Thursday, February 11, 2010

Supergo Sam Searches for a New Ride II

Living near High Park Toronto, there's a lot of snob, and non-snob bike shops around.
Some are good and just 'feel' snob but it's just because they kick butt.

I may have visited one of those today in Racer Sportif.

This is an excellent Sales Shop. They understand value, but if that's not what you're after - you'll pay a pretty penny for whatever you're actually looking for. Meaning - GREAT SALES, but not on what you want. Knowing that I went in with an open mind to be persuaded by price and there were two items that stuck out.

Colnago CLX - $2190, 105 mix, FSA cranks, junk Cane Creek Brakes but a HOT frame!
Scott CR1 Team - $2190 105 Groupo - solid build.


Mark Cavendish - likely the greatest sprinter of our time, at least the 'current' time rides a Scott frame... I had a CR1 LTD in 2004 before they were available on the general market and it was FAST. Like Fast Freddy Fast! And yet when I switched to a Kestrel Talon SL, I was FASTER because it fit me better. It was a little heavier, a little more aero, but signifigantly more comfortable. (psst - there's a lesson there folks). It was still tempting because Racer Sportif was having their never ending "Great Scott Sale".

Colnago makes a beautifully comfortable frame, and I've kind of always wanted one, but just never made the leap for one reason for another - but THIS was a bike I could have. It was in my price range, the component group was 'tolerable' and left lots of room for upgrades - but the frame was just SOOOO sexy!

As I was deliberating, mostly in my head with a little pacing, the atmosphere became a little pushy. Before I could pass by the bike a third time the "oh there's not many left, give us your credit card and we'll hold it on a 10% deposit" began. This was the complete opposite of the first bike shop I visited and made me feel a little uncomfortable. The prices WERE really good so usually I could justify a bit of salesmanship and pushiness.

History however came into play at this point to possibly cloud my judgement. While I'm not usually one to carry a grudge, this shop struck a sore spot with me in 2007. I had dropped off my bike to get a quick "Pre Race Tune-Up" that was listed as $50. When my girlfriend went to pick up my bike, she ended up paying $125, the price of the invoice. I called and asked what happened, and they said the wheels were out of true and it needed a new brake cable.

Did they call to ask about performing additional services? Was there a waiver to sign saying they could increase the bike exponentially as they saw fit?

I had a sweet set of Reynolds DV's that I was regluing prepping for the race, which is why my crappiest wheels were ON the bike.

Even though the Colnago is the sweetest deal I've seen in Toronto -they still won't get my $$$.
However - if you can rock what they got on sale - you'll leave feeling like you won!

Day XX Summary

OK - so I've officially fallen off the blog band wagon.
Likely because my training has slipped from 8 hrs per week to 4 hrs per week.
The new job is making life a little too crazy.

Alas, I've been posting some decent training numbers on my rides, my legs hurt, so we're obviously getting somewhere. (I hope)

Pro Gear for Sale

A pro friend of mine is clearing out her closet to help pay for last years racing schedule. Check out the amazing deals!!! (Prices in Canadian dollars, include shipping)

SRM Dura-ace power meter V- 170cranks - $1850

• This system is in very good condition and was only used for racing, never training. It was recently factory serviced so you will not have to get it serviced for at least 2 more years. Everything works great. The professional Powermeter Durace Compatible has 8 strain gauges & an accuracy of +-2%. Cadence is transfer automatically with the crank. If you want to train better, this is what you need.
Comes with either 54/42 aero rings or 53/39.

Webcore LEOPARD Frame: Size XS $ 750
Details at www.leopardcycles.com

Stan's NoTubes ZTR Race 7000 Series MTB Wheelset $ 875

Up for sale is a lightly used set of Stan's NoTubes ZTR Race 7000 Series MTB Wheels. I got these days prior to leaving for Worlds so I would have a back-up set. They have been raced once and ridden for a couple training rides. Weighs just 1210 grams!!!

Cycling Shoes $ 55+

I have an assortment of different high end road and mountain bike shoes for sale - some used, some new, some size 36, 37, and 38. Specialized, Pearl Izumi, Lake, DMT, Sidi.

Easton EC90 SLX3 CNT Carbon Road Bbar-40cm - $155

CAT - 9 Queen Tent System $2500

Queen sized tent (walk-in style - 7.5 length x 7 width x 6 feet tall) with a CAT-9 air unit. At sea level, the CAT 9 can reach 9,000 feet, but in Colorado, it can get pretty high. With this bigger tent it can get to about 14,000 feet. It's in great shape, works perfectly. All manuals included.

This is a bit of a fire sale to make some $$$ to pay for a very successful race season. If you're interested in something but the money's not quite right... Please let me know and we'll see what we can do!