Canyon Ultimate AL (summer bike)
Tifosi CK7 (winter bike)
Koga-Miyata 'Gents Tourer' (vintage bike)
I'm left with the Surly Cross Check commuter/bike cam, and I even have plans for that one.
I managed not to buy a bike last year (winning a small wager at The London Cycle Workshop in the process), and rode all three bikes a reasonable amount.
But when I analysed how much use each bike was getting I realised that about 70% of the miles I was getting in were on the Tifosi, and while it was a decent winter option I wasn't expecting it to be my main bike.
The much racier and faster Canyon I kept for special occasions (London-Brighton-London being an example) which wasn't the original idea.
However the upside of this policy was that it stayed in almost 'as new' condition meaning I was able to sell it for just £300 less than I paid for it (it was bought in the Canyon sale), and once I'd sold the Tifosi I had enough to fund the new project.
I had decided that what I needed was a winter 'super bike' built around a Kinesis Gran Fondo titanium frame (now 'on order'). The search for the perfect bike is still on!
I sourced all the components on 't internet and the whole cost (bearing in mind I kept my upgrade wheels - Mavic SLs) was £1900, just £100 more that the income from bike sales (after eBay took its enormous slice for the sale of the Tifosi - the Canyon sold on Gumtree).
The following is a rough guide to the bike costing and predicted weight:
Frame: £1116 1400g
Ultegra gs £527 2320
SLs wheels 1450
Seat post £100 200
Bar 3T erg £135 200
St 3t Arx £44 120
Pedals 00 280
Tyres 00 460
Saddle 000 240
£1922 6620g
I also went for Dia Compe 'Full Metal Fenders'.
Now I know the predicted weight is ridiculous. The groupset weight will be increased because I opted for a 12-32 cassette (I'm 57 for crissake) but apart from that it demonstrates how manufacturers tend to underestimate weights. I'm hoping under 8.5 Kgs without pedals and guards.
As for the Koga-Miyata? Well I bought it very cheaply for L'Eroica Britannia where it showed itself to be a bit of a heavyweight. Around 14kgs with saddle bag and Brooks etc so this is being replaced by a Holdsworth Élan from 1984 (10.8kgs apparently).
It comes with a Campag Groupset and tubs and looks very pretty. It's 531 tubing a big improvement on the 1024 of the Koga.
You can follow the restoration of this pick on later posts.
