My padawan Calli made mistake number one in the bike universe today. She rode carbon.
When she went to buy a bike, I told her not to test drive anything that she wasn't willing to buy. Accordingly, she tried a cute little aluminum frame Trek, loved it and bought it. She has loved that bike for 9 months now. Until tonight.
Like a new convert, she's converting everyone around her to cycling-- including her mom. Calli found a bike on KSL.com for her mom and went with her to buy it. Then, without thinking, she jumped on the bike to try it out.
She only rode it around a parking lot, but it was enough to incite adulterous feelings in her. She called me immediately, and all I could do was empathize. You see, the same thing happened to me.
I had a perfectly good FX myself. Then Layne upgraded to a Madone and got me to try a full carbon bike. I bought it the next day.
What makes a carbon bike $2000 better than an aluminum one? I can't explain it. It's like the difference between eating store brand chocolate chips (which aren't that bad), then tasting a Lindor truffle. You can't really describe why one is so much better-- it just is.
It will be interesting to see what Calli does. She has more self-control than I do-- perhaps she can make herself forget. Maybe she'll talk her mom into a trade. Either way, she can't undo what she did tonight-- once you've crossed the carbon line, it's impossible to go back!
1 comment:
I am pushing and pushing that bike as far away as I can. I have tried numerous persuasions on my poor innocent mother which have been of no avail. I am doomed to either sale mine or pray that the next time I ride mine I won't remember the 30 seconds of heaven I experienced on the other bike. Seriously it maybe wasn't even 30 seconds I jumped off that thing as fast as I could but it was all ready too late.
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