The New Toy

I got my old bike in about 1995. It was nice, in a slightly old-fashioned sort of way. Reynolds 531c steel tubing, quill stem, weird sized bottom bracket, 8-speed cassette. It has served me well over the years, but I thought it was time for an upgrade.... fire up the Ebay account !

With a bonus from work and a little bit of saved cash we had a nice little budget of about £1000. The goal: a bike under budget and under 8kg in weight. A brand new off-the-peg bike didn't really fit in the budget, but that didn't stop me trying a few. Some nice stuff about, but as usual, the price starts to rise and I wasn't comfortable spending £1500+ and the stuff I really liked.

2 Weeks later this is what we've got :

Total Price : classified - just in case the boss is looking ;o)

Total Weight : 7.4kg

Most bits are second hand, and some "bargains" such as the frame at £220, so budget was going well. Brake/Shifters are SRam Rival from a classified ad on a cycling forum. Something new to me, but seem OK as I get used to the "double-tap" system for gear change. Chainset is FSA SLK-Light from ebay. Bars, stem seatpost are all Easton, again all from ebay.  The last thing on the list was wheels, so as a bit of extravagance, the wheels are brand new Shimano RS80s and the most expensive bit.

Most of the bits and bobs arrived at work (our store's man is a very kind chap) and the office took great pleasure in watching me open the procession of interesting looking boxes. Thanks to Roger for pretending to be (almost) as excited as me every time something new arrived on my desk.

So far riding has been a dream. It is 3+kg lighter that the old bike, the wheels are true and it doesn't squeak - what more could you want ?!? Obviously I was eager to get out and try it. Fitted the tyres (Michelin PRo Race 3) and slotted the wheels in on Friday night. Saturday 7th dawned cold and grey, but that wasn't going to stop me. 3 hours later I was cold and wet, and the left crank had fallen off because I hadn't tightened it up properly,  but had 36 miles on-the-clock and was loving it. Then spent the next hour cleaning it!

On the couple of nice days that I've ridden it, it has a humm and buzz to it as it flies along. It may just be the placebo effect, but I feel faster, the speedo says not, but who cares? Sometimes it is just nice to treat yourself to something special. Worth every penny :o)