Tuesday, June 30, 2009

The New Ride

As I mentioned in my last blog, my new frame is built up and on the road.
The titanium frame is built by Independent Fabrication. The main tubes are painted while the seatstays and the chainstays are left as raw titanium. The color is "Vanilla Shake."

Click on the pic to enlarge!

The workmanship is amazing.I purchase a few new pieces for the new bike including Deda aluminum seatpost, stem, and handlebar. The "Dark Metal Polish" compliments the titanium pretty well.Also scooped up a nice Campy Record carbon compact crankset. It matched nicely with my old Campy Record bits.
The ride is wonderful. I definitely feel more in touch with the road than I did on my old Giant (aluminum maintubes and carbon stays). Rough roads feel a bit rougher although not harsh, and smooth roads feel smoother - sounds goofy, but there is just more "feel" overall.

More suprisingly the frame feels like it responds better while out of the saddle and riding hard. I don't know if I'd say it's stiffer, but it feels faster!

Naturally the custom fit feels great. This frame was built for me and rides like it. I had the front end built a little higher on account of my shoulder problems. My shoulder has felt great on it and my back stays loose and fresh on it too. I've really appreciated it on longer climbs.

To sum it all up I am HAPPY!!!

2 comments:

LT said...

Pimped your ride!

SP said...

Dude, I can't believe you didn't get the steel crown jewel...You still got a nice though.

Idaho Spud