decidedlyodd

This morning I got up early and headed over to Montlake Cycle to do some test rides. Robert and I had dropped by there the other week while shopping for bikes, but it was busy and we weren’t able to find a salesperson. First I rode a nice Cannondale (Aluminum frame, Carbon fork, Tiagra components) that was nice. It was $1150 though and it didn’t seem all that special for the price.

Next, the sales guy brought out an ‘05 Bianchi Imola. It’s actually one of their rentals, but they were willing to sell it to me. I loved the bike and bought it! It has the nicer Shimano 105 components along with a steel frame and carbon fork. The ride is smooth and it’s definitely a higher end bike than most of what I’ve been looking at. Two years ago new, the MSRP is $1400, but since it was used and older, I got it for $930. The bike shop said it was just recently added to their rental fleet and has only been rented out twice. It’s definitely been broken in and already has some dirt and wear on it, but it seemed like a good compromise to exchange shiny, brand new for something a bit higher end. All told, it was $1167 out the door after I added on clipless pedals (none were included), shoes and sales tax.

Equipment-wise, I’m mostly ready for STP now. I still need to get some more clothes like cool bike jerseys (UNC or Cal) for example. New hobbies are expensive, but fun!

Here’s some quick pictures I took with my cell phone: