How often do we we get to ride the same bikes that the Pro’s would use in the grand tours?

Well for the past two season I have been very lucky and able to ride and enjoy one of those Pro tour bikes, a Cervelo SLC SL. You can’t get much better than this, I have ridden this bike all over Manitoba, Northwest Ontario a week in Penticton, many group rides and It helped me win my first crit race in 7 years.  This bike is a unreal bike to ride, it is on of the lightest bike on the market and the most aerodynamic. Riding this bike you quickly get use to how torsionally stiff it is, you think where you want to go and your there. You can just rail the turns and know that the back wheel will follow the front end, just as you would expect with the level of engineering. One thing that most of my riding buddy’s got use to, is how stiff the bottom bracket are is, when the sprints started the frame wouldn’t let me down. The Power transfer from the pedals to the back wheel is out standing when you push down on the pedals the bike wants to rocket forward, and for me, often over 60Km/hr.

Dura Ace 7800 is the high end equipment that will not let you down, even in 2009 some pro teams switched back to it after using 7900. I did opt for different brakes on this ride, Bontrager Speed limit Brakes offered a lot of solid stopping power, with the addition of Jagwire Racer cables the stopping power is ample with out breaking the bank.  I also switched out the stock wheels for something nicer, the Bontrager Aeolus 5.0 carbon clinchers with a Powertap rear hub. And yes I trained, raced and road every ride on this wheel set. That alone shows how great these wheels are. Bontrager offers a 5 year warranty on them, and having a power tap with them is a dream. 5000 to 6000 km later I still have not trued them…. wow. The only other upgrade I added  was to the FSA SLK light cranks a Ceramic bottom bracket. And yes it does make a difference. The cranks will spin so easy and will not rob you of any power.

All summed up this was the best bike I have ever owned. I was a hard fought battle to put it out to pasture. I have had so much fun with it and it just looks so hot. It’s a bike that just stands out and some one will enjoy it as much as I have. A long as the next owner dosn’t beat me in a sprint, I’ll be ok in selling it. It will be posted up on our Used bike section and I will post it on the triathlon Web site if you know any one looking for a great deal on a Dream bike watch out for the posts.