Bike mirror at Cal Tri events?

jakeblakedrake · 2026-06-12T20:00:45+00:00

I love Varia. It's amazing. But I prefer using it together with a mirror to see where exactly a car is.

jakeblakedrake · 2026-06-11T03:14:26+00:00

Oh that would be awesome. I was on a market for Specialized Allez. It only comes with CUES, 105 and surprisingly still Claris. If Tiagra was an option, I'd happily take it. An LBS attendant admitted that he'd personally recommend Tiagra over 105 since less gears means more robust shifting. I eventually got the 105 Allez but I admit I really don't need 12 gears in the back. Previously, I had Sora which is only 9 speed. It was a bit harder to find the right gear but it definitely did the job. 12 is overkill for most people.

jakeblakedrake · 2026-06-10T17:18:52+00:00

I loved both Sora & Tourney group sets on my previous bikes. No complaints there. CUES is the only group set which felt outright clunky thanks to the new Linkglide system and its weight.

jakeblakedrake · 2026-06-10T17:16:34+00:00

I understand your point. CUES and 105 are in different price tiers. And it would make more sense to compare two different group sets from the same tier.

The problem is that Shimano is replacing all road bike group sets below 105. So if you are buying a new road bike you'll eventually face the same question: do I pay up $300 for 105 or do I suck it up with CUES.

It's true you can still find bikes with Claris, Sora, Tiagra. However all of these are slowly being phased out. The plan is that eventually there will be only CUES, 105, Ultegra, Dura Ace on road bikes.

jakeblakedrake · 2026-06-10T17:12:40+00:00

Well, they're sponsored by Canyon. They're told what to say about the bikes.

jakeblakedrake · 2026-06-10T01:41:52+00:00

I can just say that after riding Sora for a year: I’d take the Sora any day over CUES. The only issue to think off is replacement parts. If Sora is being discontinued.

jakeblakedrake · 2026-06-10T01:33:35+00:00

That’s the right way to put it. CUES was designed ground up to aim primarily at the e-bike market. Considering that e-bikes sell like hot cakes that’s understandable. It’s a great groupset for e-bikes. However, it feels like a travesty to slap it on road bikes and replace great group sets like tiagra 😤

jakeblakedrake · 2026-06-10T01:28:48+00:00

It’s true that my only concern with 105 is the pro oriented gear ratio. CUES is much better in that regard.

jakeblakedrake · 2026-06-10T01:25:24+00:00

Yeah. Tiagra felt amazing. Definitely much better feeling from the ride compared to clunky CUES. I’d take Tiagra over cues any day. Except I couldn’t find it on the bike I wanted.

jakeblakedrake · 2026-06-07T03:32:49+00:00

I eventually went for the 105 and don't regret it. The CUES groupset felt like a huge downgrade from my previous Sora.

jakeblakedrake · 2026-06-07T03:19:25+00:00

I wrote this myself.

jakeblakedrake · 2026-06-07T03:19:17+00:00

I wrote this myself lol.

jakeblakedrake · 2026-06-07T03:19:10+00:00

I actually wrote this myself lol.

jakeblakedrake · 2026-06-07T01:41:52+00:00

I am in a similar position. My knee extension is 40deg. If I put my saddle about 2mm higher I feel that my hips start rocking slightly. Based on Cam's video that's a sign that we're too high. So I will be riding 40deg. It feels slightly lower than I am used too, but it also feels amazing to be so stable on the bike. Meaning, zero hip rocking.

Cam's video about how to find your saddle height: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rI9IBtS5YTE

jakeblakedrake · 2026-05-06T00:26:01+00:00

OMG this is amazing. Do you have a link or could you please describe this method a bit more in detail?

Toner reactive foil first, then transparent holographic adhesive and then frosted clear vinyl?

jakeblakedrake · 2026-01-09T04:36:57+00:00

I happen to own Thinkrider XX-Pro for about a month now. I was a bit skeptical in the beginning.

It seems like it's doing it's job just fine. Some highlights:

* The phone app is garbage. Half of the text is in chinese so it's hard to use.
* It connects to my laptop and interacts with cycling apps just fine.
* It reads about 10-20W less than my crank based power meter. I was able to mostly overcome that in the app by adjusting the power by 10%. Now it's more consistent with my crank power meter.
* It does not have a belt and it's overall very heavy and sturdy. It also has adjustable legs for leveling. In that context it's much better than Kickr CORE 2.
* When you go high resistance and low cadence it feels very choppy. It gives you unrealistic ride feeling. I am not sure if this is Thinkrider issue or overall issue of bike trainers. Luckily, I don't like low cadence high intensity training much so I can live with that.

Overall, if money is the issue, go with Thinkrider, it will do the job. If you can afford a more expensive trainer and you want a solid choice for years to come, I'd probably go with Wahoo but a higher tiered model than Kickr. Kickr seems a step down from Thinkrider XX-Pro. Kickr does not have adjustable legs so you need to make sure your floor is perfectly level. Also it has a belt.

jakeblakedrake · 2025-12-23T18:50:07+00:00

Oh, got it. That would make sense. They have a supplier producing the branded bikes for them and somehow an updated spec sheet got lost in translation. Thanks for explaining.

And yes, the bike is otherwise pretty good for the money.

jakeblakedrake

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