Bike's in... and it looks good. It has a sloping aluminium frame with fully carbon fiber forks (including the central bit) and chain stay. This makes it much more rigid that my old carbon fiber, but still very comfortable. It's shimano ultegra throughout ...and oh yes, 9 gears rock big time... The new hog weighs in at 8.8kilos including pedals. It's a totally different ride, and much more stable over bumps. All in all I think it represents excellent value.

The guy at the shop measured me with some hightech aparatus and a laptop to calculate my "ideal" position. We adjusted the bike accordingly and were amused to see that it is very similar to my old postion. Bars are alittle lower and it is little deeper when I am on the drops. But it is actually a tiny bit shorter overall. The top bars are a flatened oval which gives a wide area to rest you hands on. I need to test it on some longer rides.

He confirmed that Lance nixed the left break shifter for a several hundred gram weight advantage..

Of course the same mechanic is in the doghouse for over tightening a chain link causing it to jump ruining my lunch time ride and making me mess up my hands.

No excuse except to blame the legs now.

sud