop bar bike isn't for everyone.

 

[John the Monkey]

I'm going to have to checkout all of those "which tyre ?" threads now though, since I love my SM+ tyres on the MTB and want a similarly bomb-proof set on the future SCR2..

FWIW, I liked Panaracer Pasela TGs and Bontrager RaceLite XL Hardcases on my bike - one puncture on the latter (piece of staple that pentrated the Kevlar) and a pinch flat on the former (from low pressure and a pothole).

Ah you got it from Paul - he's built me a few wheelsets in the past

He's a top fella - the bike setup was absolutely spot on.