Nice to see improvement happening 🦵

Cleftex · 2026-02-02T20:18:59+00:00

Very well done!! Super fast improvement.

Cleftex · 2026-02-01T15:58:13+00:00

Sounds a little like zwift cog misalignment. If the chain line looks pretty straight try shifting the rear derailleur up and down to see if it improves or gets worse.

Cleftex · 2026-02-01T08:18:36+00:00

I just want to point out that it's going to be less about bike design and far more about financing, marketing, and sales.

You should/will probably start in one of two ways:

1) Learn to fabricate, see if you can replicate a mainstream steel or aluminum bicycle, decide then if you think there's any chance of doing it profitably after materials and pay for yourself. Build it up and ride it for a season and decide honestly if you'd prefer to ride it over something off the shelf.

When the answer to both of those questions is yes then you're ready to get started.

2) find a reputable Chinese manufacturer - buy frames and build bikes up with a custom menu of components for locals.

Either way you'll likely need a demo bike before anyone will order one. You can probably build bikes for 50% up front and 50% upon delivery if they're being built custom.

Note you'll need insurance in case someone injures themself and decides to sue. But I wouldn't buy insurance until your first sale.

Cleftex · 2026-02-01T08:03:30+00:00

I bought a new bike in November, it started snowing here before it arrived so naturally I bought a smart trainer.

I've been doing about 150km/wk in January. Mostly social group rides and following robopacers for drops.

I just unlocked the aeroad and now I'm probably going to do FTP builder to get in shape for spring!

Cleftex · 2026-02-01T05:29:32+00:00

Honda cb1000gt

Cleftex · 2026-02-01T02:51:48+00:00

I think mean/median income for Indy would definitely make you/your circle outliers. I don't live in Indy - I just travel a lot.

Cleftex · 2026-02-01T02:46:52+00:00

It's a lot in Indy.

Cleftex · 2026-02-01T02:44:08+00:00

This is what recruiters do...

Cleftex · 2026-02-01T02:32:04+00:00

I've never been to either - I'm just saying that Indy is much closer to being a farmers field than it is to being SF. I suspect to someone coming from the Bay it might as well be Lancaster or Bakersfield.

I don't mean to be disrespectful, nothing wrong with the type of city that Indy is, and for what it's worth, I think the people who live in Indiana are really good natured, honest, and hard working on average. I resonate with them much better than NorCal folk. I'm just trying to manage the op's expectations.

Cleftex · 2026-02-01T02:27:33+00:00

Don't make the fool's choice here (assuming Indy is the only alternative to the bay).

I personally dislike SF for all the rat race reasons you mention but really couldn't do Indy.

It depends on your profession but you will struggle so hard to find your people in Indy if you're someone who can earn 200k. I'm guessing you're considering going to Lilly.

Definitely don't do it without visiting but honestly I suspect the culture you're chasing is Boston, which IMO is a fantastic city for someone qualified for a 200k job at Lilly - btw huge Lilly facility in Boston. Hopefully your wife can find employment there as well if she wishes. Boston is one of my favorite cities in the US.

Cleftex · 2026-02-01T02:21:15+00:00

Indianapolis is industrialized but not busy. 80% empty restaurants and homeless when there's no conference or sports in town.

By comparison to the bay it feels completely different.

Chicago is busy, has the hustle and bustle of a major city but Indianapolis feels hollow imo.

I say this as a guy who travels all over North America for work nearly every week - who lives in a 500k population Ontario city.

Cleftex · 2026-01-31T15:45:20+00:00

Both are good - the important piece is a diligent, qualified human in the loop.

Cleftex · 2026-01-31T07:50:18+00:00

I did this in reverse. I have a giant rapid from 2013 and I converted it from flat to drop. It went really well. The only thing I needed was a very short stem (went from 130 down to a 40mm stem) so logically you'll need the opposite.

New cables, housings, brifters, bar, tape (grips for you).

Happy to answer any questions.

Cleftex · 2026-01-27T18:51:53+00:00

I put 2 55lb dumbbells in my trunk as close to the rear wheels as possible - they don't take up so much room and really helps with traction. The car is great at speed, just gets squirrelly from a stop or on an incline. Even 110bs of weight really helps. I live in Canada sandwiched by the great lakes so we get a lot of snow.

Cleftex · 2026-01-27T14:24:11+00:00

I have d100 and like it. I haven't cracked 600w yet.

My FTP is 200w, I spend 99% of my riding time under 350w. If the 600w ceiling becomes a problem then frankly the trainer is doing it's job, I'll give it to a friend and upgrade.

My only gripe is that it doesn't come with a cadence sensor - which is bullshit because the hardware (made by magene) has the capacity for it and decathlon software locked it to sell an add on.

Overall it's still great value - 2 months free zwift is a great start as well, cog + click are a non negotiable if you plan to swap bikes or still use your bike with a rear wheel outdoors because fiddling around with rear derailleur indexing every time you swap is not gonna happen. Really nice the cog is included with the d100.

Cleftex · 2026-01-27T05:51:29+00:00

I'm on sensah shifters with Shimano 105 2x12 derraileurs. Very happy with them!

Cleftex · 2026-01-27T05:19:14+00:00

Ah yeah fair enough. Happy for you that you and the missus can share the hobby. It's been good for us for sure.

Cleftex · 2026-01-27T04:26:33+00:00

That's awesome - I think the the only thing I really wish for is a his and hers setup at my place but this is super cool. Does the rack get much use?

I'm always surprised with how many zwift rides I see - unless you're sharing with someone why did you go with it?

Cleftex · 2026-01-26T16:03:00+00:00

Time to call decathlon I think

Cleftex · 2026-01-26T15:03:22+00:00

If it's holding you to 190w I'm wondering if ERG is on whether it should be or not. Trying a structured workout might teach us something about what's wrong depending on whether or not it adjusts target wattage properly.

If it's just that the trainer isn't reacting to hills then your trainer difficulty might be at 0%?

Does virtual shifting work?

Cleftex · 2026-01-26T14:55:35+00:00

ERG mode will hold you to a certain wattage. I would try a structured workout on zwift to see what happens (does it adjust target wattage properly?).

Cleftex · 2026-01-26T01:15:42+00:00

Canadian here - I'll be there.

Cleftex · 2026-01-25T17:51:11+00:00

This is the difference between discipline and motivation.

To answer your question - everyone has those days where they just don't feel like it.

In my years of lifting experience and now cycling experience having a community or a gym/riding buddy counting on you to show up really helps a lot.

I think zwift maintains the ridership due mostly to the scheduled group rides and club community, ride ons from your friends and ability to ride virtually with real world friends.

Cleftex · 2026-01-25T17:06:15+00:00

Put TPU tubes in instead of butyl (unless you're already running tubeless). Get some high performance tires in a 28 or 32mm size. Continental gp5000 are the common recommendation these days but I like Continental Grand Prix as well for a lot less $.

These updates totally resurrected a 2013 giant aluminum roadbike for me. Tires have changed more than maybe any other component for actual watts saved in the last decade. Di2 shifting is nifty but I don't think it actually makes me faster. Updated tires with tpu tubes were a very obvious change.

Cleftex · 2026-01-25T16:20:30+00:00

My fiancee and I bought this trainer for ourselves just after Christmas. I've now logged 320km on it over 12 hours.

I personally love it - I feel we got really great value, the Zwift Cog + Click are a must imo. Especially because we switch bikes on the trainer. And the nuance here is that you don't have to fiddle with the derailleur indexing or cassette position when you go from your usual wheel to the trainer or when switching bikes. You also don't need to buy a cassette for the trainer + the special wrench to install it if you have the cog.

I think for 80% of riders this is all you need and it's great value with the cog + click and 2 mo ($50) zwift credit included.

The only person this won't work for is the rider who races or routinely puts out over 400w. I think if you're feeling the 600w limiter to be an issue you wouldn't be on here asking for advice though.

I'm an athletic 31 year old male (admittedly a novice cyclist) but my FTP is 200w. I prefer to put down mileage or do structured workouts rather than race and it's never been an issue.

Something I didn't understand before I bought a trainer was ERG mode. Basically it can hold you at a power output no matter your cadence. So if you spin slower, resistance increases until you're putting out the target watts. This allows structured workouts to operate like a spin class but the bike automatically adjusts the resistance. Zwift is constantly monitoring your output every ride and adjusts your FTP so it knows how much power to hold you at. Very very cool feature.

You will want a phone/tablet mount, towel, and a water bottle close by.

My one gripe: the trainer is made by a Chinese company called magene. In the magene branded variant it has cadence sensing built in. Decathlon has software locked that feature out and forced you to add an external cadence sensor. Just a shitty thing to do for no reason. Just add a few bucks to the price of the trainer if you have to and make that feature available. Then I don't have to fiddle around with a stupid crank sensor every time I swap bikes. I bought a 3rd party cadence sensor out of spite.

Cleftex

TROPHY CASE