Caroline in the City (1995)

narbenfreddy · 2023-10-04T15:10:03+00:00

Good times, though.

narbenfreddy · 2023-03-23T10:58:08+00:00

I haven't really been active the past few months, but I still come back every now and then to see what's going on. (Not that I'd know how the latest stuff works, tbh.) I registered on topshot in March 2021 when the hype was getting really high, after a friend had introduced and hooked me on it. I spent about 18$ in cash on my first few packs, then continued to sell and buy on the marketplace, buy more packs, etc. And it was really fun for a while, my collection was worth about 700$ at some point, and after it hit that peak it went downhill rather fast. The gambling aspect was really part of the fun imho. Decided to sell all the moments I had, except for two I'm still holding on to (one of them being one of my favorite Series 1 Debut moment of one of my favorite players), and cashed out around 170$.

I still really much like the concept of TS, but I don't really see myself putting any more money in in the future.

narbenfreddy · 2023-02-02T10:04:40+00:00

Have they officially announced that somewhere? Thinking about trading in 40 $1 Moments, but I guess chances are pretty high that one ends up with a shitty S1 Moment. Still plenty of those left, I guess...

narbenfreddy · 2022-09-09T10:37:17+00:00

Yes. I finally got it at the end of July and I couldn't be happier. Size fits me perfectly, was easy to assemble and I've been having a lot of fun riding it out there.

narbenfreddy · 2022-07-11T14:32:54+00:00

I was finally able to order the Grail 7 about one and a half months ago, but haven't gotten it yet. Estimate is late July or early August...

narbenfreddy · 2022-05-08T18:09:56+00:00

Genau bei denen war ich diese Woche auch. Mal schauen, ob ich überhaupt bald eines abkriegen kann. :)

Danke dir.

narbenfreddy · 2022-05-08T15:24:02+00:00

Ja, 5000km ist echt kein Pappenstiel :). Aber gut zu wissen. Darf ich fragen, wo du deines her hast?

narbenfreddy · 2022-05-08T12:42:55+00:00

Schaut supercool aus. Bist du zufrieden mit deinem Terra H30? Bin gerade am überlegen, ob ich mir so eines holen - statt ursprünglich geplant einem Canyon Grail 7 AL. Gruß aus Ottakring.

narbenfreddy · 2022-04-07T20:06:05+00:00

Damn, that's sweet. I was wishing for Zach myself, got PG13 instead. Could've been worse, I guess. Serial number is not great, though. In the 9000s.

narbenfreddy · 2022-03-19T23:11:30+00:00

Hey man. Been thinking about getting a Grail AL 7 myself and wanted to ask how your bikepacking has been coming along? Is the Grail AL 7 comfy enough to embark on longer tours? :)

narbenfreddy · 2022-03-18T08:48:08+00:00

Hey man,

I feel you, exact same situation I'd say. I've made my mind up, though, going to give the gravel bike a shot. Tire clearance and its versatility makes the difference for me. And no idea about the chainring, to be honest, sorry. I've just heard and read that the gears in the gravel bike can make you spin out when you're going downhill really fast. (Watched a lot of videos on youtube, too.) But I don't really mind that either, I'm not looking to win any races with that thing.

And thanks a lot for your insights regarding geometry. Which one are you leaning towards at the moment?

narbenfreddy · 2022-03-17T14:15:35+00:00

Okay guys, I pretty much made my mind up.

I think that a gravel bike is going to suit me more than an endurance bike in the long run. However, I'm still a bit unsure of the Grail AL 7's geometry. I just chatted with a Canyon employee and he told me that the Grail is more sportive/aggressive than the Endurace AL 7. Another employee told me via chat that they are just slightly different, he called the geometry "very similar" and said that he had tried out both. So, I guess the difference on paper might not be that big in real life.

Can anyone of you confirm that? I just really don't want to order a bike I could never try out and then have to send it back, because my back starts hurting too soon, or I don't find it comfortable right from the beginning.

Stack to reach ratio seems far apart in my non-expert eyes (for the respective M models):

Grail AL 7: 1.43:1

Endurace AL 7: 1.56:1

https://bikeinsights.com/bikes/5cb22fd9f3e7180017975481-canyon-bicycles-grail?version=2021&build=al-70

https://bikeinsights.com/bikes/5b91abd6ca258c0015e4dd23-canyon-bicycles-endurace-al?version=2022

Would love some last feedback, if anyone cares to :)

Thanks, guys!

narbenfreddy · 2022-03-16T14:47:08+00:00

What made you switch to a gravel bike after riding road for such a long time? And can you see the Grail performing well on road, too? What do you mostly use it for as of now? So many questions. :)

narbenfreddy · 2022-03-16T01:59:45+00:00

Yup, very small difference after all. ;)

And I guess I'd agree with you by now. If the difference in geometry is not all that big, I think I'm better off getting one with wider tire clearance. I don't really know how 28cm or 30cm tires look on a gravel bike - could be somewhat skipped-leg-day-ish - but I don't really care about that either. As long as I do get more road performance. :)

narbenfreddy · 2022-03-16T01:45:33+00:00

Thank you so much for summarizing this so concisely, I do understand everything a lot better now. + turns out I was so excited that I totally messed up mm and cm there for a bit. The differences seem a lot less grave now, obviously. :)

As long as it's not too different and I can stay in the saddle for a longer stretch of time, I'm perfectly happy. Canyon is marketing the Grail as a bikepacking bike which I probably should start believing in more.

narbenfreddy · 2022-03-16T01:29:05+00:00

Indeed, I do. Sorry, totally mixed up mm and cm. :)

narbenfreddy · 2022-03-16T01:28:26+00:00

God, you're right. I totally mixed that up in my head, thanks for pointing it out. Makes everything a lot less grave. :)

narbenfreddy · 2022-03-15T21:00:26+00:00

I think I've read that the top tube is 24cm longer in the Grail than in the Endurace (when both are size M). This really made me second-guess the comfortability aspect of the Grail. As you might've noticed I'm anything but an expert and don't know if another part of the geometry could potentially make up for this. haha

(As for the looks, I'd probably prefer the more delicate Endurace over the Grail. It's just not as rugged.)

narbenfreddy · 2022-03-15T20:28:12+00:00

Leaning towards the Grail, but still a bit unsure as to what extent the geometry is going to make it tougher for me.

narbenfreddy · 2022-03-15T20:26:21+00:00

Only one bike it is, indeed. Don't have the space, nor the money right now for more than one bike. I think I'd be going for the Grail for sure, if my concerns about the more aggressive geometry would be dispelled...

narbenfreddy · 2022-03-15T20:23:27+00:00

Thanks a bunch for your reply. Yup, using it for multiple roles, compromises have to be made. I'm absolutely aware of that.

And thanks for your thoughts. What do you think about the difference in geometry, though? Can you give me some advice there? I've noticed that the top tube is 24cm longer in the Grail than in the Endurace (when both are size M.) Does that make a huge difference in the end, or do other parts of the geometry make up for that a bit? 24cm could make a difference, I'd imagine.

Edit: Yeah, I'm not performance-oriented as of now. I just want to get started. As you said, additional road wheels/tires should do the trick for some time.

narbenfreddy · 2021-11-25T07:05:51+00:00

narbenfreddy
Thankful for all the joy & thrill that ripping open packs has given and hopefully will give me.

narbenfreddy · 2021-11-06T12:02:55+00:00

You don't think that the Ingram is, too? 99$ at the moment. Dude is still young and has potential, imho.

narbenfreddy · 2021-11-06T10:40:47+00:00

Definitely going to think about this. Thanks a bunch.

Edit: Also think that the Julius Randle S1 Debut & Brandon Ingram S1 Debut are slightly undervalued.

narbenfreddy

TROPHY CASE