Meet my new ride

Apparently there is a trend this week - it seems everyone is getting new bikes.  Including me.  A new cross race bike to go with my upgrade.

Here she is:

Pretty, eh?  Yeah, there's some bling.

A preliminary weight analysis says she's almost exactly 17lbs - a weight that will change just a bit with a seatpost swap, changeover to cross tires and switching out the 34/50 chainrings for better cross gearing - 36/42.

We went out on the road yesterday for hill repeats.  She's way fast, but confusing.  Why you say?  Well, turns out that I don't have a clue how doubletap shifters work.  Especially the front one.  I think I'm getting it figured out, but that wasn't before sitting at the bottom of a hill going in circles to figure out the shift to a gear suitable for climbing and still not being sure how I achieved it. 

Definitely more shouldering clearance for cross, but the geometry for shouldering means I'll adjust my carry a bit.  This means you should look for bruises in different places this year...

As built for the geeks who care:

• Santa Cruz Stigmata aluminum frame with Alpha Q Carbon Fork
• TRP EuroX Magnesium Brakes
• SRAM Force shifters, derailleurs, and cranks
• Chris King headset, 3T Carbon Bars
• Shimano RS80 clincher wheels (these are not new but are my race wheels from last year - I know the bike is responsive - I can tell the rear wheel needs to be trued)

Love Jes and Kent at Gettysburg bikes... they even let me get in the way to "help" with the build.  I can't recommend these guys highly enough to anyone - that's where I send my mom (seriously! and probably that's a story for another day...)

Now I've just gotta live up to my ride. :-)