Two Wheel Blogs

Like the title says, I'm getting there. Slowly but surely. It's been one of those journeys of a thousand miles kind of things. First step, and all that. I think I might be getting close to the last step. Either that or I'm approaching my wit's end.

What's he talking about, you ask? I think he forgot to tell you he's been working on a new bike. With luck, in a couple week's time I'll be riding a new timetrial bike. Just in time for the state race.

When I got my new road bike earlier this year I discovered something interesting. Bikes, you see, have something in common with home improvement projects. Go down to the basement for a hammer and a nail to fix that loose bit of corner molding, and the next thing you know your home theater is just a few thousand dollars away.

I learned volumes about bike fit and position when I built my road bike. When I got on my timetrial bike for the first time a few weeks ago I could immediately tell a project was in order. The fit was poor at best. My back discovered this first, and wasted no time in letting me know about it.

A plumb bob, a level and a tape measure revealed another unfortunate truth. This old bike was nowhere near the legal specification for a timetrial bike. Now being a cyclist yourself, I'm sure you know that's more than enough justification for a new frame all by itself. It didn't matter that I had no plans to compete in any events where my bike would be measured for rules compliance. It's a matter of principle.

An order was placed. A crushed frame was delivered, then returned. Another order was placed. A frame arrived in one piece. I celebrated. My old frame was salvaged for parts. A new bike was built.

A few rides now done, I have the saddle position about dialed. That much is now legal. Now it's time to pull the front end into spec. As it is, I'm about 10 cm too long. That's fully 5 cm outside the absolute limit, which is available only through a special "morphological exemption". There are no exceptions for a bike set up like mine is currently. It's amazingly easy to be completely illegal in this sport.

A shorter stem is on order. Assuming it doesn't arrive in a crushed box, I'm only a few short steps from a new, well-fitted and legal timetrial bike: Install stem. Check overall extension against the 75 cm limit. Remove and cut extensions to length. Reinstall extensions. Cut and reinstall brake and shifter cables and housing.

With luck I'll have all this done and still have a few days to log some hours on it before race day.