Andy's Cycling Equipment and Related Stories

This page has information about cycling equipment, past and present. There are some good stories about how I moved from one bike to another, sometimes unexpectedly.

Custom-made for 1998! Too bad I can't ride it....
Why I didn't ride my Epic in 1997

Custom-made for 1998! Too bad I can't ride it...

About 6 weeks after I got the M2 in 1997, it was clear that the fit was not quite right. Although it was a great bike, I knew I needed something else. Since I had already swapped bikes once that season, I decided to get through the PMC, then go shopping! I started my search in late August. I was searching for something comfortable with a good fit. After 6 weeks, I had ridden 11 hot bikes from manufacturers including Merlin, Kestrel, Serotta, Seven, Litespeed, and Bianchi. They were all excellent, but the one which fit best was the Merlin Extralight. And we could make it fit even better by going custom!

So, in early October, I started the process to get an Extralight made to my requirements via Crossroads Bicycles in Los Gatos. I was measured, photographed, and questioned. After a few weeks, I approved the frame. Frame delivery day, shown below, was December 2, the day after my birthday! Happy times! Crossroads built it up with: Dura Ace, Time carbon fork, mavic reflex rims, and TTT Prima bar. With my clunky old Ultegra pedals which weigh over a pound, the bike was 18.2 pounds. The final setup and complete bike are also shown below. Click on any of these pictures for bigger versions (these take some time).

The inaugural ride was December 9, 1997. It was sweet. I managed to get in about 260 miles to close out '97, then another 340 miles in 1998. This all ended two months to the day after the inaugural ride when the crash of 1998 occurred. See the story for details, but basically, I fractured my left hip in a low speed, very boring crash. This has ended the 1998 cycling season for me. Fortunately, the bike, as usual, escaped unscathed.

So, after 8 years, and 3 excellent bikes (Cannondale R600, Specialized Epic Pro, and Specialized M2 Pro), I finally have the bike of my dreams, custom made specifically for me - a custom Merlin Extralight.

Now if only I could ride it...

Why I didn't ride my Epic in 1997

I bought a Specialized Epic Comp carbon fiber bike in 1994, and rode it through early 1997. In April, 1997, PMC rider and long-time-buddy Chris Spear came to visit. We rode, and I loaned him the Epic, while I rode my StumpJumper. Of course, the 1 centimeter difference in our heights required Chris to adjust the saddle. Upon re-adjusting the saddle later, Chris managed to snap off the part of the frame through which the seat-post bolt is threaded. ("Ooo, don't know my own strength")

Specialized warrantied the frame, but no longer makes the Epic. So after some negotiation, I got a midnight blue 1997 Specialized Allez M2 metal matrix composite (a mouthful which means aluminum with ceramic mixed in), including a new Kinesis carbon-2 fork. My ultegra group was moved from the old bike to the new. It took 6 weeks to get the bike. I rode my StumpJumper, complete with knobbies, on the road for about 2+ weeks, and then was fortunate to be able to borrow another Epic from a very generous friend for about 3 weeks. Thanks, Don! At right is a picture of me on Don's Epic, climbing Grizzly Peak in the Berkeley hills.

Chris has been riding an M2 since 1995. Before I got my Epic, we were both riding similar Cannondales. Was this some clandestine effort to get us back to parity? 8^) I fixed his wagon later on by trading up in late 1997...