Scrooge Mc-Yuva's take on the Shimano 105

I bought a totally beat up 2 year old 105 complete groupset from Amreet a few months back and have clocked almost 1000km on the setup already.

Shifting wise, rear shifting is fast, smooth and precise. However i still do not enjoy the upshifting using the big throwbacks on the big levers. It jumps waaay to  many gears at once and it takes some control to shiftup one gear at a time. Downshifting is v good though.

Crankset shifting is not good. I'll be honest. My old Sora's crankset shifting was more responsive. I takes two throws to shift completely to the smaller chain ring, and even then the throwing isn't uber smooth. I'm not sure if the age of the gruppo is a factor.

Weight isn't an issue. I mean, the Trek's already sporting steel bits and pieces, so the 105 was defintely an upgrade.

I have had the pleasure of test riding an Ultegra 6700 and a Dura Ace 7800 bike and obviously they kick 105's all the way to the moon. However, DA and Ultegra? No noticeable difference, unless you count weight savings. Am not pro enough to comment on stiffness and power transfer though i feel the Ultegra crank is slightly more balanced than the 105's.

Price wise, if you're buying a complete bike, and its your first, I recommend the new Tiagra gruppo. If you want a 10 speeder, go for the 105.

If you're custom building a serious racer, do not even look at the 105. Pay a few hundred more and get the Ultegra. Better resale value too. I would not pay more than 350 for a second hand 105 groupset (not including chain and BB).

Bottom line. If you want the thrills of a 10speeder and you're not going to race, 105 all the way.

Aight, that's enough bike talk.

Full Damage Breakdown :


Gruppo : SGD280
105 pedals : SGD80
105 chain : SGD40
Buildup with new BB and bartape : SGD70
Frame and old Ultegra + Sora : SGD400
Time RXT shoes : SGD130
Misc : SGD50 
Jamis sold for : - SGD300


GRAND TOTAL INVESTED : SGD 750 for 1000km of thrills




So totally worth it




Cheers from the,


Matrix

Scrooge Mc-Yuva

S-Works Specialized Shiv. I want one so bad my tooth hurts

I've decided not to participate in next week's 36km Time Trial along Changi Coastal. Right, some background for readers not familiar with cycling.

Time Trialling is kind of like a solo race against the clock. Fastest between 2 points of about 40km wins. Quite naturally you need special equipment for it. A Time Trial or a TT bike. It differs from a tradition road bike in 2 senses. The geometry puts the rider in a lower and more forward position. Your back is almost horizontal when you ride a TT bike. And its more aerodynamic than a road bike (though now the difference is becoming increasingly blurred).

The result is , you ride about 2kph faster, more if you're a really good rider. And that's a lot of time saving. The bike is highly unstable though, try riding with your arms tucked into your shoulders at 35kph and you'll know what i'm talking about. I've only ever tried a TT bike once, and its a crap ride. Painful, scarily unstable, BUT OH MY GOD ITS FAST ON THE STRAIGHTS!

You need to go on to the drops on a roadie and come out of your saddle to sprint, and you don't last. On a TT bike, you sprint more slowly but you can maintain a higer speed for an extended period.

Aight, enough bike-talk.

The point is, the race costs 40 bucks and well i don't get much fun out of it apart from a goody bag, and a sense of accomplishment. That works for quite a number of people, but i really want more bang for my buck.

I am a scrooge what.

And so i'm going to be going for the Sprint Challenge. 500 m drag race between 2 racers. I will almost def be bombed out, but oh my, its going to be more fun than the TT race.

On an off note, life is just awesome now. True true, i have an anal boss who pretty much makes my job which is really interesting kind of stressful, but it rocks to come back and just do what you like after work. Group of solo rides, dinner outside after, movies, weekend plans, its awesome.


OH, on another note, i'm finding it really easy to talk to women now. I don't mean my friends, but random people. The formula is simple:

1) Smile and don't look like you're about to eat her

2) Confidence. Once you're at a stage where you don't care what she think about this random chap talking to her, its pretty much smooth sailing.

3) Say bye once you've run out of conversation topics even if its after a couple of seconds. If she's interested, she'll try to keep you around. No loss if you strike out, plenty more fish out there.



Cheers from the,


Matrix

OK Go - This Too Shall Pass - Rube Goldberg Machine version - Official

FANTASTIC!!!!!!!!!!!

Gorillaz - Stylo (Full Version HD Music Video Clip) - Works in All Countries

good stuff

Keane - Somewhere Only We Know (US Edition)

This song is stuck in my head. Enjoy =)

Matrix

Its going to be an interesting day...

I'm sitting at a Starbucks near gate C3 (freeloading actually on the wifi and seats without buying anything) waiting for my flight out to Singapore from KL. Being back, even if it was for only 2 days was awesome. Good food, taking care of sister (its not bad at all, we watched a movie and all) and air conditioned room comforts.

I will be at work within the next 3 hours, to meet a deadline for this power plant optimisation software set by my boss. Plant's up and running in Vietnam and i really hope to be able to go on site (i think i will actually seeing noone else apart from my partner and me know how to handle anything in this project).

Today will end with an awesome thigh burning workout on the mongrel bike around NTU before dinner to whip myself into shape for a ride to Faber and to burn the calories i've been packing in since i got home 2 days ago.


Cheers from the,


Matrix

Controversy

THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS AIDS

Yeah, you just read it here. I recently chanced across an advertisement for a programme debunking AIDS. I ran a google search and came up with this:

The Big Lie About Aids

Of course, the fact that this article was published in a 1994 softporn magazine (Penthouse) didn't help much in its credibility. But i was still very interested. So i dug somemore and i came up with this:

HIV Is Not The Cause Of AIDS

This particular article is from an Orgone Biophysical Research Lab. Now i googled this lab to see if it is in fact a recognised facility. It didn't help that the website looked like something from the 10th century Internet and that this was a "non-profit" facility.

I was by this point losing interest in establishing credibility of my source and proceeded to keep googling for this controversy. 

In short i can sum it up in one sentence:

HIV and AIDS allegedly do not go hand in hand. HIV is not the cause of AIDS and AIDS is merely a name given to old diseases such as pneumonia which HIV positive people happen to have.

The following equation simplifies this:

no HIV+pneumonia = pneumonia

HIV+pneumonia = AIDS

I think this warrants further digging up eh?

 Anti-evolution activists in the US, who have for years been trying to ban Darwin's teachings in the classroom have launched a new offensive. You see, the US constitution clearly states that the Church and State is seperate, however, these chaps are now tyring to play the "freedom of academia" card.

Now I won't say that evolution is 100% correct. However, it is the most highly likely theory behind the big question of how we came to be. Natural Selection is supported by established biologists whom had to face scrutiny, cross examination and years of research.

The Church on the other hand plies its trade via a book written by man which claims the Earth was created by divine intervention and Intelligent Design. 

Given these 2 theories to choose, i'd choose the one that had to undergo the most scrutiny, unless of course the big man/woman him/herself came down and knocked in my head with a hammer made of lightning and burnt Darwin books. Then i'll kneel and say, "Amen".

I then started thinking of running with the herd. Is it always such a bad thing? I mean, yeah, you can get yourself a Blackberry just to acting like everyone else and buying and iPhone. But truth be told, an iPhone is by far the best interfaced gizmo i've used in years. Its really that good.

This has been rather a random post eh?

Cheers from the,

Matrix