She's here!

[ace]

EEEEK! My new bike is ready, my first road bike!! I'm so excited. I go pick her up tomorrow. She's a steel Serotta with a custom frame. Pictures to follow.

With tremendous anticipation,
Amy

[mimitabby]

I will be waiting. :cool:

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Me too. Steel.....mmmmm.....

[Kathi]

What color? components? wheels?

I can't wait to see the pictures

[ace]

Color is harlequin (sort of purple/blue), components are Campy, mostly Centaur but a few things are Chorus (I can't remember, honestly, I'm going to have to get a list of it all from my lbs), my lbs built my wheels.

[DarcyInOregon]

Ace, I can hardly wait to see the photos.

Just think, you are only a few days away from becoming a roadie.:D

Bet you won't have to worry about your knee as much because you will be pedaling a lighter bike.

Darcy

[7rider]

Ooooooo, Serotta. Schweeeet.
Ah, yes. I recall your thread when you told us about this bike (wondering if you "deserved" the bike...silly you!).
Can't wait to see it.

[Bikingmomof3]

She sounds beautiful. I look forward to seeing pictures. :) Enjoy!!:cool:

[melissam]

ALL RIGHT!!! Congratulations on your new arrival!

Add me to the list of folks who are anxiously awaiting the pics of your new steed.

-- Melissa

[maillotpois]

Oh yay!!!

[teigyr]

I can't wait to see pictures, she sounds so beautiful!!!

And steel frames are the best!

[Trekhawk]

YAY!!!!!

Can't wait to see some pics.:)

[bikerz]

So you pick it up today, right? We want a full report!

And how about an inaugural ride this weekend? :)

[SadieKate]

Serotta didn't send any pictures of the frame? Dang, patience is so hard.

[ace]

Bikerz- yes, please! You need to meet her in person this weekend :)

So I picked her up today. Serotta failed to paint "Coeur D'Acier" (heart of steel) on the frame as they were 'sposed to, so she's going back to them for a few days while I'm in Italy for repainting. In the interim I get to play with her.

First reactions, based on two miles of riding (and remembering I haven't really ridden a road bike for 30 years, and have hand, knee, foot and shoulder problems...yikes): she feels very stable. The only place I was feeling some pain were my hands- I'm instinctively going into this weird back-of-the-hand-turned-toward-the-outside position, with hands at the ends of the bars (you know, right where they curve to the hoods- does that part have a name?). Lbs raised the bars up a bit, so that may help. They said there's a bunch of stuff we can do if it continues to hurt.

Lbs was supposed to put 25 tires on her, but they were out, so temporarily put 23's on her, and she feels fine. I keep forgetting where the brakes are (thank you, lbs, for putting brake extenders on w/o asking me!). The easy/low gear feels really easy (which was our objective), but I think the high gears aren't high enough. Lbs says they can change this if it continues to be my experience.

The bike feels so LIGHT. She weighs 22 lbs, compared to the 32 of my hybrid.

For those of you who remember how self-conscious I was about buying myself an expensive custom bike---while Ian at the lbs was going over the bill with me, a guy came in, and was ogling my bike, saying how beautiful she is. Then he asked if it was mine, and I say yeah. Then he said did you just get it? And I said, "yes, I'm picking it up today." And he said "That's my dream bike. So, did you just get a big divorce settlement or something?"

Is that weird or what? I mean, was it inconceivable to this guy that I might actual have my own money? Anyway, I think he was just a weirdo.

See next post in thread for photos...I was having trouble posting the images before.

[ace]

Figured it out...the images were too big. Note that the dog insisted in being in the photos. He has a jealous relationship with my hybrid, hopefully he and the road bike will get along better.

Doesn't quite capture the color, though....

[bikerz]

Veeeery pretty! (and the pup, too!)

[Triskeliongirl]

OOOOOOOOOOOOOh Myyyyyyyyyyyyyy, she is SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO PREEEEEEEEEEEEEEtty! It gives me bike lust just to look at her. Enjoy her!!!

[ace]

This shows the irridescent color better

[DrBadger]

OOOH.... very purdy! Love the color!

Enjoy her! Does she have a name yet?

[ace]

I think I need to get to know her better before I name her. And the hybrid doesn't have a name, so I think it might get jealous if I name the road bike. I'll have to think about it.

[northstar]

Absolutely beautiful! What a color! The pics are awesome. Enjoy!

[teigyr]

the color is incredible, thanks for putting the other picture up! And, so's the pup of course. I love the expression he gets!!

[cosc]

Your bike looks like a jewel!

[Starfish]

Man, that is one gorgeous bike! And, the expression on your dog's face is hilarious! That is one nonplussed, human-looking expression.

[aka_kim]

Oh my, beautiful! Blue. Steel. Serotta. What's not to love? Enjoy!!

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Absolutely beautiful!!! :p :p

[ace]

Btw, in those photos, the dog (Linus) is thinking "is this one of those things that's going to make the one who has thumbs leave the house more often? Is it edible?" Or something like that.

I took a 30 minute spin on the bike. The seat seems tilted up, and it was painful, and I can't figure out how to tilt it down. My back started to hurt, I think because of the seat tilt. I am going to be good and heed my chiropracter and ride the new bike minimally before my trip to italy (which is two weeks from yesterday!) because my knee/back/foot health is so precarious at the moment, she doesn't want me to change anything on my bike (of course, I didn't change anything on my bike, I just got a new bike :p ). New bike will still be here when I'm not feeling so delicate. God, I'm really maturing nicely.

However, even riding for 30 minutes did give me a sense of the speed that will someday soon be mine! And I shall rule the world!!! OK, a little overboard.

[teigyr]

I think Linus has many thoughts. And he looks like the sort of dog that would be dangerous with opposable thumbs :D

I know about maturing and I think it's over-rated. Anyway, that beautiful bike will be waiting for you! Are you going to bring a picture of her with you?

I'm sure it'll go smoothly once you start riding. It just takes tweaking little things and it'll happen before you know it.

[crazycanuck]

Hey, that's a nice bike ya got dere! I like the colour too..*It's not pink, Phew*

No need to name your bike, don't worry if you can't find one! You can be normal like me o :rolleyes:

Cute doggie too!

C

[Jo-n-NY]

Oh that is a beautiful bike. I could not believe the change in colors from one pic to the next. I must look gorgeous in the sun.

I wish you enjoyable and safe miles with it.

~ JoAnn

[7rider]

Oooooo...Pretty eye candy! Serottas are such beautiful bikes.
Thanks for posting the pics.

Is that one of those color-shifting paint jobs that looks one color at one angle, but then the color shifts to something different at another angle?

Linus looks like he's saying "You got the camera out. Obviously, you want to take a picture of ME."
Enjoy the ride!!

[pll]

The bike and Linus are beautiful. I thought those dog ears and eyes meant "What do you mean 'get out of the picture'? I'm ready for a walk!"

[ace]

Yup, the colors change in the light, sort of purple/blue/copper.

Now I just have to get comfortable on it!

[KSH]

Beautiful bike ACE!

The dog... HAHAHA! Too funny. It's like he posed and everything for the pictures.

[KnottedYet]

Gorgeous bike!
(and handsome dog!)

[pooks]

That is a GORGEOUS bike!!!

And I think Linus looks very protective. He's guarding your bike and trying to decide where to bite the asinine guy who asked you about the divorce settlement.

Good dog!

Great bike!

[Ninabike]

That is absolutely one beautiful .... dog ...er.., BIKE!! Congratulations.

[rij73]

Gorgeous bike! You must be so psyched... Your dog looks like an absolute sweetie-pie. My dog has a similar expression!

[Bikingmomof3]

Gorgeous bike, fabulous colours and the dog is adorable. :)

[ace]

It's true love, at last.

I took new bike out to meet Bikerz yesterday (and to do a 20 mile ride on the Bay Trail). It was great riding with Bikerz, who tutored me on the ways of riding a road bike, adjusted my saddle, and just generally kept an eye on me. The verdict? Woo-hoo! The bike feels like it was made for me (not surprisingly, because it was made for me). It's very smooth and stable. My speed instantly picked up- it was just so freakin' easy to zoom along at 15-16 mph. I found myself going 19 mph at one point, and it did not require much effort. And, best of all, going up hills is a about five million times easier than on my hybrid, much less knee involvement. I am completely amazed at the difference between my hybrid, and the road bike. It makes me want to ride hills, I can't believe it.

A few things need tweaking- I don't have a big enough gear, my biggest ring is a 48, and I'm pedaling air on any decline, find myself cycling in the highest gears a lot. I think lbs guy didn't realize that even though I'm big, and have trouble with hills, I'm strong and have a lot of power on the flats/declines. Bikerz suggested a 53 ring, so I will talk to lbs guy.

Also, the saddle mashed my delicate bits in a painful way I had not yet experienced, only read about on these boards. Ow. We tried tilting the saddle forward, and that helped a little. Bikerz recommends a firmer saddle.

Also, my carpal tunnel started acting up- I'm cocking my wrists when riding, gotta stop that. I'm not sure if I can control the pain with position, or if the handlebars need repositioning or if I need a different stem. Further investigation is warranted.

But, in general, I am thrilled. In fact, I'm thinking seriously about getting the road bike instead of the hybrid they offer on my bike trip to Italy in two weeks. They have Bianchi custom road bikes, and I'm not sure how well they'll work for me. My lbs guys said Bianchis tend to work better for long torsoed/shorter legs people, and I have a short torso and long legs (I'm 5'4ish). But if the Bianchi is anything like as easy to get up the hills as my Serotta, it would really help preserve my knees. Plus their Bianchis have Campy ergo shifters, which is what I have, and which hurt my hands less than Shimano shifting.

Anyway, thanks for listening. Just wanted to say I'm over my case of buyer's remorse. This bike was definitely worth the expenditure for me.

Happily,
Amy

[maillotpois]

Wow - thanks for taking that picture from the top because you really get a good sense for the color changes. VERY cool.

I like the art shot of Linus in the foreground and the bike slightly blurry behind him. :D