You guys are a riot!
sorry - the pic was from the auction (ebay)
I only just rec'd last night - I thnk my wife snapped a photo of me drooling like Homer simpson over the sealed carton!!
I promise I will post some more lovely pics, hopefully after this weekend.
Fwiw, I am way more afraid of my fat stomach and my sack o' potatoes riding style than any presumed flimsiness of the bike; nevertheless you guys have helped give me the confidence to try this sucker out, so thanks!!
Again, I would have given it a decent spin last night, but soon as we got it assembled (except for the little computer thingy, which i have never used and haven't a clue about - it's wrapped around the handlebar at present!) and took it out in back of my building for a test/safety spin, it started raining......I have read so many threads on this forum about guys getting their new bikes delivered just as a week of rain arrives....must be a bike curse.
I am happy to say the AL ride feels quite nice (I've been a life long 'steel is real yadda yadda' guy), nothing like the old mid 80s Cannondale R series I owned briefly until my fillings fell out. My first ride on a carbon fork illustrated why everyone loves them so much. The new Orbeas have carbon stays - you can definitely feel a difference betwixt the front and rear bumps on here - will see how that pans out on a real ride.......
Anyhoo, thanks to the excellent camera work on the current TdF, I saw some REAL lightweight bikes on yesterday's first serious mtn stage - you can just see how light those things are! What is the UCI limit - 15.25 lbs?
Mine was 18 lbs or so with the fairly light cheap junk black plastic mtb peds I spun on (I ordered Speedplay Frogs for it - no Ti, just the steel spindles. Only 40 grams diff, and maybe another 40 from the road Speedplays - X series. Maybe when I slim down I'll look at those.....
). By contrast my '86 Trek (Reynolds 531) is 22ish and my cro-mo mtb (dbl & trpl butted tubes & fork) is about 24.5. Big deal - unless I am riding up a hill or carrying it up the stairs when my elevator is out of order!
The saddle is the original (I think) Selle Turbo flite - feels surprisingly good so far squashed under my big fat bottom! I actually just ordered a Brooks swift, but not sure which bike it will live on yet. I like the brooks narrow models on vintage looking racing bikes, but not sure about this fat tubed orange compact geometry monstrosity! (The brooks I got is British racing green - kind of a pukey combo?)
I will say two things - it is a BEAUTY in person! and it looks way too fast and flashy for the slow old fart who will be riding it......
only solution - get on, get it dirty, and get in better shape!!
