Another real post... products, pictures, cool stuff, etc.

I know I've been whining for months about being too busy to blog much and I know that lately the vast majority of my posts have been the Daily Drive pictures of myself. Well... it's still true. I'm still super busy (you guys want cool new bikes, right) and so the blogging has continued to take a hit. I promise I'm working on it... I promise.

First up, the blatant sales part of this program;

The new Speciale Fixed and CXR are both due to be arriving here this month. Both bikes are on the way and have already been shipped. If you want one of these bikes, I strongly suggest that you go to your retailer and place your order now. There might be a waiting list for the Speciale Fixed especially on this first delivery. We have lots of them coming, but this first shipment is going to sell out almost the second it arrives- in particular the 51 and 53cm sizes.

Here's a Speciale Fixed going down the assembly line...

... and a CXR. Sorry, I can't tell what sizes these are from the photos.

Soon on the heels of these lovely bikes will be the new Coltello Aero. You know you want one, so go tell your local bike shop to order you one- if you haven't already.

If that doesn't make your heart skip a little, then maybe this one will...

Isn't that a beautiful site? I know it makes me smile each time I look at these pictures.

Now we move on to the cool new shtuff part of our program...

Behold-
Carbon. Yummy, yummy carbon. Just so happens it is my size (imagine that). Just waiting on the new fork and a drivetrain and this hottie will be my new steed for the upcoming season. I'll have more info about this frame and the way it rides very soon (I hope). I've already got a sweet set of Easton EC90SLX bars and new Thomson seatpost and stem. Just need to throw my Arione on, bolt on some parts and it'll be off to the scales for a weigh-in. My first guess- 16lbs for a 61cm bike. Pretty freakin' light!

Remember this thing? This is the prototype frame I built up with the SRAM Rival group. So far both are really doing quite well. The group is really good, with the only complaint still being with the front shifting- just a little stiff and you can't adjust the derailleur position in the shifting range. Other than that, I'm still very pleased with the performance of the parts. No issues yet with wear and tear, but it's only been a month.

The frame is also doing really well. It would be something that would be our second-tier carbon frame, not our lightest most bad-ass frame. Still, it has proven to be a very good riding bike. In fact, at 50mph on a downhill near the office, I let go of the bars and sat up and the bike stayed straight as an arrow with no hands on the bars at speed. That's a stable ride there. It so far is riding well and looks like it might even have a good chance of making the cut for the line-up. More details as I can share them.

More Shimano...

I am still kind of geeking out over the new tubeless wheels and how well they ride. I rode my Dura Ace wheels today with some nice Kenda Konstrictor tires that I've been riding since Las Vegas in September. I love the DA wheels- they have held up to every ounce of my weight and the punishing riding I've done on them and have stayed perfect. The only complaint I've ever had is about the weight. For a high-end wheel, they're just a little heavy. BUT they do accelerate well and have been flawless. The new wheels are very light and the tires are also light. Hutchinson has done a great job with the tires, though I am told that some other folks are soon going to have tubeless road tires available. There are some other things that have me geeking out, but I can't say anything about them yet... just cool stuff. Trust me. Also, since Shimano is the distributor (and the maker/ owner) of PRO products, I am looking forward to learning more about that stuff. From what I've seen, there is some really great product in that line as well.

Ok folks, I'm losing consciousness and have a podcast to do at the crack of dawn. I'm off to bed...

Tim