Plastic Bike, Mark II, Part II

As I posted close to two months ago, I am the proud owner of a new Cervélo R3 road bike. It's far more road bike than I could ever exploit - even if I had 10x my current talent and strength. Back in March I was just the owner of a frameset and a box of parts. Parts which I ended up selling off on eBay in order to finance some nicer bits to hang from the svelte carbon tubes.

Those nicer bits *finally* arrived last week after a 5 week wait. But I'm not complaining - after healing from the crash that took out Plastic Bike Mark I and a ten day stint in Taiwan, my cyclocross bike has been a fair substitute in the interm.
Here she is all built up. Quite a dream bike.
It's only had one brief shake-down run, commuting home from work on Tuesday night. Three minutes into the ride I received my first compliment from a fellow rider.

I had fully planned on taking the long way in to work on Wednesday, but nature decided to literally rain on my parade. And though I am not opposed to getting wet during a ride, the bike is just too darn perfect right now to subject every moving part to a bath of rainwater and road spray.
And plain morning spaciness kept me from taking it out for a lunch ride as I ended up leaving my helmet at home.
A big thank you to my friends Jason and Don with help on some of the parts. Thanks to Josh for finishing up the build and getting it perfectly dialed in.
And a special thanks to Allie for putting up with my indulgences from time to time. You're the best.

Plastic Bike, Mark II

With the demise of the Plastic Bike came many decisions. What exactly do I want? The titanium road bike I've dreamed of owning for the past 12 years or so? A cool steel rig? Another plastic bike? Do I buy a replacement frameset or complete bike?

With a tight budget, the ti bike was ruled out. Even with my industry connections, I'd still be looking at a couple thousand bucks just for the frame and fork. Steel? I love my steel Gunnar CX bike and also considered buying a Waterford, but being the techy weight weenie that I am, I didn't think a steel bike would fulfill my road bike needs and a deluxe one would still be a princely sum.

A friend and coworker bought a Cervélo this spring. I had always admired their fine rides, but for some reason the bikes and brand never really clicked with me. However, after seeing his frameset in person and checking out the details, along with spending some time on their thorough website, I was sold. Not only are Cervélos some of the most advanced carbon fiber composite frames on the market, but they're not unaffordable. Um, whatever that means.

sit back and admire those micro seatstays!

An R3 seemed to be the best choice for my riding style and budget.
It's very light, coming in at 950g (2.09 lbs), including the headset bearings.
Plus it looks pretty bitchin' to boot.
I ended up buying a complete bike as it was a much better value than the frameset. However, virtually every drivetrain component, as well as the wheels, saddle and bar/stem will be sold off to make way for nicer bits that I'm either purchasing, already have from the old bike, or am getting from friends (thanks Don, thanks Jason!).
Until all the parts arrive, I'll have a stunning frameset staring me down, awaiting the first time I can clip in and spin the cranks.

think Allie will mind relocating to the guest room for the next few nights?

(studio shots ripped from CompetitiveCyclist.com)