Road Bike 3.0

My trusty Giant OCR 3 is about to undergo some MAJOR changes. I'm pretty excited as this will be like getting a new bike - without spending $2,500 or more! I'm calling this Road Bike 3.0 as it's really the second major overhaul. After maxing out the stock wheels, which we evidently not created for a 200-pound gorilla, I had Steve Sauter at Great Lakes Cycle & Fitness build me up a new, stronger set. Shimano 105 hubs, with DT Swiss spokes, and Mavic rims gave me a light, stiff set of hoops. Huge difference and they've remained arrow-straight ever since.

Since getting this bike I've had one main complaint - the triple crankset. I never use the granny gear, and asking the front derailleur to cover that range makes for some pretty piss poor shifting. Not the that stock rear Shimano Sora derailleur is exactly a high-performance component.So, I guess generally the shifting sucks on this thing.

Enter my buddy Josh, who's upgrading his Trek Madone 5.2 with a full gruppo of SRAM Red. If you haven't seen this stuff, it's pretty incredible. Beautifully made, ultra light, and super-strong. The rear cassette is ONE MACHINED PIECE! Yes, you read that correctly.

So, Josh offers me a great deal on his current components - all Shimano Ultegra. Sweet! A component upgrade that eliminates the triple, gets me far better levers, and way more. On Saturday we meet up at Aberdeen Bike & Outdoor (great shop -- check it out if you haven't been there). As we chat with the service manager about my swap and how I'd like it done, Josh mentions he doesn't want his bars and stem either. The service manager turns to me and says, "So basically we're keeping the frame, fork, wheels and seat/seatpost...". Uh, yeah, actually that's about right.

In a couple of weeks, I'll have a righteous ride - with custom wheels and a full Shimano Ultegra gruppo. Needless to say this have me VERY motivated for the upcoming cycling season!

-Sean-