The very first thing I wondered after Paris-Roubaix last Sunday was, When you know that no matter who wins, he's going to have the upper body strength of a 5 year old, why do you create a trophy that's got to weigh every ounce of 30 pounds? You have to think that race organizers watch each edition's winner struggle desperately to hoist this mighty chunk of stone above their heads while posing for the camera, and then laugh until they cry.

The second thing I wondered after Paris-Roubaix was, "Why the heck is Jonathan Vaughters getting bashed for winning? And what exactly was his strategy at Paris-Roubaix? Below the fold, some talk about the debate and a short interview with Vaughters.

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My new CX bike, and the road bike I'm intending to get over the winter, are both set up to accept Shimano's Flight Deck bike comuter system. Since I'm not especially happy with my Cateye, and Schwinn (I loved my Schwinn computers , they're inexpensive and work flawlessly) doesn't make one with the features I want, I was thinking of upgrading to the Flight Deck.

I'm hoping that some of you own it already and won't mind sharing your thoughts on it.

Do you think it was a good purchase, or do you wish you spent  your money on something else?

What are Flight Deck's strengths and weaknesses?

Thanks.

One of the things I found interesting and helpful in the recent issue with Mavic's R-Sys wheel failure was the fairly common view that the R-Sys wheels were not such a great value. That they were overpriced, too heavy and had very poor areo qualities, even aside from the potential to leave a ride face down in the road.

So I would really love a little input on what you feel IS a good value in wheels. What is the best combination of pirce, quality and (if it applies) aero.

One more. If someone bought an entry level bike (road, cx or mountain) what would be a reasonable wheel to upgrade to?

Any kind of wheels, road, CX, moutain bike, clincher, tubeless, tubular.

And it doesn't have to be other than Mavic. If you believe that Mavic has a wheel that is a great combination of price and quality, throw it out there.

Thank you, and I'm really looking forward to reading your opinions

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