New bike!
8/10/2005 09:59:00 AM
OK, I know I promised more later. We'll say I'm on lunch now so I don't feel guilty about posting this while working.I came in the shop yesterday looking for the Roubaix Pro frame. It's a substantial upgrade from my Allez (much better suited to my style of riding as well), and the price was right (again, for the frame). I go in with this in mind, and lo and behold they shop guy I'm working with happens to ride a Roubaix. He loves it. The problem is, he's not sure about the price of the frame alone, so he goes in back to check things out (all the while, I ensure him that I'm very willing to try other frames/bikes, and give him an idea of what I was looking to spend).
Well, he comes back with bad news - Specialized is sold out of the '05 Roubaix frames, and they're not sure if they're going to be selling the frames alone next year (other than the S-Works Roubaix frame, S-Works being the Specialized tip-top of the line - it's literally what the pros ride). Keeping that in mind, I try all the aforementioned rides - Kestrel, Carbon Bianchi, Carbon Colnago, Alu Colnago, Steel Bianchi. Then I start to ask some more questions about the Roubaix - what's the difference between the different models (short answer: components only - the frames are exactly the same, save the paint differences)? What's the availability of complete Roubaix bikes, and at what price? (Short answer: Specialized has 20 Elites left in my size - 58, and the price has just been reduced, to my incredible pleasure, to only $50 more than what I expected to pay for the frame alone).
At that point, it was pretty much a no-brainer. Of all the rides I tried yesterday, the Roubaix Elite was tied as my favorite - the Kestrel and carbon Colnago were too twitchy (too race-oriented), the alu Colnago handled great but was too jittery (after riding three carbon bikes I could really tell the difference getting back on an aluminum one), the steel Bianchi handled great but was just too heavy, and I really liked the carbon Bianchi. But the carbon Bianchi LOOKS weird. It's a higher-priced bike, and for that one I would have gotten just the frame, but I would have felt weird riding it. For no "real" reason other than I just would.
And here's the best part: the Roubaix Elite ships with better components than I was going to put on the frame anyway - so for $50 more than I was planning to spend, I get FSA carbon cranks, full Ultegra drivetrain, and two more wheels. I get the saddle and seatpost, brakes, handlebars and stem. Becuase I'm buying a complete bike, I get a professional fit for free (this shop is widely known as the best for fitting in Houston), they'll swap out any parts that don't work for my fit (need a longer/shorter stem? No problem - they'll swap it right out).
I'm on all new components, I don't have to pay them to build the bike (which I would have had to do if I bought just the frame - including paying for the fit), and now I've got pretty much a complete bike for the trainer - so I don't have to worry about screwing up my primary ride when doing indoor training (which won't happen until we move somewhere with seasons, likely - but still).
I left them yesterday saying I had to talk it over with my wife (first time I've ever had to say that!), and she saw it as the no-brainer that I did. I told them as I left that I would probably call first thing when they opened, and that's exactly what I did - 30 minutes after they opened today (about 45 minutes ago), I called and placed the order. It may take up to two weeks, he told me, but since I'm in Chicago all next week it wouldn't have mattered much anyway.
Yay for new bike!
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2 Comments:
Great bike! Great deal! Damn you and your carbon frame and cranks!
posted at 10:28 AM
I have no idea what most of this means, but have you ever thought about a career in selling bikes? I'm starting to feel like my little bike is inadequate.
Maybe I'll get a peek at the new bike in a few weeks!
posted at 1:22 PM
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