Print Story Bicycle love
Cycling
By miker2 (Mon Aug 15, 2005 at 01:49:57 PM EST) (all tags)
Hot bike photos inside...


My cycling 'career' began after I finally graduated from college in 2002.  I moved to the NJ shore after changing jobs and purchased a shiny new Cannondale R500 Triple as a graduation gift to myself.

I race my first triathlon on this bike and it served me very well and would still be doing so had I not gotten hit by a BMW 330 convertible on 17 July 2003.  One taco'd wheel, frame bent in three places, shattered glasses, broken helmet, and road rash on my entire left side later, I got my current road bike:

She's a 2003 Cannondale R1000 Double, size 60cm.  Except for spending a year with aerobars on (for tri training/racing) she's pretty much stock.

Notable features:

  • CAAD 7 Optimo frame
  • LOOK A5.1 pedals
  • Mavic Ksyrium Elite wheels w/ Vittoria Diamante Pro tires
  • 2004 Ironman Wisconsin bike inspection sticker on underside of stem.
I've logged approx 7-8K incident free miles on this lovely machine and I still ride this bike when I do the hilly stuff, since the low gear is a 39x25, versus a 39x23 on my tri bike.

This past February, with the spoils of 6 months at a new, better paying, job burning a hole in my pocket, I went to Elite Bicycles to see what they had.

After not being able to get a good fit on their entry-level bike, I put a deposit down on their middle tier bike, expecting to pick it up in early/mid April.

They suprised me by upgrading me to the full custom Razor model, at no cost.

So, on 18 April, I picked her up:

The rear view shows how narrow the tubes are.  Almost every tube on this bike is airfoil shaped.

Specs:

  • Easton Aluminum/Scandium Ultralite tubing
  • Full Ultegra 10 TT components
  • FSA headset
  • LOOK CX6 carbon pedals
  • Thomson elite zero seatpost.
  • Profile pursuit bars with Syntace C2 ultralite aerobars.
I just picked up a set of Reynolds Alta Comp Aero wheels to replace the Bontrager Selects that came with the bike.  They ride a lot stiffer and weigh over 300g less.  They're going to get Vittoria Open Corsa Evo CX's today or tomorrow.

Next up race wheels.

Full discussion: http://www.hulver.com/scoop/story/2005/8/15/134957/059