Well, to make a long story short, I finally picked up my new bike yesterday from Performance Bike. I got the 2010 GT GTR Series 1 with Ultegra.

I'm quite amazed at the difference in ride quality.

I was riding a $300 (well, UK pounds actually, so maybe $400/500) aluminum 24-speed hybrid bought 6 years ago: cro-mo fork, Shimano ST-R220 shifters, Shimano 2200 GS rear + FD-443A front, Alex R500 wheels, 700c x 25. It's a 56cm which I think is big for me (I'm 5'9" with short legs, long torso + arms)

I now have a carbon fork/seat stays/seat post, Ultegra crank/FD/RD/brifters, Mavic Aksium wheels, and correctly sized!

Compared to this, the old bike felt like I was in a wrestling match, and was very uncomfortable in terms of relaying every bump on the road to my saddle/arms (I never realized how uncomfortable until now). Just going forwards on the bike feels so much better as well - it's much easier to balance and just ride.

I'm still getting used to the brifters but I do like them better than the SRAM I test rode. Braking from the standard grip position is also taking some getting used to since I don't feel like I can apply the same amount of force as quickly, and I'm using fewer fingers to brake (I have shortish fingers). Also have to watch out with my pedal position when the front wheel is turned sharply (so far only when I'm clipping out at stop lights) as my toes overlap about 2 inches.

The only weird thing about the bike is the seat stays are welded to the seat tube a lot lower than in any of the pictures of the bike online. Maybe because I bought a Small? I saw a Small in the store before I ordered it but I don't remember what it looked like.


I don't have a garage (or a garage door) or even a plain white wall long enough for the bike in my house. The colour scheme of the bike leaves something to be desired but it'll do (for now). I don't really mind (yet).

And yeah the dork disc is still on, but at least it says Mavic on it