This is my bike. There are many like them, but this one is mine. My bike is my best friend.
My bike is my...hang on, I can't say that, that's not strictly true...
You may be slightly familiar with this bike, having seen it on GCN over the last 18 months,
so I thought I'd talk it through. This is a Specialized S-Works SL3 - it was actually
my training bike that I used the last year that I was racing. I thought it was the stiffest
bike ever until I rode the next model, and it's not. So although it's no longer the stiffest
bike out there and it's a little bit dated, I still really like it, and there's 2 reasons
that really stand out for me. Firstly, it's got external cable routing. I really like
that - as a home mechanic, there's nothing more frustrating than spending hours trying
to sort out your bike's internal cabling. Secondly, it's also got a threaded bottom
bracket shell, and that's for the same vein - it's just so much easier, it's less noisy,
it's less stress.
As you see, I'm running Campagnolo Chorus 11, like I say it was my training bike. But
I really like the Campag. It always seems a bit weird to have it on a Specialized, but
it's cool, it works for me. I particularly like the ErgoPower levers which I find particularly
comfortable.
Things I've changed from when I was racing:
I did used to have a 130mm stem slammed, I've now got a 120mm stem with 5mm up - I guess
I'm just getting old, but I like the extra bit of comfort there. I always used to race
23s, but I've now got 25mm tyres on, again, just for a little bit more comfort, but most
people are running 25s now as well, so that's not too out of the ordinary.
I'm still running a traditional chain set and an 11-23 block, but that's only because
I don't have any 11-25s or 11-27s. If I did, I'd certainly put them on.
The final thing that I think is worth noting is the fact that I'm running a Garmin Edge
510. When I stopped racing, I stopped recording all my rides but since I had my accident and
I broke my neck, I've actually started using the Garmin Connect function so that one chosen
person gets to see where I'm riding at all times, just in case I have another accident,
just for peace of mind. But hey, what can you do.
Apologies for the fact that it's slightly dirty. I had a longer ride into work than
normal this morning!