Pro Vibe 7S Handlebar, Dura Ace 7900 Arrives! and the non-riding weekend

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I did not ride this weekend as I had a short excursion with my 2 boys to KL (via Coach) for a family gathering, good rest time and some serious calorie absorption. Had 2 wonderful dinners at some local cher char (one of them I distinctly remember as 'Paris') and a wan tan mee lunch to die for! Ok back to some serious exercising as well!! Food there is so much better (and cheaper) compared to here. I can't help but wonder why we can accept food that cost so much with majority of its cost actually tied purely to rental or premises, and not the actual ingredients themselves! Value gone wrong.

Now to the Pro Vibe 7S Shallow Drop Handlebars....weighing in at a hefty 300gms or so, I got it installed the very day I received it. Did my speed challenge ride of ECP - Siglap but fell way short of my usual target but that was mostly due to the fact that no less than 4 traffic lights stopped me!!! Anyway the bars feel THICK. Its 31.8mm all from the clamp area all the way until the drop bend. On the road its feels substantial and noticeably 'hard' or some might call it 'stiff'. It feels good as it allows better grip area for my palms but it does feel somewhat harsh as well....but hey, something I could get used to I guess.

Its also a perfect match for the 7800 brifters as I can now achieve a real flat top on the bars. Something that I've been looking for a really long time!

Above, the flat top I've been wanting to achieve. Here's the ride details.


Anyway, so good news! the DA7900 set is here. Its not really a full set, just the Brifters, Calipers, FD, RD and crank. Those components look good in pictures but they look simply awesome in your hands! They belong in dust free, LED lighted, glass cabinet for pure eye pleasure! I'm still torn between this and the newly launched Ultegra Di2.....there's so much going for Di2 in my book and finally its at a price point I can 'just' justify for the rides I'm doing. This is still a debate point (in my mind) but it will be settled in a week, subconsciously. Here they are: unboxed. The crankset by the way looks AWESOME!

The Brifters were a "buy it now" or best offer from Ben at Velomine and the rest came from Vasily via Ebay from Ukraine. I took a leap of faith on Vasily as he had only 83 positive feedback to this name but boy did it pay off. His shipping was cheap, well packed and arrived within 9 days after shipping.

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