The past two weekends have been crazy busy with personal stuff (bachelor party two weeks ago, then my sister’s wedding this weekend). Luckily, the first bike meeting was rained out, and the other was a run, so I don’t think I missed much. I didn’t have a bike anyway… until now. My roommate Carlos told me months ago that Performance Bike was the place to go on Thanksgiving weekend because of the great deals they will have. Earlier today, I made time out of the busy weekend of my sister’s wedding with a lot of family over at my parents’ house, to make it back out to the Santa Monica shop to get an EXTRA 20% off from the already cut prices for the holiday weekend. A few days ago, I was set on getting a 2011 Cannondale CAAD10 with Ultegra components, but we’re looking at a $2,149.99 price tag. Ouch! Plus that bike looks sweet with a black and neon green color scheme. We all know, like buying running shoes, that I shouldn’t even be looking at those things. I was told by several people that I should be looking at quality derailleurs and gears. I knew I should be looking for Shimano 105s at least, but Ultegra derailleurs at best.
It’s my first bike anyway, so I shouldn’t go overboard. I knew for sure I didn’t want to fork out so much cash on a carbon frame, so an aluminum body with carbon forks was my standard. I wanted something that would last me a few years, then maybe, just maybe, if I get really good at riding, then I’ll get a much better bike, especially I know for sure I will be taking a few spills here and there in the beginning. I also did a lot of online research with the other bike suggestions like Trek, Specialized, Fuji, etc, but time wasn’t on my side as I’ve been busy, plus Performance Bike seemed to have the best deals out there this weekend. When I got to the shop, a friendly worker named Angel helped me out. Super friendly staff. They prided themselves as being the Nordstrom of the bike world because of the customer service and they even told me I could return my bike if I had any problems. I think I was already sold at that point. It was close to my place too!
I told Angel what my parameters were for finding my right bike. She showed me a few, like a Fuji and GT with various components. I was able to ride a few around the block. I was in there for a total of 3.5 hours, but it was almost finding the right car. I mean, I’m investing a lot of money in this, it better be the right one! The one that resonated to me the most was the GT Series 1, aluminum frame, carbon forks, Shimano Ultregra shifters and gears. I took that baby for a spin, and I don’t know what it was, it just fit. It was smooth riding, shifting was effortless. I was set on this one! There you have it… it’s the bike pictured above! Original price $2000, on sale for $1600, take an extra 20% off, it came out to around $1280. Another perk of buying things from Performance was that they have a frequent buyer program where 10% of your total purchase goes back to spending credit back at the store for more accessories. I took advantage of the Thanksgiving sale and purchased a good amount of accessories – helmet, shoes, and clips! Sounded like I splurged, but they were necessary things for my ride anyway, so I saved another couple hundred bucks there too!
Can’t wait to ride it! Haven’t figured out a name for her yet, but I will after a few rides. Anyway, the title of this post, is a song by Wiz Khalifa, and it was the first thing I thought of when the bike was suggested to me:
So, what do you think ?