Gunnar Roadie -- 2014 Version

In 2007 P__ bought me the Gunnar Roadie for our anniversary.  I've toyed with a handful of other bikes (and here) (and here), am currently excited about yet another that is being built (the Breakaway), and regularly drool over the fancy jobbies (and here) (and here) (and here) (and here) the beautiful people ride, but whenever I get back on the Gunnar I realize there is no sweeter ride.

I just completed the most recent update.  I've lost count, but we must be at four rebuilds since the bike was new.  (Example.)  The bigger changes include a repaint (original color was deep red) and a new groupset.  This time was a milder refresh.

Here it is.

Gunnar Roadie.  New for 2014.

I replaced the stem, bars, and the headset, and I added a Garmin mount.  Not sure why I wanted 3T bars over the FSA bars recently removed, but likely it is because the color scheme matched better.  (The FSA had some red accents and this is a gray, silver, black and white bike.)  The stem is a Thomson X2, marketed for road use and ~30 gms. lighter than the X4 (mountain) that I replaced.  The Garmin mount is a little silly-looking, but it opens up the stem to mounting batteries for both the lights and the Garmin. The Cane Creek 110 headset is top-of-the-line for external bearings, of the ilk of the feted Chris King Nothreadset.


My one complaint:  as with the prior Cane Creek headset (S-3), there is an annoying ~1.5 mm gap between the fork crown and the bearing cup.  I have no idea why.

That's the angle that makes the saddle
look so, er, snobbish.

The WTB Rocket V SLT saddle is from last year, but the new Thomson Masterpiece seat-post shaves a fair amount of weight. (~76 gms.)  It is also noticeably more delicate than the Thomson Elite I removed (and am using for the Break-away).  I like the Erica Hanson seat-bag, which I wrote up in the doo-dads post a few months ago.  New seatpost clamp to match the silver headset.  (Thank goodness I reined in my inclination to buy a $18 Cane Creek clamp for brand-matching.)

I went with silver aluminum cages instead of the former black carbon.  The carbon cages did not grip the bottles terribly well and they looked like carbon.  These match the headset, seatpost clamp, and accents on the wheels.


I've converted entirely to the seat-stay pump mount. I think it looks awesome; it permits me to carry a frame pump with all of the wheel inflation efficiency that entails; and I preserve the valuable top-tube space for a frame pack.  (I'll let you know when a pump finally kicks out and causes my rear wheel to seize up at speed.) I like the Zefal Classic in silver and black, with the famously durable metal head.  Again, it matches the colors, if nothing else.

Finally, new wheels.  I went with Mavic Ksyrium Elites:  the SLs, SSRs, and similar were just out of my range.  At 1520g for the set, with famously durable steel spokes and the same rim as the higher-end Ksyriums, for $529 shod and shipped, these are right in the sweet-spot.

The Ksyriums replace my beautiful, all-black, custom-made White Indus. Hubs/Sapim CX-Ray spokes/Kinlin rims setup from White Mountain Wheels.  Those wheels are going on the Breakaway, which I anticipate riding in places where the ability to change a spoke road-side will be very helpful.

The white-and-black Ksyriums match my color scheme and give me just enough branded bling to satisfy the itch of looking like I want to look like I'm a big shot.  I anticipate changing the tires to 28c Schwalbe Ultremo ZXs, but for now the 25c made-to-match rubber should serve the purpose.

What else might I do?  Very little.  I am tempted to replace the cage on the underside of the down-tube with the Tallac Behold.  Tools down there and rubber and patches in the seatpost bag would be tremendous.  That and 28c Schwalbe Ultremo ZXs on the wheels.

And, I hope, 5000 miles between knee surgery and the end of the year.