a new whip

I’ve been mulling over the new bike decision for some time. About 2 weeks ago, I finally plunked down the cash and pulled the trigger on a 2007 Argon18 Gallium road frame. Many, many thanks to my good friend, Matt Simpson at Rivet Cyclesport for helping me pick out the exact spec and frame. And thanks to a great deal on a previous model year’s frame, I was able to save a boatload of cash.

I went with a combination of SRAM Red and Force for the components. Essentially, I went with Red everywhere there was a functional difference, i.e. derailleurs, shifters, and bottom bracket (ceramic bearings). Where the only real difference was weight (i.e. cranks, cassette, chain and brakes), I went with Force to save a few bucks. The net savings was about $400 by going this route and the weight penalty was about 200 grams. Not a bad exchange, in my opinion. On Matt’s recommendation, I went with Easton for the stem, handlebars, seatpost and wheels. All except for the wheels are carbon…Easton stuff is high-quality, reasonably light and durable so this was a good choice. The EA70 wheels are solid, durable training hoops, nothing flash here. The wheels are wrapped in Vittoria Evo Open Corsa CX tires, I love the feel of these tires. A bit pricey, but I indulged a bit here.

As an aspiring home mechanic, I decided to build up the bike myself and of course, took some pics during the process.

Total weight for the bike based on manufacturer’s spec is about 16 lbs. Pretty light for a big bike!

big ol’ box of parts

christmas morning

ready to begin

proper torque settings!

tightening the seat post binder bolt

setting up the stem and bars

installing the bottom bracket…grease those threads!

installing bottom bracket

installing cranks

using Park Tool’s website for some tips

installing shifters

installing front derailleur

front brake before stringing the cable

rear derailleur

rear wheel after running the chain

stringing cable for the front brake

bar tape – one down, one to go

in all her glory

the new cockpit…

coming at ya!

looks fast standing still

I present the Gallium S3

Full spec list

• Frame – Argon 18 Gallium XL (58.5)
• Headset – FSA Orbit CF Integrated
• Stem – Easton EC90 Road Stem (120mm)
• Handlebars – Easton EC70 Wing Road Bar
• Shifters/Brake Levers – SRAM Red
• Front Der. – SRAM Red
• Rear Der. – SRAM Red
• Crankset – SRAM Force 53/39 175mm
• Bottom Bracket – SRAM GXP Team English
• Chain – SRAM PC-1070
• Pedals – Speedplay X5 (2)
• Cassette – SRAM OG-1070 12-26
• Brakes – SRAM Force
• Seatpost – Easton EC70 Carbon Fiber
• Saddle – Prologo Nago
• Wheels – Easton EA70 Clincher
• Water Bottle Cage – Specialized Rib Cage
• Computer – Cateye Strada Wireless
• Tires – Vittoria Evo CX Open Corsa

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~ by JP on September 7, 2008.