Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Axis of good

As opposed to the Axis of Evil made so popular by our current pres GWB. I submit to you that an Axis can be good. How so you ask? Just look, I dare you to call this Axis anything, but pure sweetness:




I pulled the trigger on buying it Saturday from Rassy's after Greg shot me a deal I couldn't refuse and honestly shouldn't lest it get out that he's a nice guy after all! As I was riding on Saturday, I couldn't take it home, but I made sure to run down over lunch yesterday to pick it up. Sterling was kind enough to even wipe the dust off of it considering it's a leftover 06 model. I think Greg was as happy to part with it as I was to get a great deal so it worked out equally well. Even putting in 13+ hours yesterday couldn't deter me from heading home to get it ready for it's first commute this morning.

I swapped a new set of Crank Brother's Smarties on it and set about adjusting the seat height for me. Talk about close to a perfect fit right off the bat. I pulled the seat up a bit, but left the saddle tilt and fore/aft positioning as is. A quick ride around the neighborhood had me convinced this thing is sick! I've never ridden a track bike, but I can imagine that it's pretty similar to this ride. The steering is immediate, it feels lighter than my road bike, and the cross tires just soak up the bumps plus encourage curb hopping...

I made sure to take advantage and put it through it's paces on a maiden commute in this morning.



It was a bit chilly at 5:30 this morning, but it all ended good after warming up on a few hills. The first ride in was sweet. Talk about a perfect mix of road soaking feel of the mountain bike and the fun and fast nature of a road bike. I can definitely see the appeal all ready. A few tweaks here and there with the biggest probably being the addition of a Brooks or Selle An-Atomica saddle and it'll be perfect. I'm leaning towards the Selle as I've heard good things about them from my friends Pat and Gabrielle on Team Cow plus they offer a waterproof model. I can't wait to ride home. Shoot, I may hop back on over lunch just for fun. I love new bike day!

2 comments:

Brian said...

Congrats on your New Bike Day. I too know the joy that comes from a new cyclocross bike.

Buckshot77 said...

We'll have to get our new toys out together soon and go for a ride. Drop me an email- Buckshot77@msn.com