New Shifters!

Alright! I have lived with my battle scared shifters for a long time. Crashed and dismembered beyond recognition, corroded by my toxic sweat, I decided to give the bike a new breath of life. Bought over new the pair of Ultegra 6700 shifters from some guy in the forum. Again, vanity more than functionality. I dont foresee myself going the Dura-ace gruppo, neither do I see myself good enough a rider to warrant a change to Di2, so I shall just live with my old Ultegra gruppo since they still function just as well. Andrew, the bike guru, asked me this when I wanted to change my old gruppo out: what is wrong with the old set?


Err... nothing. Case closed. He suggested that if I were not going the Di2 way, no point changing back to Ultegra nor Dura-ace 7900. The price disparity does not justify the technology. Might as well downgrade to 105 and suffer the minor weight gain but better monetary savings. So here I am, stuck with my old Ultegra 6600 with the new black 6700 shifters. NICE! Still in the wrapper though. Yet to switch them. Will wait for the weekend to do it and swop out the crap replacement bar tape TBB gave me. Lizard skins are great to grip! The previous set lasted me only 2 weeks? Got shredded when I crashed at Neo Tiew in June.

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Training was in the wet and cold afternoon. Road was wet and the new training tyres were just not the best combination to put on the road. So I was especially careful in the corners, downhills and over drain covers. Not going to risk slipping at all. Did a 75km with HR specific sets. The old heart was good because they responded to every stroke of the pedal. Despite the good weather, I was still able to elevate the HR. The run was an easy 5:40/km pace for 8km. Running seems to be getting more consistent. Let's hope this keeps up.


Funny that the stiff neck bothered me when I woke up. As the day drew to a close for me, the ache was still bothering me. I was worried that I would not be able to watch over my shoulder when I biked? But turned out that the neck outgrew it during the training session. Hopefully, by tomorrow it will disappear. Such an irritation. Was so tempted to see a chiropractor to check out what was wrong. Wait a few more days and see if the pain dissipates.