Saturday, August 13, 2011

2011 SMR 22

Met JB at 8 at the Gate.

Hardly saw any other riders until the Upper Ranch and then there were about a dozen, not together, just all bunched up... funny how that works.

I'm feeling pretty good, but not very strong.  And my heart rate is too high for my output but it's good to be back on the Mountain.






Wildlife Encounter:  Black Eared Jack at the Windmill House.


Saw Morgan at the Junction and told her I'm planning to do Cruella this year if I'm feeling better.  Rider limit is 300 and they only have about a third of that signed up so far so she was kind of marketing the event (as a DMS club member).


Product Review:  Shimano PD-5700 Pedals.
OK, two rides on these now, and I'm impressed.  I've had Look Deltas pretty much since clipless pedals were invented, and other than SPDs for my MTB/winter/touring bikes they are ALL I've ever had.  I liked Looks because they were easy to get into and have a big platform, but they always squeaked and it was really annoying.  I did some checking and didn't find anyone who didn't like these Shimano pedals, nor anyone who would say they squeak so they sounded like the ones for me.  Not too expensive, about the same as the entry level Look Keos; the Ultegra and Dura Ace versions didn't seem to offer any advantages over these either.  Easy to get into - maybe 5% harder than my old ones but that's probably just me and 23 years of Look cleats.  I'm not sure why they have the little replaceable plate on the top... probably to prevent wear on the softer pedal body but seems like an easy thing to replace if necessary whenever.  They came with one version of cleats that have what appears to be the perfect amount of float.  Other versions with different amounts of float and different colored doodads on the bottom are available as replacements.  These pedals get a 9.5 on the 10 point Diablo Scott Pedal Rating Scale.  Only way they could be better would be if they came in colors to match your bike (of course if you have a black or silver bike they already do.)


16:07

2 comments:

Rick said...

Cruella sounds like a good ride - are you considering the full century?

Diablo Scott said...

Yeah, Cruella full century. But the last rest stop is at the finish line with the last 20 miles being another climb up SGR. I'll see how I feel at that point, 10,000 feet is a big hunk of vertical.