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Well I did it again. I just couldn't resist. I may have a problem saying no to bikes. But an offer came up that I couldn't refuse. Just look at the new Salsa Casserole and tell me that I did the wrong thing. Ok then. Here's my reasoning: The Redline 925 has been a great bike and will continue t be one. However, I will need to get another set of wheels after this season. They've taken a beating in the wet, salt and sand of the winter. So I would probably drop a good chunck of change on that. It also needs some new tires, drivetrain and potentially bottom bracket. All of these upgrades would put me in the $400-500 range. Now wouldn't it make sense to use the discount that I get from one of our best team sponsors (Salsa) to get a complete bike instead? Well that's the reasoning I used to sort of convince my wife. I'm still not sure it worked, but I was able to order the bike anyway. Now I have a fleet of Salsas. I can't say enough good things about these frames. They're responsive, light, durable and downright pretty. Every year they whip up some awesome new paint/graphic combination that bikers lust for every year. I currently have two full scanduim frames and one scanduim/carbon. This new Casserole will round out the frame materials because it is steel! I think steel is the way to go on a commuter. It sucks up the little bumps, cracks and chatter that crappy city roads dish out. An aluminum bike would just be a little too stiff. I like to have a little bit of flex to the frame for a commuter. Plus, most other frame material, like carbon, ti, or even scandium, would be too cost prohibitive. And I would worry that it would get stolen or crapped on by seagulls.One thing though with the steel is that it it tends to be a bit more corrosive than the other materials. So it was suggested I put on a frame protector spray to prolong the life of it. Might be a good idea. So the Casserole is set up with some stock parts--so I just can't go wrong. I'm thinking of selling the Redline to offset some of the cost of the new bike, but I'm also thinking it would make a great foul-weather ride. That way I could just keep the studs on it for winter and use it exclusively in winter. Hey, people have a set of snow tires for their cars--probably paid more for them then I paid for that bike, so what the hell. Speaking of cars, I did some calculations last month of how many times I drove to work last year. 11 times. That was a record for me--on the low end. This year I don't see that happening, I've already had to drive 6 times because of weather, sickness or picking up kids. And as the kids get older, I wcan only imagine my drive days will increase--it's a sad reality, but one I hope to curtail for as long as I can through the use of a trailer! Yes! Now both my kids are big enough to ride in the trailer, so that will help out on those days I have to drop them off or pick them up (in the warmer weather of course). I haven;t strung this idea on my wife yet, but I'm sure it will go over really well--the kids will like it. An update on my lighting system. I got it back in the mail a few weeks ago after sending it back to Nite Rider. They said it was water damage to the battery that caused it to die. Didn't they test these things in rain? I certainly did not submerge the thing by any means. Yeah it was probably some hard rain, but these lights should be made to withstand that at the very least. But they got it back to me fairly quickly, so I can't complain too much. And the new battery still holds a great charge for almost a week (using it for just the ride home--30-35 min), even in the cold weather. Speaking of which, I'm officially done with winter. I just finished shoveling our latest dump of 8-10 inches which puts the snowbank at the end of my driveway at about 7 ft. Enough is enough. Get out there when you can, ride safely. Zm
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