{"id":295,"date":"2017-10-06T18:04:27","date_gmt":"2017-10-06T18:04:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ridelikeaturtle.com\/sport\/?p=295"},"modified":"2017-11-22T22:52:30","modified_gmt":"2017-11-22T22:52:30","slug":"bianchi-ti-megatube-still-fantastic-after-all-these-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.ridelikeaturtle.com\/sport\/bianchi-ti-megatube-still-fantastic-after-all-these-years\/","title":{"rendered":"Bianchi Ti Megatube: Still Fantastic After All These Years"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.ridelikeaturtle.com\/sport\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/2017-10-05-17.14.33.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-292\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-292\" src=\"http:\/\/www.ridelikeaturtle.com\/sport\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/2017-10-05-17.14.33-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"Bianchi Ti Megatube\" width=\"960\" height=\"720\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.ridelikeaturtle.com\/sport\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/2017-10-05-17.14.33-1024x768.jpg 1024w, http:\/\/www.ridelikeaturtle.com\/sport\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/2017-10-05-17.14.33-300x225.jpg 300w, http:\/\/www.ridelikeaturtle.com\/sport\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/2017-10-05-17.14.33-768x576.jpg 768w, http:\/\/www.ridelikeaturtle.com\/sport\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/2017-10-05-17.14.33-960x720.jpg 960w, http:\/\/www.ridelikeaturtle.com\/sport\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/2017-10-05-17.14.33-480x360.jpg 480w, http:\/\/www.ridelikeaturtle.com\/sport\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/2017-10-05-17.14.33-320x240.jpg 320w, http:\/\/www.ridelikeaturtle.com\/sport\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/2017-10-05-17.14.33-240x180.jpg 240w, http:\/\/www.ridelikeaturtle.com\/sport\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/2017-10-05-17.14.33.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>FAUGERES, FRANCE &#8212; What a long, wonderful marriage this has been, between me and my Bianchi.<\/p>\n<p>It looks like a lot of\u00a0time has gone by since I last updated this blog with the changes the Ti Megatube has undergone. In the past couple of seasons, since the bottom-bracket overhaul, I&#8217;ve made wholesale changes to it, replacing parts that felt tired, worn, or simply dated. A detailed\u00a0summary:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em>Saddle.<\/em> I replaced the titanium &#8220;Flite&#8221; saddle with a Selle San Marco Concor, which has a nice celeste touch to it. Also, the previous saddle always made me numb; this one hasn&#8217;t eliminated that issue completely, but it&#8217;s better. Weight-wise, it&#8217;s much-of-a-muchness, and I don&#8217;t consider weight so much anymore (though I&#8217;m not unaware or dismissive of weight either). But for style, this saddle is really pretty.<\/li>\n<li><em>Pedals.<\/em>\u00a0On all my bikes I now run Shimano SPD-SL cleats. They&#8217;re the least expensive option (over LOOK) and work well.<\/li>\n<li><em>Bar tape.<\/em> Grey &#8211; nice for a change, doesn&#8217;t get as dirty as quickly as white, looks more interesting than black, and complements the celeste frame nicely. Maybe next time&#8230; pink? Why not?<\/li>\n<li><em>Seatpost and Stem<\/em>. Campagnolo seatpost in silver, a more traditional option than the previous black painted Synchros; similar with the arrival of a 3TTT Status quill stem to replace another black painted Synchros item. Frankly, the Synchros seatpost and stem were ugly (though quite high-quality, for their day). In this case, I&#8217;ll take style over substance, as any performance gain would be marginal &#8211; and let&#8217;s be honest, I&#8217;m not riding the TdF.<\/li>\n<li><em>Wheels.<\/em> The old and very grumbly Mavic Cosmic Elite wheels have been replaced with&#8230; newer Mavic Cosmic Elite wheels! I wasn&#8217;t specifically looking for Mavics,\u00a0and I&#8217;d have happily put a set of inexpensive, familiar, and super-reliable Campagnolo Khamsins, or even upgraded to fancier Campagnolo Zondas, if some had become available. But when a pristine set of nearly-new Cosmic Elites became available, I couldn&#8217;t pass them up. In the meantime, I will replace the bearings in the old rear wheel and have a solid good-as-new winter set&#8230; for the Bianchi Sprint 76 in Dublin.<\/li>\n<li><em>Cassette.<\/em> I couldn&#8217;t believe I found barely-used Dura-Ace 13-26T 8-speed cassette in a box in the shed. Happy days! A new 8-speed chain (KMC) was put on too.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>I&#8217;ll need to re-grease the bottom bracket again, and maybe replace it. I&#8217;ve got a Campagnolo Chorus BB\u00a0in a box at home, ready to go. I&#8217;ve also got a full brake and shift cable set coming, as the current cables are very stretched.<\/p>\n<p>Sure, I spend too much money (and possibly too much time) fiddling\u00a0with my bikes, and not enough time riding them. However, I almost never have a mechanical break-down; and if I do, I know how to fix it.<\/p>\n<p>Last, but not least: notice the big rear light? Not just any rear light: that\u00a0is a Cycliq Fly6 rear-facing HD camera, with 6hrs of battery life (USB rechargeable) and 32GB of recording space. This is for &#8220;incident protection&#8221;, just in case some driver gets too close and smashes me off the road. Priceless.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.ridelikeaturtle.com\/sport\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/2017-10-05-17.25.13.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-294\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-294 size-thumbnail\" src=\"http:\/\/www.ridelikeaturtle.com\/sport\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/2017-10-05-17.25.13-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"Bianchi Ti Megatube\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.ridelikeaturtle.com\/sport\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/2017-10-05-17.25.13-150x150.jpg 150w, http:\/\/www.ridelikeaturtle.com\/sport\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/2017-10-05-17.25.13-480x480.jpg 480w, http:\/\/www.ridelikeaturtle.com\/sport\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/2017-10-05-17.25.13-320x320.jpg 320w, http:\/\/www.ridelikeaturtle.com\/sport\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/2017-10-05-17.25.13-240x240.jpg 240w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.ridelikeaturtle.com\/sport\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/2017-10-05-17.14.38.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-293\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-293 size-thumbnail\" src=\"http:\/\/www.ridelikeaturtle.com\/sport\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/2017-10-05-17.14.38-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"Bianchi Ti Megatube\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.ridelikeaturtle.com\/sport\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/2017-10-05-17.14.38-150x150.jpg 150w, http:\/\/www.ridelikeaturtle.com\/sport\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/2017-10-05-17.14.38-480x480.jpg 480w, http:\/\/www.ridelikeaturtle.com\/sport\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/2017-10-05-17.14.38-320x320.jpg 320w, http:\/\/www.ridelikeaturtle.com\/sport\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/2017-10-05-17.14.38-240x240.jpg 240w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.ridelikeaturtle.com\/sport\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/2017-10-05-18.43.01.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-290\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-290 alignleft\" src=\"http:\/\/www.ridelikeaturtle.com\/sport\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/2017-10-05-18.43.01-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"Bianchi Ti Megatube\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.ridelikeaturtle.com\/sport\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/2017-10-05-18.43.01-150x150.jpg 150w, http:\/\/www.ridelikeaturtle.com\/sport\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/2017-10-05-18.43.01-480x480.jpg 480w, http:\/\/www.ridelikeaturtle.com\/sport\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/2017-10-05-18.43.01-320x320.jpg 320w, http:\/\/www.ridelikeaturtle.com\/sport\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/2017-10-05-18.43.01-240x240.jpg 240w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.ridelikeaturtle.com\/sport\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/2017-10-05-17.01.31.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-291\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-291 alignleft\" src=\"http:\/\/www.ridelikeaturtle.com\/sport\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/2017-10-05-17.01.31-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"Bianchi Ti Megatube\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.ridelikeaturtle.com\/sport\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/2017-10-05-17.01.31-150x150.jpg 150w, http:\/\/www.ridelikeaturtle.com\/sport\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/2017-10-05-17.01.31-480x480.jpg 480w, http:\/\/www.ridelikeaturtle.com\/sport\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/2017-10-05-17.01.31-320x320.jpg 320w, http:\/\/www.ridelikeaturtle.com\/sport\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/2017-10-05-17.01.31-240x240.jpg 240w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>FAUGERES, FRANCE &#8212; What a long, wonderful marriage this has been, between me and my Bianchi. It looks like a lot of\u00a0time has gone by since I last updated this blog with the changes the Ti Megatube has undergone. In the past couple of seasons, since the bottom-bracket overhaul, I&#8217;ve made wholesale changes to it,<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.ridelikeaturtle.com\/sport\/bianchi-ti-megatube-still-fantastic-after-all-these-years\/\" class=\"more-link themebutton\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":292,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-295","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cycling"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.ridelikeaturtle.com\/sport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/295","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.ridelikeaturtle.com\/sport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.ridelikeaturtle.com\/sport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.ridelikeaturtle.com\/sport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.ridelikeaturtle.com\/sport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=295"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"http:\/\/www.ridelikeaturtle.com\/sport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/295\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":302,"href":"http:\/\/www.ridelikeaturtle.com\/sport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/295\/revisions\/302"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.ridelikeaturtle.com\/sport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/292"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.ridelikeaturtle.com\/sport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=295"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.ridelikeaturtle.com\/sport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=295"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.ridelikeaturtle.com\/sport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=295"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}