After trips to Rage and Performance, we worked with Peter at Rage to get Beckie her new ride – an 08 Bianchi 928, a lot of bike for the money, especially at the discount between model years. All carbon, compact crank, ergonomic handlebars, internal cabling — which i got a great look at when it stretched during the 2nd ride and she could not get into the big ring. My only reservations was it did not leap like a race bike, which it was not; it was a quick nimble touring bike. Perfect for Beckie. We did not get to try her size, but had to demo a 57cm. Peter agreed to take it back if she did not like it, he was so confident that would not be the case.

almost built

She got fit on Friday, and we let Peter sell her a super pair of shoes at a huge discount to replace her 15 year old pair. A nice kit out the door for $2650. I was glad to finally buy something significant from Rage, they are starting to feel like my shop.

She went for a quick spin, mostly liked it, but unsure about the seat and shoes.

Sunday Sam babysat and we went for a nice long ride to the lake. I was psyched to just go for a few hours wihtout looking at my computer or worrying about my speed, figuring Beckie would mellow out after 30 minutes and enjoy the ride like she normally does. Climbing to Saguaro Lake, she couldn’t get back into the big ring…grr, new bike tweak. Then she mentioned how little she had been using the little crank anyways, which was awesome. She was slower than me, but generally hanging on the climbs, the compact crank performing as advertised. Other times in the rollers she caught me on the descents…hard to say if i was going slow, or she was trying to maintain, but the bike will treat her right once she is not hauling around extra tonnage and can build her strength.

Soon she will be 8 months pregnant, and I will get to take it for a spin.