Blog

My Bike

Let me introduce you to my new Starley road bike, isn't she a beauty!?!

 I have been out on the roads with her for a good month now... not very long you say? But definately long enough for me to fall in Love with every single component that makes up this mean machine.

 There are a few instant differences that I felt with riding this compared to my previous race bike, (Specialized Carbon Tarmac Road), which were that the SRAM Red Gears/ Shifters are far smoother to transition and operate than the Shimano Dura-Ace model. Not only this, the spec of carbon that the frame is made from is both lighter and more rigid to absorb every single lump and bump in the road, enabling a smoother and more comfortable ride.

 The biggest difference i have found with the bike was that, although lighter than the Specialized: When out of the saddle and attacking a hill or exterting significant force throught the pedals, the bike is very responsive and does not 'bunny hop' at the rear, which i found happened often with the other bike.

 I hope to get my Time Trial (TT) Bike next week from the store in Manchester which I am very excited about, purely because I have never trained or raced on a TT bike! Last year was my debut season testing out my ability on the Half Ironman racing circuit, which I raced predominately all my events on the road bike, using a harsh TT set up. I am somewhat anxious about the usage of the gears on the tri bars and the general positioning on a TT bike, but I can only but practice on it in training and build a relationship with the new setup with the aim to smash the 90km distances in my upcoming events both in the UK and Europe.

Below are the specifications of my Road Bike for those keen to gain further knowledge of the Starley bikes: