Last Race Eve…
So I have been trying to hold back but it is now time to release the big announcement I mentioned in a previous post. I have been working to line up all the details, but last night things got finalized…. I am getting a new bike! I sold my Trek Equinox 5 that I had used for just under 600 miles this year after having a few inquiries and only having it listed for about 3 days. Must mean it was priced well for the bike. Do not get me wrong, I loved this bike. As I got more into the sport I learned many things I wish I would have known right away when making the initial purchase, but hind sight is 20/20 and I would not have gotten approval if I tried to buy the bike I wanted when we first did.
Speaking first to learning through experience. I will use my wife as an example because she knows I like giving her a hard time about her first choice. We went to pick out bikes and after visiting multiple places, we found a place we felt comfortable with both service and selection. I pushed her to buy a road bike with drop handles and a typical road tire, 23mm. I could not get her convinced this was the best option, so she went with a Trek 7.5 Hybrid. Smooth tire, although wider, flat bar handles much like a mountain bike. It did not take her long to realize that there were things about her choice that did not fit, mainly the less aerodynamic position and the general‘coasting’ speed of the bike.
We did some searching and ended up stumbling on a Quintana Roo Chiquillo tri bike. With some modifications, we swapped the wheels and cassette to her hybrid bike for an upcoming race, and then swapped back after she was done. The Trek got put on Craigslist and sold pretty quickly, although the buyer was awfully picky about the bike for being used. “The wheel is out of true already and that is around 40 dollars to fix” They hit a nerve with me and I decided to prove them wrong on that with a quick call to the bike shop to find out it was only 16 to true a wheel. That was the only thing wrong with the bike, but it comes with normal wear and tear on a bike. (Vent off)
My first bike purchase was the Trek Equinox 5 tri bike. It is called a tri bike by Trek, but knowing what I do now, I would have a hard time classifying it as a tri bike and call it more of a road bike with aero bars. The bike was a great choice with the aero tube, aero bars etc, but I started learning more things about it that I wished I could change. I would have preferred bull horns to drop handle bars, implying bar end shifters and brake levers on the horns. The aero bars on the Trek were Profile Design Aerolite bars. Not a bad set, but also not the most comfortable. I learned this after trying Heather’s QR that had Vision aero bars, much more comfortable on the elbows. To do the swap would have been a spendy procedure even using secondhand parts. I decided in the long run it would be better to hold out for a bike. Funny how it turned to the short run!
A few other things I noticed was internal cable routing, just giving an overall cleaner look and some aero benefit. Finally my deciding factor was trying to get it sized properly, I just could not get as aggressive as I would have liked, although I must admit I never got a professional fitting.
At this point some of you are getting bored with my rambling, others have already scrolled down to spoil the ending, and hopefully a few are still engaged in the topic. Now for the good part… the new bike, after the commercial break! Ok lame American Idol reference I know, but I am going to give a bit more detail before revealing the good part. I stumbled on this opportunity by pure luck. In short, I am doing some website design for someone, and my payment for my work… a bike of my choice (with some stipulations.) So what is that choice you ask…. 2009 Cervelo P2C!
Sorry for using a canned picture, but until I get the bike it is all I have to go off. I made the choice after exploring my options to meet the stipulations and my requirements. I had debated between the Felt B12 and the P2C, although there are very strong points to each bike, there were some downsides to each as well. Without going into too much detail because I could go on for hours with all the research I did. Although I loved the look of the 2008 model with black and grey, the 2009 model is also sweet being blue and grey.
This choice should be everything I need and more. I have a ways to go to get the motor up to the level even close to push this bike to its max. A Kona winner, so it will do all I need and more!
A light week this week in preparation for Square Lake Sprint Tri where I will be sporting the Trek for one last race. I am going to be training hard on the bike this winter to give myself a boost next year when I am sporting this fancy new bike. I do not want to be the slow guy on a really nice bike who thinks gadgets and money can make him faster. I have no excuses now for a slow bike speed besides myself. Time to train.
I was going to purchase a trainer tire, but now I may just ride the stock tires on the trainer and get my miles out of them and put on a set of Continental Grand Prix 4000s in the spring when I start riding outside again.
Check back this weekend for my Square Lake Race Report where I will be participating as my co-worker Adam! (Man will I be upset if I somehow get to the podium!)
A few closing remarks, Beatles Rockband is very well thought out and I had a great time playing it tonight, good escape from thinking about the race tomorrow. I told Heather I would do a 7 mile run with her when we get home for her long run training for the 10 miler, and I figured it would be good for me to push some extra miles for the marathon. I hope somewhere in Minneapolis carries the Iowa vs Iowa State football game tomorrow. Sorry for any ISU fans but GO HAWKS!!! After going back for the game last weekend and seeing a guy in a University of Northern Iowa Bike Jersey, I figured they made an Iowa one, a fast Google search returned an idea for Christmas!
1 comments:
Hawkeyes are looking good this year. Can't believe they are "the one's to beat" in the Big 10. As an Ohio State Grad, I think everyone has figured out Tressel. Pryor is wasted talent in his system.
Nice blog by the way. You planning on moving up to the longer distances?
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