Picked up the vault hydration kit. Not impressed that they didn't include proper length screws. I used the original and about lost it on the first ride. Also whoever built up the bike had the fork/basebar support risers installed in the wrong order so had to rearrange them to run this thing.

But, I do TT not tri so this is for training. It's convenient. Holds a lot of liquid. I can tell it gets hit with cross wind though. So there is that.

But, makes it so I can stay in aero for a loooong time as the roads allow. Oh, and the 60t chainring.......don't worry. I'm playing efficiency games running a junior cassette. It was windy enough the other day I did get into mid 90's rpm in the 60/14 though.

ma whip.

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80/20 Endurance Ambassador

The rocket sled looks awesome.

But don't ride at night, ya might disappear ... 😎

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Advanced Aero TopTube Storage for Road, Gravel, & Tri...ZeroSlip & Direct-mount, made in the USA.
DarkSpeedWorks.com.....Reviews.....Insta.....Facebook
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lord knows i’m not fast enough to outrun anything... def can’t disappear in the dark!

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80/20 Endurance Ambassador

Number 1; the new non-drafting machine... (best photo I've got of it happens to have me on it... ignore me and focus on the bikes beauty :) )
https://www.dropbox.com/s/ydxy760o2wp6k17/Photo%2004-04-2021%2C%204%2026%2015%20pm.png?dl=0


Number 2; the draft legal machine... (both in it's entirety and a close up on that paint job :) )
https://www.dropbox.com/s/y4sdcbwcrvcxep2/Photo%2005-04-2021%2C%209%2016%2018%20pm.jpg?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/pzs2is4330z92jh/Photo%2005-04-2021%2C%209%2017%2012%20pm.jpg?dl=0

Thank you pwai I've become fairly proficient with a spray can, too, especially when doing a couple light coats with some fine-grain dry sanding in between and then a final wet-sanding with extra fine (~800-1000 grit) - but spray can nozzles inevitably seem to throw spatters at just the wrong time and really mess up my flow.

I checked out the spray.bike resource mentioned earlier and that looks interesting - and I stopped by Harbor Freight today for something else and took a quick glance at their sprayers, too, but am not sure where I'd source the paint from if I went with that option. (A car parts store, or an automotive paint place?)

What sort of elevation are you normally racing/training on? Here in FL I decided a 60t sounded pretty cool as well, and after modelling the ratios across a variety of cassettes I ended up with a 12-25t for the flat courses we have around here. 90rpm at 60/17 (middle cog) is 40kph which works out nicely. Faster TT efforts (or specific sections of courses) still don't really touch the small end of the cassette, you don't hit the last two cogs until you're past 50kph at 90rpm. For the junior cassette, which I considered for a while, the same cadence for that speed puts you solidly on the end of the cassette, as you noted. I actually started with an 11-28t but once I realized I wasn't using the 11 or 28 I figured I'd rather trade them for the 16 and 18 cogs on the 12-25t, just to smooth out the jumps on what I was actually using.

All depends on preferences and use cases though, of course. Anything with actual hills and I can swap back to 2x with a more reasonable set of front rings. But a 60t sure does like to go fast once you get it going :) If you'd like, I can DM you a copy of the sheet I used for visualizing all the cassette options against target speed/cadence so the gear ratios/chainline made sense. I've been meaning to make a public version for a while but haven't had the time to polish it up yet.

Sure, if you like. Thanks!

I swap it to 2x in a 56/42 to ride hillier Raleigh area stuff. Standard 11-28 for that.

So far training the jnr cassette is working. It was windy enough down east early in the week I actually was spinning the 60/14 pretty fast for a mile or two. Geez. Like 29mph avg outbound and barely 20mph avg inbound. At times doing 35 or so and under 20. The cassette combo worked somehow.

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2020 Merida Warp Tri - Managed to get this new for an absolute steal ($3.5k USD) considering what its spec'd out with. First season on the bike (in NZ) completed on it and couldnt be happier!

Got a little update yesterday. Figured it was time for some new pics!

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Benjamin Deal - Professional - Instagram - TriRig - Lodi Cyclery
Deals on Wheels - Results, schedule, videos, sponsors

Your seat post is cutting off the incline lol

All the goodies! Very nicely kitted out bike! That said, I still think they look awkward in tall sizes for some reason..

Hhhhmmmmm me likey. I hated them when they first came out, but they have really grown on me and I realy like the way yours is put together.

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He who understands the WHY, will understand the HOW.

I finally moved on from my Trek Hilo. I named this one LoYaw.

NICE. What were the two difference's between the two P4s

Just got this one yesterday.

The P4 ran from 2008 to 2013. There was the original P4 variant of which this one is, and the P4 evo fom late 2010 onwards with a revised rear brake and some 15ish other tweaks.

This one specimen has a uniquely modified Shimano AX front brake which I'm pretty proud of.

What a tease, don’t leave me hanging!

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Looks great. I heard they are no longer making that bike, which is a shame if its true. I was looking forward to see the next iteration of it. :(

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"see the world as it is not as you want it to be"

Thanks! Yeah, they discontinued it last year and I grabbed one when they were on clearance via Slowtwitch discount.

Summer's bike got the cockpit upgrade and is in race trim. Figured it was time for some new photos.

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Benjamin Deal - Professional - Instagram - TriRig - Lodi Cyclery
Deals on Wheels - Results, schedule, videos, sponsors

When you going to get the Princeton wheels?

So after a few issues with my original QR PRSix2, with the UK distributor and QR's impeccable service the warranty replacement arrived, built up and looking absolutely stunning as of a month or so ago. EZ disc disc cover to come and make it even more of a weapon on those flat courses.
https://www.dropbox.com/...5%2036%20pm.jpg?dl=0