Something blue sir....

Well, I have finally made my decision after much deliberation and I have chosen the Blue Triad sl as my new steed :o)

It came down to basically two things: 1. being sensible with the money I had and the 20% off that Jamie (from Multisport distribution) gave me was a big factor and 2. getting the right bike from the stats of my previous Retul fit back in February.

I will admit that the Blue wasn't really on my radar when I was choosing a new frame as I was really lusting after the new shiv and after seeing it up close and personal I was even more taken a back!!! However, the adjustability of this bike isn't very good - you basically fit it or you don't!! There are only minute adjustments at the front end, there is only a few mm's fore and aft in the pads and they can also only go upwards (if you get the chance, check out Jens Voight's stack height on his at the TDF - WOW!!!) and that is it basically as the base bar and extensions stay put!! After much research I decided that I would go with my head as opposed to my heart and it was down to a bike that was more suited to my stack and reach - the Plasma, the Slice and also the Triad.. I'm a tall and narrow sort of guy, you see ;o)

So, after seeing the Blue close up at the London Tri expo and having a good chat with Jamie about it (plus another free Retul fitting included :o)), I was sold... Plus, it is a lovely looking bike - especially with some deep set wheels on it!!!

So now I have got the frame plus all the other bits which are all SRAM Red apart from the front mech which is SRAM Force as I have read that the Red one is a bit flimsy - thanks to Bonger on Tritalk for that little nugget! The bars are the 3T Mistrals which I saw on the bike they had at London and they looked very nice but, after receiving them I am in two minds whether I will get on with them? The first thing of note was the building of them - they look a very well constructed bar but putting them together was bit of a 'mare'!! First off, they included two right arm pads - not good and stupid me, only found out once I had tried to install it - DOH!! Fair play to Wiggle though, they sent me an extra set within a few days :o) Then the actual installation of the pads themselves was a bit time consuming and painful... I had to heat the little plastic sleeves that covered the arm pad holes and then screw a little wood screw into them and pull them out with some pliers!!! What a palava that was and something that you should not have to do for something at that price!! The last thing is, they are quite on the low side and only once I get the bike built up will I be able to tell whether they will suit me as all my previous bars have had a bot of a stack on the armpads? However, there are ways around this with a conversion kit that puts the extensions above the base bar but this sort of takes away the whole idea of this bar!

Now, I am just waiting to get the bike into one of my LBS's - hargroves cycles in Fareham for them to press the headset and also the BB30 bottom bracket (no, it's not ceramic!!!) and then I will start the build :o)

One thing though, how easy is it to install internal cables? Do you have to put the outer cables in as well or is just the inners? My gut feeling is the whole lot but from memory, the hole on the top tube that the cables run into don't seem big enough...

Back to tri stuff and training... Training is going quite well at the moment seeing as the Ironman was only 6 weeks ago (you have to realise that I am the worlds worst at recovering from any event!) so to get back into some serious training this soon (started three weeks ago) is pretty pleasing :o)

Picked up some Brooks T6 racers (yes, the ones Chrissie wears and no, I didn't get them just cos she wears them...) from the London expo at a bargain price of £44 (thanks to Puretri.co.uk...) and first impressions are good. My feet and lower legs have taken a bit of beating due to the heel drop in them compared to the DS trainer that I have been using but it is something that I will have to get used to... They are very light and very responsive, how long they will last I don't know as I have seen quite a bit of wear on the forefoot of the sole already! I was going to go for the Newton Distance shoe (after some great advice from Helen at Ten-Point) but I just can't afford the £120 for them at the moment - they are great shoes but I will have to start saving, especially after the bike build... Don't worry Helen, I will get them from you eventually just to pay back the time and advice you gave me :o)

I have Southampton sprint tri this weekend and I am going off early in the Cycleworld Tri team wave - get to race my old buddy, Mr Fat boy Dave Savage (he of Manchester Commonwealth fame ;o)) It will be interesting to see how much speed these legs have got in them after the Ironman? Got 9th place at Winchester earlier in the season so what with me on my road bike this time (as no built up TT bike yet...), no swim training and the residue of an Ironman in my legs, I'll take 9th place once again thank you very much (actually, top 20 would do me nicely!!!).

Next blog, Southampton race report...

Have a good weekend y'all