Vanilla + Sugar
Published 2016-08-11
After two years in dry dock, I finally got my Vanilla roadworthy again. Aktch finished wrapping the bars on Monday, just in time for rain! So today was my first ride on this bike since 2014. New 105 groupset, new Sugar wheels.
The wheels are fantastic, full stop. The shop screwed up the finish (black not silver) but I'm liking the "invisible wheel" thing I've got going on now.
The 105 gruppo performs better than my old mixed-vintage (2004 to ’10) Ultegra gruppo — but ugly as sin. And let's be honest: 11 gears is pearls before swine with me. I use the same 6 cogs (3 biggest + 4 smallest minus 11T, cmon I never touch the 11T). So I went from 2 cogs I never touch (2004) to 4 cogs I never touch (2010) to 5 cogs I never touch. Plus the hub body has to be a little narrower now (thus the new wheels)
Seriously: quit jamming cogs onto the cassette. I've been riding 12T-28T for 12 years, the number of stops in the middle is irrelevant.
The brakes are FANTASTIC. I was warned they'd be good and they are.