Dear Ken: 
 SM> 4.  Hilly.  Again, it's the mountains.  I would like to get a road
 SM> bike  with a double chainring that has a 53T large ring and really    
 SM> zoom  but I  need a triple chainring with its low gearing to get up 
 SM> some of the hills  around here. 
 KP> Maybe Shimano components haven't hit Japan yet. 
Oh, no.  They're here all right.  I was overjoyed when a new store went up 
just down the street last year with a big "Shimano" sign on it.  I was 
less than thrilled when it turned out to be a fishing goods store.  
 KP> I'm sure that Treks haven't.
Oh, no. They're here all right.  I live in a small town (pop. 75K) but it 
carries a wide range and will order any bike I want.  To get my current 
Trek, we had to special order it to get my size as I am very tall by 
Japanese standards (6'2"/188cm).  My bike shop guy said I got the last one 
in the country.
 KP> My Trek 1420 sports-touring bike is essentially the identical frame 
 KP> to their 1400 road bike.  But it has a 30/42/52 triple Shimano 
 KP> RX-100.  It suspect the 52 could be swapped out with a 53.  If I 
 KP> recall off the top of my head correctly, the cog-wheel is such that 
 KP> it actually yields a _larger_ wheel than my road bike. 
I was using a 53T ring as an example.  A 52T ring would be fine.  There's 
a Bianchi in their 1996 catalogue like that that I've been dreaming about. 
Maybe next year...I've stopped riding for the winter.  Going out in 
temperatures just above freezing is too cold for me.
Thanks for the post,
Steve
... Veni, Vedi, Velveeta:  I came, I saw, I ate cheese
___
 * Freddie 1.2.5 * The first full-featured QWK reader for the Mac.
--- GEcho 1.00
6:730/40)
---------------