[abudoggie]

Just picked up my new Secteur Elite last week. Was going to get the 2011 Elite with Apex but I got a pretty good deal on a 2010 which has a Shimano 105 triple (the savings from not going '11 was enough to buy most of my startup gears so that was the deciding factor). Since I'm new to road cycles my ego can handle a triple. Then again I guess a triple is just a "standard double" with a bailout option.

Have been riding all week. Really enjoy the bike and have no complaints. Very well suited to me. Its a 56 frame. I got the 105 SPD-SL pedals and Specialized BG shoes. The shoes are amazingly comfortable and as a noob all I can say about the pedals is that they seem to do what they should. So I've gone clipless right off the bat and.. knock on wood... no troubles so far either clipping in or out (although if I had to pick..clipping in requires a bit more focus for me than clipping out). I really like the setup much better than my old diamondback mtb setup which I had years ago.

This week, I can only fit in 10-12 mile rides in the morning or after work. On the weekend I'll go 20-25.

I didn't get a real fine-tune fitting yet just an initial setup with the assembler. Figure I will break both me and the bike in together first. I got a new helmet, bib and jersey. nothing pro 'n loud just plain and functional. (and the other usuals: bottle, repair kit, tool and seat bag, etc)

I also got a Cateye Strada and for now I'm really working on this whole spinning thing. I keep mashing away so working on developing good fundamentals will be an adjustment.

I've been scouring online for beginning road cycling resources and trying to soak up info when I'm not riding, I'm reading about riding. Any suggestions or links would be appreciated.

 

[PJ352]

Congrats on the new bike and welcome to RBR. All indications are that you're off to a great start! :thumbsup:

It's great that you're in tune with the importance of maintaining adaquate cadence. You'll get a lot of differing opinions on the topic, but if you search it here (in the beginner's corner) there were a couple of recent threads that IMO are worth a read.

Other than that I say ride whenever you can and pay heed to what your body is telling you. So far you don't seem to be having any fit related issues, so let's hope that continues.

Forgot to mention... we need to see pics of your bike. It's tradition here.

 

[EastonZ16]

What did you pay for the 2010? I am in the same boat as you right now, but waiting to see how good of a deal I can get.

 

[abudoggie]

PJ: Thanks for the info. I'll get a pic up soon.

Easton: I got 18% off. The bike was ordered for me. Had it been sitting in the shop, maybe I could have done better. But I really like this LBS and don't need to beat on them as long as prices are reasonable.

 

[DaveNYRB]

Great bike. I tried the Secteur, the Roubaix and Cannondale Synapse before deciding on a more race oriented road bikes but still capable of long rides. It came down to the Cannondale Six Carbon and the bike I ultimately got (Max Lelli Tiburzi) which is similar in geometry.

Haven't logged too much time in saddle but looking forward to some fall and winter (if not too cold) rides to build up endurance for next season.