Dream bike! Pic & first ride report

[malaholic]

I have not yet settled on a name for her - I'll need a few more rides for that -- but here she is. Went for a 60 mile ride yesterday through some of the toughest hills in the area, and I am in love. She is fast & super-responsive. Despite being very stiff, the ride is smooth and not at all jarring. Descends & corners wonderfully. I still need to make a few adjustments for fit/handling purposes. I've already flipped the stem angle down instead of up like it is in the photo, but I will need to get my steering tube cut further and remove some of the spacers.

This was my first time riding SRAM (my Ruby has Shimano). It was surprisingly easy to get used to and felt nice & crisp. The only thing that I still mess up is that when you run out of gears in back and try to push the lever through, it stops on the first tap and you end up shifting up instead of down. So I need to keep better track of what cog I'm on in back. But overall I'm very happy with the SRAM group also.

And now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go for another ride.