Monday, October 26, 2009

Day Twelve: better by the minute & choosing a performance frame



Another weekend recovering from the slightly surreal and, now, to some extent laughable moment.

As expected, I have had problems to get a good sleep at night. Inevitably, I spent a fraction of those hours thinking about the incident, I can't help it. I try to think of a positive aspect (when I find one) and I do make sure I don't feel sorry for myself. I can't anyway, there are zillions of people in some real terrible situations, what happened to me is nothing!

I also think of the probable outcomes. Health, cycling, work, etc... They're all things that are part of my life and somehow have been impacted by what happened. I am positive that I will heal well, will be cycling soon and back at work in a few weeks. Additionally, I am lucky to have a partner who knows me well, supports me well, knows how to get on with things and does not pamper me excessively.


She does, sometimes...


So, that leaves me with one thing to worry about: my bike!!!

If it gets repaired, will it be alright?
If it gets replaced, will I find a better bike?

It is going to be weeks, or months before I learn the answers for those questions. Meanwhile, I will spend some more of those hours searching and like most of us, fantasizing!

Well, I have done that in the past, like all of us, and in fact just before the bloody incident (let me get it out of the system here even though it wasn't bloody at all) I was looking at some top of the range frames, trying to find one that could help me getting a little bit more competitive in races. OK, faster!

And, I put together a list with some of the bikes I looked at. Forgive me if the process was a little unfair as I haven't ridden most of these brands and had to rely on my visual analyses, manufacturer's spill and my own gut feeling to come up with the results. Not very technical, I know, so if you read this and disagree, please correct me at will, I won't feel dispirited.


Bikes: would buy x would not buy

Pinarello: "...with a graphic treatment with
sparkly silver." If that's what they think a
$10k frame should look like - Not!

Eddy Merckx: with that name - Would!

Trek: my hard earned cash would go on the
paint job of one of Armstrong's bikes - Not!

Time: couldn't have two of those at home,
not cool for couples to ride around on
same brand bikes - Not!

Look: it comes with a broken top tube, or
I would break it on my next crash anyway - Not!

Giant: sure they look no frills but they
don't muck around, they build race bikes - Would!

Orbea: long story, can't elaborate on this one - Not!

Ridley: partially built in Belgium - Would!

Felt: not 100% sure on the down tube design,
starting to look like something else - Not!

Cannondale: great BB design, traditional frame - Would!

Storck: strong and fast, doesn't look like a
climber's bike, would need another bike - Not!

Cervelo: they only make road racing bikes,
all the energy is directed in building fast
bikes - Would!

So, from the five Would! my final choice is Cervelo. It is not the top of the range so it can be almost affordable. It has been ridden in some tough races, in fact it has won a couple of good ones too. It might not climb as well as the R3 but it is a faster bike... and I have no mountains around here!!


The 2009 S2


After a final touch up...


See you out there!

4 comments:

Ant said...

Like the Would list, like it alot. And certainly agree with the S2 choice, they are a hot, hot looking bike. I've got one of them sitting on the floor in my workplace of choice, it's grouse.

Coincidentally, the boss today was lamenting the fact that it hadn't sold, and was contemplating sharpening the price up considerably. Think it's a 54 or a 56 - can't remember. If you're serious about buying and looking to do a deal, drop me a line. Might be able to save you a couple of $$$.

AMR said...

Thank you very much Ant. I will have to wait and see what is going to happen to my "old" frame first. Cheers, A.

Stu Bell said...

Hey AMR, Sorry to hear about you're little incident. Have been traveling across the country for the last month so I missed it.

Have you looked into the pedalforce option again? You know how happy I am with mine and they're cheap enough to consider as a training bike, so if it get totaled it's not a big loss (especially with the dollar as it is).

Best wishes with you recovery.

Stu

AMR said...

Hi Stu,
Welcome back and thanks!!
I did think of it and couldnt remember the name (nothing to do with landing on my head :->).
I have a 105 group that needs a frame too. Will check them out, for sure!!
Cheers!

 
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