yodeeds

Guys, this year, I’m finally starting my piano journey, and I’m determined to take it seriously—I promise! But what does "taking it seriously" actually look like, especially for a complete beginner?

I have some ideas, but I’d love to hear what others think. For those of you who are just starting out, what does "taking it seriously" mean to you? For those 1–2 years into your journey, what has it looked like in practice? And for teachers, what habits or behaviors make you think, "This student is really committed"?

Looking forward to hearing everyone’s thoughts and experiences!

Hi all. A quick intro for context... I'm 47, male, and I live in the US. I've been riding bikes for about two years and would describe myself as an enthusiastic newbie who is still learning how bikes work. I ride recreationally about 100 miles per week, predominantly in urban/suburban areas with mixed elevation and terrain. My longest ride to date is 87 miles, and my goal before winter is to stretch that out to 100. Most of my rides are solo, but a good portion of them are social rides with other people.

I currently own two bikes. One is a custom-built Kona Sutra with a 1x12 SRAM Rival AXS groupset, and the other is a Specialized Aethos with a 2x12 SRAM Rival AXS groupset. I love both of these bikes for different reasons.

The Kona is steel, which I generally prefer to alloy. I have it set up as a light touring/commuter bike with 700x43 tires and a rear rack for hauling whatever. It's comfortable and stable, and it doesn't feel overly sluggish to me on pavement. I can carry everything I need to be comfortable riding around the city all day. It's currently filling my "all-day bike" slot. My only two quibbles about it are that 1) it's relatively heavy, which is totally fine, but lighter would be nice, and 2) the gearing has proven to be less than ideal in certain situations. The picture is a little dated as I've since removed the front rack/basket situation.

The Aethos, on the other hand, is super light, quick, and has sweet gearing that has gotten me through climbs I didn't think possible. I love riding this thing, but I only take it out if the plan is to go on a ride and come straight home. It's not an all-day, bounce-around-town type of bike.

So, I got it in my head that I want another bike that blends the capabilities of my two bikes into a single package. Something noticeably lighter than the Kona, with a wider gear range, and equally comfortable and stable without feeling sluggish on pavement.

My first thought was to seek out an alloy frame/carbon fork gravel bike with relaxed geometry and a nice groupset. A local bike shop had the new Cannondale Topstone 1 Alloy with the Shimano 2x12 GRX 820 groupset in my size, so I took it for a short ride and liked it. To me, it felt both stable and quick and, yeah, just a fun bike to ride. What I didn't care for, and what concerns me, is rear rack compatibility. I know it has mounting points for rear racks, but the positioning seems odd to me, and I've seen Reddit posts suggesting that finding compatible racks can be challenging. On the other hand, the salesman at the bike shop says they install racks on that bike all the time, so I am not sure what to believe. Anyway, it sells for $2500, and that seems like a fair price to me.

Then it came to my attention that Surly has refreshed the Midnight Special with 700c wheels and the new Shimano 2x12 105 mechanical groupset, and that sounds pretty awesome to me. It is steel, which is great, but about 4 lbs heavier than the Topstone. However, with a carbon fork and wheelset, I am guessing I can get the weight pretty close to the stock Topstone. I love the look of this bike, and on paper, it checks a lot of boxes for me, and I wouldn't expect any rack compatibility issues. I have yet to ride it because it's a brand new bike, and none of my local shops have it in my size yet. But from what I've heard, this is also a comfortable, stable bike to ride with relaxed geometry, and that sounds like what I am looking for. It retails for $2349, so a tad bit less expensive.

Used Salsa Vaya (Custom build) / Shimano 105 2x11

I also have the opportunity to buy a used Salsa Vaya that is being described as "a custom build, barely ridden, in near-new condition." It has quite a few upgrades, most notably a Dynamo hub. I don't have any experience with Dynamo hubs or know too much about them, but I like the idea of them, so my interest is piqued. The full details are as follows:

• Frame: Salsa Vaya 59.5 cm (Charcoal Gray Matte)

• Fork: Salsa Vaya Carbon (15 x 100 Thru-Axle)

• Front Hub: Shutter Precision SP8X Dyno, 15 x 100

• Rear Hub: DT Swiss 350, QR 135

• Rims: DT Swiss R500

• Spokes: DT Swiss Double Butted w/ Brass Nipples

• Tires: Rene Herse Snoqualmie Pass 700 x 44 Extralight Tubeless

• Tubes: Q-Tubes Superlite

• Rim Tape: Tubeless

• Crank: Shimano RS510 46/34 (Black)

• Bottom Bracket: Shimano RS500 (Silver)

• Shifters: Shimano 105 R7000 (Black)

• Front Derailleur: Shimano 105 R7000 (Black)

• Rear Derailleur: Shimano 105 R7000 (Black)

• Chain: Shimano HG500 (Silver)

• Cassette: Shimano HG701 (11-34)

• Brakes: TRP Spyre

• Rotors: Shimano RT70-S 160 mm

• Bar: Salsa Cowbell 31.8 mm x 46 cm

• Stem: Cannondale 31.8 mm x 7 x 11 cm

• Bar Tape: Blackburn Cinch 3 mm Black

• Seatpost: Kalloy Uno 27.2 mm Black

• Saddle: Ergon

• Pedals: Shimano SPD

Custom build includes:

• Hand-built, full cartridge bearing, dyno wheelset w/ Shutter Precision SP8X Dyno/DT Swiss 350 hubs, DT Swiss R500 rims, and DT Swiss double-butted spokes.

• Dyno powered lights and onboard USB charging via Busch & Müller Luxos U IQ2 headlight, Secula Plus taillight, and bar-mounted remote.

• Wide-range 11-speed drivetrain with full Shimano 105 R7000 gruppo and custom 46/34 Shimano RS510 crankset.

• Hand-radiused SimWorks by Honjo Turtle 58 fenders with custom wiring that allows removal without impacting dyno wiring.

• Light and fast Rene Herse Snoqualmie Pass 700 x 44 Extralight tubeless tires float over gravel and rough roads.

• Nitto M-18 rack for hauling gear.

Includes extras/spares:

• Kalloy Uno 31.8 mm x 7 x 10 cm stem (Black)

• DT Swiss spokes for front/rear wheels

• Shimano brake pads

• Shimano 11-speed chain quick links

• Shimano HG500 11-34 cassette

No idea how much it weighs, but clearly not the lightest of the bunch. The 2x11, while not a 2x12, is probably sufficient and I'm guessing a noticeable improvement over the Kona. All of the components seem decent, except for possibly the brakes? How about the dynamo hub? How much trouble should I expect that particular hub to give me?

What do you think of this build? What do you think a fair price is for this bike?

Ok, those are 3 bikes that are currently on my radar. I am also open to other options.

Which bike?

This is a custom Ghost Grappler build that my LBS has had sitting in their shop since the Winter. I stumbled upon it a couple of months ago when I decided I needed a new bike. Initially, I wasn't sure if this was the right bike for me, but upon reflection and research, I decided to give this bike a home.

The original advertised build checked a lot of boxes for me. Everything pictured, except for the bars, is the original build. 1x12 SRAM GX Eagle drivetrain., Shimano Deore brakes, The original build came with wide MTB style bars, which didn't work for me, so I replaced them with the , I've never ridden these bars before, so it remains to be seen if I like them or not.

The other big change I made was to the drivetrain. I have 2 other bikes, both with wireless and capable SRAM AXS drivetrains, and that's spoiled me a bit. Conveniently, SRAM manufactures a reasonably priced and the shop had one in stock, so I upgraded to the wireless derailleur and shifter on this bike.

I've test ridden this a few times and I'm still not sure how I feel about the tires. I suspect I will need more miles on them before I know for sure, as they may be too MTB-focused for my use case, which is primarily urban riding with occasional off-road/light trails.

The wheels seem serviceable. I don't know too much about wheels, but these ones are "Sta-Tru Duroc 40" wheels. I will likely keep these unless I discover good reasons not to.

As for pedals, I have the on another bike, and I like them, so I ordered another set for this bike.

I'm still deciding how I want to setup and accessorize the bike. Inevitably I'll swap out the saddle, install front and rear racks, bar tape, lights, Quadlock, GoPro mounts, bags, etc.

The original build was priced at $2,199 USD. The handlebar and drivetrain upgrade bumped the total to about $2,740. I pick it up tomorrow afternoon and have a ride planned shortly thereafter. Fun times.