The week was actually great. Our season basically slows down after the big Six Gap Century, so it was very relaxing. That doesn't mean I have nothing to do. I am currently working on two $6k+ builds, several custom hand-built wheels, other repairs, etc. Additionally, we have to complete the new office and fit studio, organize the warehouse, and add finishing touches to the showroom (and acid stain the concrete floor). I just ordered over fifty bicycles yesterday -- we will have over one hundred bikes in stock now! all of those need to be built! Spring will be here before we know it, so there is no rest for the wicked!
I actually built Dave's new TREK Madone 6.9 under the gun for this weekend's 24 Hours of Booty. He brought in the used frame Thursday, so excited to have it for the weekend. However, the previous owner had shipped it to him without ANY of the required proprietary parts -- just a frame and fork. No headset (proprietary), no cable guides (not even the bottom guides!), etc. The guy sent it COMPLETELY STRIPPED!!! How ridiculous! I was able to overnight the specific headset parts from Cane Creek (great guys!!!), and Dave ordered the parts next day from TREK. We actually had the bike ready by 4:30PM the next day -- WOW! I was really glad to see it work out! Dave was so nice that he put our vehicle magnets on his car for the event today. So cool! I hope he did well -- he was aiming for 300 miles in 24 hours!Otherwise, it was a relatively boring (a.k.a. RELAXING) week! I needed that! We now switch gears into the part of the season where shop projects are the focus. As always, repairs and customer service will be the priority, but it is time to make the dreams I have had for the shop become a reality!
Luke finished with the Range Rover, so I rode my new commuter bike (2011 FELT F85) to his shop from my house one morning to get it. I plan on reviewing the bike soon, but WOW -- it was great! I have been riding SRAM (Rival, Force, and Red on my other bikes), but I was VERY pleased with the Shimano 105 components -- great stuff. I needed relatively inexpensive commuter, and this bike fit the bill perfectly. Sure, $1,500 is a LOT of money for a bike for most people, but I was very nervous riding my shop bike as a commuter. One hit to the Mavic R-sys wheels alone would have been extremely costly, so I needed something with good components which didn't break the bank. Additionally, I was surprised how much I liked the compact gearing. Normally I love a 53x39T setup, but starting a straight-up climb immediately out of the door with a loaded backpack is NOT ideal. The compact gears (50x34T) are perfect for a commuter. Amazingly, a 50x11T is faster than a 53x12T, so not much is lost at the top end. Then again, a 53x11T definitely trumps that for top speed. My commute rarely goes over 35mph, so that is perfectly fine! The week was so pleasantly paced that I actually washed the Disco for the first time in MONTHS! Bob said that he remembers Nick washing the truck a few months ago (which he actually loves to do???). I don't remember it, but I will take his word for it. It was so nice to finally have a clean truck!That is about it for the day. Tech won (good!) and UGA won (uh... yeah, that's great, Ali!). Steve Spurrier's Gamecocks even lost., so all is good in the world!!! I could care less about South Carolina, but Spurrier sure ranks at the bottom of my list of coaches.
