Bring on April

Well with today being the last day of March I guess can say that this was a good month for me. I got 2 new bikes put together, and ended up with 311 miles on the bikes.
I set a goal to get 300 miles this month. I made with it was a few days to spare. Good thing too, because my legs are feeling pretty heavy right now. So the plan is to take a couple of days off and then pick up the training again.
We got a ride in at Pontiac Lake Rec. Area yesterday, the first time I have on the top fuel for any real distance on the trails. The bike felt really good. Still a few little adjustments to make, but overall I am quite happy with the way the bike rides. I took it easy being that it was the first trail ride of the season, and on a new bike. I didnt want any negative experiences before the first race.
Isnt timing everything in life? I was looking for a new set of wheels for the ciclocross. I have been watching ebay, scouring the online sites and looking in local shops for a good deal on some cross wheels. Just so happens that a friend was in the bike shop and got to talking with someone who was selling a set Mavic Ksyriums SSC SL`s. More wheel than I could afford to buy brand new. I was looking at the elite model, but didnt know if I wanted to even spend that much on a set of wheels. But a good deal is hard to pass up. These wheels are from 2003 they are the Tour de France edition, which weigh less than a normal set of SL`s and are numbered. They are number 354.















These wheels have the a yellow spoke to signify the 30th anniversary of Mavic in the TdF. I am a little hesitant to use them for cross racing however, due to the limited number of them that have been made. Maybe they will be my good weather cross wheels, and the Cosmos will be used when it is messy.

Trek Top Fuel 110

Well the bike is finally done. If you remember I found a crack on my klein back in November, just before iceman. I have slowly been gathering up parts for the bike over the last 3-4 months and it is finally done.

The bike is light for a XL frame, it weighs in at 26 pounds. I know I could take some weight off the bike in the wheelset and the fork. But I am happy with it as it is. So the final build is as follows:
2007 XTR Dual Control Shifters
XT Disc Brakes
2007 XTR Front Der.
2007 XTR Rear Der.
2007 XTR Cranks
Thomson Elite seatpost
Easton carbon bar
FSA XC-300 wheels
Egg Beater pedal
KMC chain
Specialized grips
Specialized saddle
Rock Shox Reba fork
Planet X stem










I did my first ride on the bike and I must say that the new XTR components are really nice. I really like the DCL shifters. They feel so much better than the previous version did. The shifting is instant.
I do need a longer stem. I will be getting a thomson once I figure what size I need. I am really happy with the way the bike turned out. It looks really good, and rides even better.

Ciclocross Build Up

I moved all my parts from my road bike over to the new Cross bike this weekend. The build up is:
9 speed Dura Ace cranks
10 speed Dura Ace rear der.
9 speed Dura Ace shifters
Ultegra front der.
Thomson seatpost
Reynolds stem
Specialized bars
Mavic cosmos wheels (for now)
Cane Creek SCX-5 canti`s

I havent ridden it yet other than just around the parking lot. Hopefully this afternoon I can get it out for a little ride.

Check back in a few days for some pictures on the mountain build up as well. It looks pretty bad ass.

Pyrenees to my door

Today is a big day, a new member of the family has arrived. All the way from the Pyrenees, my new cross bike is here. It is an 2006 Orbea Ciclocross. This is my second Orbea that I own. I have a 2003 Lobular Starstarship road bike, that is just plan fast.
The Ciclocross is a very nice looking bike in the Euskaltel Euskadi colors. Nothing else screams Orbea like these colors do. I ended up with a 60 cm frame. The 57 was just a bit too small, and not much of a size increase over my JTS.
I rode the 55 cm bike just to get a feel for the frame. This bike feels really fast. The lobular tubing is supposed to help smooth out some of the vertical shock while staying horizontally stiff.

The down tube has a interesting shape to it. It flattens out at the bottom bracket.
I am still trying to figure out how to build this bike up. For the time being I am pulling all the parts of my road bike and putting them on here. By the time that cross season rolls around I should be pretty comfortable on the bike and will have it built up how I want it. I am going to put it on a scale tomorrow and see how much the frame and fork weighs, and then again after the final build up.
I can not wait to get out and give it a try.

Hard to say good bye

Well this is a first for me. I actually sold one of my bikes. I decided that the cross bike was too small for me and it was time to look for something that fits me correctly. So I sold the Jake the Snake today. I miss it already. I really liked the bike, too bad it didnt fit me right. At least it is going to a good home.

Here we are sharing some good times together last fall :)














So now I am trying to figure out what to replace it with. There are a lot more options out there than there were when I bought the bike. Stay tuned...
February was a really bad month for me. I only managed to get 70 miles in on the bike. It was a really cold month, I was on vacation for a week, and I was sick for a week. March is much better already. I have about 100 miles this week, and I plan to keep the riding going. The first race of the season is April 15th, which is not that far away.
The Trek Top Fuel is almost ready to be built. I am just waiting for the shifters and brakes. They should be in this week, and I hope to be on the bike by this weekend. Hopefully the transition to the fuel from the klein is not that hard, they are very similar bikes.