My Strael morphed into a different bike

Everything must change

My Strael is not the same it was when I originally built it up. My understanding changed, my abilities changed, and my Strael followed.^[1] While the frame remained, I adjusted:

• Groupset (to shift mechanical)
• Stem (prolonged by 2 cm)
• Seatpost (to move the saddle position 2 cm to the front)
• Stack height (lowered by 3 cm)
• Handlebars (increased reach by 1 cm and narrowed to 40 cm)
• Bartape
• Wheels and tires
• Bottlecages (to use steel bottles)

I kept:

• Saddle
• Pedals
• Bell
• Computer mount

Groupset

The first change was to replace the electronic Dura-Ace by a mechanical GRX 820. At some point the Dura-Ace was not working anymore. The parts were out of warranty and I was sitting on a pile of expensive electronic garbage. The Dura-Ace was x 12 on the cassette, and the GRX, as well as the new 105, were the only mechanical Shimano groupsets capable of handling 12 sprockets on the cassette. I opted for GRX, because the availability was better than 105 at the time, it is lighter, the ratio on the chainrings with 48-31 suits my riding, and I prefer the look of the crankset over the 105. I never looked back to electronic shifting. Mechanical shifting is accurate and sets me free from charging batteries when going out for a ride. I should not have wanted an electronic groupset.

Stem and seatpost

I have a short torso and was compensating for that with a shorter 80 mm stem on the Strael. The ride-feel suffers under a short stem because the steering becomes too quick. I always wanted to improve that. Finally, I changed to a Ritchey WCS Zero Carbon seatpost, which has no setback and allowed me to mount a 100 mm Ritchey WCS stem. The seatpost brings me forward on the bike. Because of that, my knees are no longer exactly over the pedal spindle, like it is required when following the KOPS^[2] rule, but I found that not being a problem. On the other hand, the steering improved by the longer stem, it´s more planted and secure, and I received more space for my legs when riding in a standing position.

Stack height

On some rides I developed pain between the shoulder blades. I realized this was because my upper body wanted to be lower on the bike. To accommodate for that, I tried to shorten my arms by pulling my shoulders back, which was the reason for the pain. The logical thing to do was to remove all stack spacers (not in one go, it was by experimenting), which led to a satisfying result. Without knowing if that´s desirable, it could be I´m capable of going lower, but in terms of reducing spacers I cannot go further. All of them are removed already. A next step would be a stem with a more negative angle and a second next step would be a different frame. As I am on a Strael 56T I know for sure that a Strael 56R would be too long for me. Staying in the Strael universe would mean to go for a 54R or a 54T.

Handlebars and bartape

The pain between the shoulder blades made me use smaller handlebars. My shoulders are closer to 40 cm width than to the 42 cm of which road handlebars come in by default. I removed the ZIPP Service Course SL 70 and exchanged it with a Full Speed Ahead Gossamer Compact. The Gossamer is 42 cm nominally, but that is measured at the bar ends! The width at the hoods is roughly 40 cm and the reach is 80 mm (10 mm more than my previous ZIPP).

Along with the new handlebars came a new bartape, the Fizik Vento Solocush Tacky. That was because I found the PRO Race Comfort too thick and it was not nice to wrap. The Fizik is much better in these categories. It´s excellent to wrap and not as thick.

Wheels and tires

By chance I could buy Ultegra C50 wheels for a good price. At first my plan was to have a spare set of wheels which I could change based on where and what I planned to ride. It turned out I like the look of the C50´s on the bike so much, I ride them all the time. The tires are Conti GP 5000 30 mm, but not the tubeless ones. I ride with tubes and therefore don´t need TR. The tires go easy on and off the rim and are a little bit lighter and cheaper than their TR counterparts.

Bottlecages

To avoid drinking out of plastic bottles, I changed to Klean Kanteen steel bottles. They don´t go well into a standard bottlecage. Thankfully, you can get Flattop King Cages that are made to hold steel bottles.

The rest

There was absolutely no need to alter the bell, the computer mount, the saddle, or the pedals. They are the same since the first days of the bike. The Strael was, and is, a great companion!