Maiden Voyage: initial impressions: Bikefanclub.com

Hi all, been watching the forum for a while, finally my long-running build is 95% done....time to put The Black Magic Woman to the test. She's been around the block a few times (no pun intended) with no incident other than the settling cables, which is to be expected. The question was, how confident am I in my build skills? Sure, it's my second bike I've built on my own...and given the lessons I learned on the first I'm 'fairly' confident.

So I rolled out yesterday morning to CalTrain (3 miles away), no problem. My initial reaction: this is nice. Took a couple of corners tighter than normal and was pleasantly reassured by the 'feel'. Also, I certainly don't cringe over bumps as much as I do on The Foxy Lady ('03 Merckx Team SC).

Ok, fast forward about 9 1/2 hours and the workday is done. Changed into the gear, filled a water bottle, and grabbed my Clif bar. Got on the road in San Mateo around 615ish for the typical commute home to San Jose (30 miles), mostly flat and on decent roads.

10 miles in I'm thinking, wow, this is nice and smooth. 20 miles in I'm thinking, WOW, THIS IS SMOOTH. At this point I start going through some rough patches of road that I normally avoid at all costs on The Foxy Lady....I was again pleasantly reassured by the 'feel'. The Foxy Lady seems to hop around a bit on the rough when I get off the saddle, but The Black Magic Woman doesn't as much...NICE.

Mile 25-30 contains a crossing of both San Thomas Expressway and Lawrence Expressway. The Commuter God(s) must have been smiling on me and I caught green lights at both which allowed me to wind up the sprint and go through the intersections among the traffic. Another difference noted when winding up the sprint: not as 'explosive' as the Team SC. Not that it's flexy BY ANY MEANS. I noticed the lack of derailleur rub when mashing/sprinting at 33+, something I've only ever noticed on the SC. It's hard to describe, but it somehow felt less 'snappy'. On The Foxy Lady I hear Phil Liggit in my head and feel like I'm part of the Fassa train...on The Black Magic Woman I didn't hear Phil, but my speed was the same. So, it's probably what I like to refer to as 'the marketing affect'.

Another difference on sprints is that The Foxy Lady feels like it's me, my burning legs, and a bike; during the sprints while The Black Magic Woman feels like just me and my burning legs.

Mile 30, rollin' into the drive way I thought to myself 'wow, I feel less beat up'. I don't know if it's real or 'the marketing affect' again, I'll be able to tell for sure after another couple of hundred miles, but one thing is for sure and that's that the CALFEE ROCKS!

For those wondering: yes, it was the same wheelset as on the SC and at the same PSI, and the same (make/model) saddle.

Spec:
'Off the peg' 54 Luna (Clear, hence the name)
04 Chorus RD - NOS
05 IRD Compact FDerailleur
05 Chorus Brake/Shift/Brifters
05 Chorus Brake Calipers
05 FSA Energy Compact
05 FSA BB
Chris King NoThreadSet (Red)
Deda Einstein 100 stem
Deda 215 bars
Bar Tape: None, that's the remaining 5%
Alien Alu seatpost (Red)
Fizik Aliante (Black)
Look CX7 (Black)
Wheelset: AC Sprint 350, SAPIMs, 28h f/r
Tires: Velomax Pave

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