I have been contemplating a new bicycle for about 8 months. I really didn't have the money but that is secondary to the fact that I NEEDED a new bike. Well, I didn't exactly "need" one but I was going to have to put some money into my old bike. Its been a great ride and I will continue to keep it, but its 6 year old technology and with Road Bikes, that's almost like driving a 70's car. The frame is still in great shape but the components need replacing since I have put somewhere around 25000 miles on her since 2004. Everything was starting to wear out. So, after all of this justification, I felt like I needed to look some. So in September, I started looking at bikes. I rode some European bikes that I really liked. I rode Pinarello, Eddy Mercyx, and a Bianchi. I liked them all but could not find one that really stood out with ride quality. I have always loved my old Trek 5200. It was never a doubt that I wanted to stay with Carbon frames. The stiffness for power but suppleness for ride comfort is unmatched with any material. So I started looking at Trek Project One. Trek has a deal where you go online and basically customize your bike to be whatever you want it to be from color all the way down to tire color. The first time I went on the site, I built up a $10,000 bike. OK, that may have been just slightly over the top. OK, it was WAY over the top. After I came back to reality, I built a few bikes in my price range and sent the sheet up to Jeff Archer at First Flight in Statesville. Jeff really spends more of his time building great mountain bikes but he carries road stuff too. He is still a small shop with a small town feel. He and Wes spent a lot of time with me working on the set up and build up of this bike. It took a couple weeks for all the stuff to come in and get built. But it was worth the wait. She is a beauty and rides like a dream. Yeah I am not any faster than I was on the 5200, but I am more stylish......So my new ride is a 5.5 Madonne/ Fully Ultegra equipped/Bontrager Race X-Light Wheels/Look Keo Pedals. Almost all of this bike is carbon such as stem, bar etc. Very light at 16.5 pounds w/ pedals.....
