rectumdamnnearkilledem
I've been lusting over a CX bike since last Fall. Once the snow flew I had to move my riding indoors...snowy road season in MI is WAY too long. I was jealous of my friends (and hubby) with CX bikes and studded tires. And CX races look kinda fun and painful...just the sort of challenge that looks perfect for Fall.
For about the past 6 months our LBS owner/friend would taunt me with the Redline Conquest in the shop in my size. All these months later that bike is STILL there. Our LBS is phasing-out Redline (replacing the Redline CX bikes with Ridley), so now it's clearance-priced, too. But the bike is equipped with low-end Shimano...my first bike had Shimano and I never got the hang of it. My current road bike has SRAM Rival, which is much more intuitive for me.I happened to mention to our LBS buddy that the Shimano group was kind of a deal-breaker. He said "oh, it's a non-issue--we can easily swap the Shimano for SRAM Apex." (we would simply pay the difference for the more expensive components)Uh... So hubby and I agreed that we should get while the gettin's good. The plan is that I will ride it for 2-3 years, then hand it down to our DS (who is currently 10 and growing like a weed). At that time I would upgrade to something a bit lighter with better components, assuming I still want to do some racing.It looks like this, only is much flashier in-person...the blue is a royal metallic. We'll put lime green tape and bottle cages on "him" (I think I've settled on "Ed" as his name...after Shaun's best mate in Shaun of the Dead. Ed will be the perfect zombie apocalypse escape vehicle) and he'll even match our LBS's new kit.
Getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to
remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air.
~ Sarah Kay
Master of the Side Eye
Nice bike! Congrats! Can't wait to see your race reports.
TRUST THE PROCESS
Ha, I'm scared shitless!
Well, at least you won't have that problem on a ride!
I hope not...that would be bad for anyone with the misfortune to be behind me (though that could very well be no one, unless I am lapped...in that case, then they get what they deserve for making me look bad, ha!).
This change of direction in this thread reminds me of the hilarious cyclist thread posted on TE recently (but from another thread) about a woman who did just this on her bike.
Oh, the infamous poop-on-the-bike thread? I think that originated on BeginnerTriathlete.com...?
Yup, I believe it was that one.
Meet "Little Rock" (after the sassy little punk in Zombieland):
How are you enjoying Little Rock? Or, are you putting most of your miles right now on Oby 2?
I've only been on Little Rock once...it was very nice! But it's hard to make myself ride that bike when it's been so beautiful for being on paved roads (plus the faster I go under effort keeps me cooler). I'm saving that bike for crap weather.
I don't think that green saddle will work, though. It's a little wide, pear-shaped, domed, and smooshy. I have a Fizik Arione Donna on order and if I like that I'll keep it on my road bike and put my Specialized Jett on my 'cross bike. It will be funny to have a white saddle on a CX bike, though.
I thought that might be the case. But boy, when you get to ride it in the fall or whenever the weather craps out, you're going to have so much fun!
The saddle comment about it being squishy is interesting. I can't convince anyone I know that my Brooks B67 is more comfy than the big squishy saddle that came with my Trek. Fortunately, the Friday NWT didn't come with a saddle, so it took about 3 seconds to move the Brooks to the Friday and put the stock saddle on the Trek (BlueBell). (I have a coworker who might buy BlueBell and I'd give her an amazing deal so my new bike could be a win win for everyone)
I've tried to explain to non-biking people that this really is the case and that I, too, didn't believe it at first either, but they never seem to buy it.
Bummer about a white saddle maybe being on Little Rock though. That lime green is just beautiful. It looks like it was destined to be there.