The joy of brake levers

The darn Paul e-lever, as cool as it was, just didn't work out. I tried it in different bar locations and could never get it to where it didn't bother me. I was told that a cross type lever wouldn't work, but that was incorrect. I bought Salsa cross levers and used just the right one. Now my brake lever is not right under my grip making a lump. Much better! I think I'll save the e-lever for the fixed gear bike I'm dreaming of building.

Bike and brake details

The new seat came today. Performance said it would weight 197 grams, but it's 210. Not a deal buster, but why? The good part is that on first short ride it feels great. Looks kinda swell too.
DiabloScott, way cool blogger rider dude, (his April report on the sad destruction of Mt. Diablo made me cry) asked for a photo of my eLever setup. Here it is. (click to enlarge)
So far it seems to be a good idea. In my bike photo you might notice I have the left lever moved around so far it looks like I crashed the bike. It may look odd, but it's working. I still may need to shim the shifter somehow.

Minor adjustments

I thought I had a plan for the neato little e-Lever from Paul, but it turned out my plan 1: created a tight cable bend that made the lever not work well and 2: made a bump right where I want my hand to be.
Jim McFarland of the Wheel Peddler mobile bike service made it all better. The lever is now in a more normal spot and it works just fine. I can't recommend Wheel Peddler highly enough. Quality work at a reasonable price at your house. What a deal!

Last night I changed the small 36 tooth chain ring for a 34. I'm pretty sure this is the proper step in making my bike perfect and becoming the best cyclist on the whole block. It will also help my old person body uphill better than those higher gears.

I'm still not fully adjusted to my Ultegra pedals. They are easy to get into, but harder to get out of than my old Mavic/Look pedals, even though they are set to the lightest setting. It makes stopping more of an adventure than it needs to be.
UPDATE: Still on order; new seat, 13-26 cassette.

When the brake breaks

I'm still buying parts for the bike that isn't here yet. First it was Ultegra pedals, then the new chain ring. Now it's this Paul e-lever thingy. As you may know, I can't grip with my left hand. I've been using just the front brake for forever, but a recent conversation got me worried. What if that front brake has a problem when I'm zooming down Mt. Diablo? I'd be toast. So I'm going to add this on the right side to control the back brake, and I'll use it only if disaster strikes.
UPDATE: UPS Tracking says bike delivery is schedule for Monday!
Days since bike order: 5