Giant Liv Invite Comax

[Helene2013]

Going to pick up my Crux frame tomorrow in the USA for our Canadian long weekend.

Next week will take my frame to our LBS and he will put it together for me. No hurry as I want to pick it up around June 10th (gotta juggle with money here as hubby will pick up his next week so I need a little breather in between purchases).

Yesterday LBS called me with my 2 options.

All I wanted mounted on a Shimano 105 would be $1600+taxes. Going on Ultegra was $2100. It took me 10 seconds of discussion with hubby and I opted with Ultegra. Because the cyclocross will shift better, be lighter, and parts should lasts longer. I think in the end the $500 extra will be worth it.

Especially since I'm thinking selling my Amira if I like the Crux that much. It is still a performance bike and I'm not into speeding so it may be an option. I don't need many bikes in my yard. Once I do some road/crushed paths with this new Crux I will know if I only keep one bike. Time will tell.

[Crankin]

Keep both. I have hardly been riding my Guru, but I would never get rid of it.

[Helene2013]

OMG... the frame is to die for! I never saw something that beautiful for a bike. Maybe because it falls in the style of colours that I love. We even managed to get bottle cages that are the same yellow as the Specialized lettering. That will be one hot momma of a bike once all assembled. I'm a truly happy of what it looks right now.


Crankin,
Why keep a bike if you are not using it? I think I am so practical that I would not keep something unused. hihi

The funny thing when I got to this shop to pick up my frame, the man said he has one like this and it is beautiful (I had not seen it yet). He said he has not seen one like this yet in Montpelier (VT) and he'd doubt I'll see many in Montreal, since it is not sold in Canada and it is a special order.

Another clerk said that she saw the frame about 3 weeks ago in the basement and wanted it. But they told her it was sold. She'd hoped I'd changed my mind so she could grab it. Nope...it's mine and no intention of selling it either. hihi

Very happy for now. Will drop it next Friday at my LBS and should be able to pay it all for it mid-June (gotta wait for my credit card monthly invoice to get in so it goes on the other month). Buys me time as I have to pay for my husband's Crux in June...the art of playing with numbers. I cannot and refuse to pay interest/or use a credit line to buy toys like this. So I stretch my deadlines until money is in the bank.

[pll]

It's a beautiful frame. You'll love it and have a lot of fun with that cross bike.

[Crankin]

You will love your Crux, Helene.
My Guru is a custom titanium road bike with couplers that allow me to break it apart and travel with it in a regular, airline approved size suitcase, without getting charged more $. It also has a rack and very low gearing. So, for the traveling reason alone, I will keep it, even though we've only traveled with them once in the suitcase. Plus, I had been commuting on this bike, because I can put a pannier on it. Since I got my Silque, I've been so in love with it, I've been either commuting in clothes I can wear all day, bringing my clothes to the clinic on days I drive, or using little backpack that doesn't bother me. Because I am sort of training/preparing to ride in France, on a bike that has 2 less low gears than the Guru, and one less than my Silque, I am sticking to the Silque! Also, I would never have only one bike. At one point, I had 3. For example, last year, my shifter cable broke and got caught up in the brifter on my Kuota. Since I had the short reach brifters that are not made anymore, we had to order the parts from the UK. I would have been without a bike for 10 days, in the beginning of the season (April) if I had not had a second bike.
I don't consider this wasteful at all. This is what we do with almost all of our time. If I want to try another type of riding, I will buy the correct bike and not sell what I have. I sold my mountain bike because it was clear I sucked at it, but now I wish I had a bike for dirt roads. I also wish I didn't sell my little hybrid, Jamis Coda.

[Helene2013]

According to my LBS, he said I should not have problems riding it and he took my measurements and compared with the Amira to make sure it would fit me well. Crossing fingers he's right. It is a more upright position too, at least compared to my Amira.

The main problem with the Kuota was that the fork had a curb at the end of it. So it made the steering less stable for me. No matter what changes I brought to the Kuota, the fork remained the issue for handling.

At the time when I could no longer stand riding the Kuota (I was just too afraid and unstable on it), the store told me that the Amira was more aggressive than the Kuota but more stable too. And so far, I love this Amira, but for the look. haha I just don't know why I can't like it. It just does not "talk" to me. We were riding in Burlington (VT) this weekend and a woman stopped by when we were at a rest area and said: I truly love you bike.

Hummmm it seems everybody likes it but me!!! hahaha

The only reason I would sell the Amira is if the Crux rode just as good on the road....which I'd doubt because of weight and tire width. I don't care if I lost 2km/h speed on it. But it would matter if I could not finish climbing properly. At least the Amira's got such a good kick when you spin those pedals!

The Kuota was a 48. The Amira is a 51 and the Crux is a 49. So we will have to see how it turns out. But for now, it does not scare me... I so hope I'm right as I fell in love with this new beast and it's just a frame...still in the box! hihi

[pll]

One thing to consider: cross wheelsets are typically the same type of rims that you get on road bikes (save for the disk brakes in your case, but disk brakes are starting to appear in road bikes, too), so you can put skinny tires on them or have a spare set ready to go for when the need arises. I know someone who can win road races on her titanium cross bike (heavier than many carbon bikes), despite the more upright geometry, higher bottom bracket, etc. Sometimes it's not all about the bike. Enjoy it! I can't wait to see your pictures of it.