2 Questions: 1. Does my Frankenbike ‘have soul’? and 2. Will it be a horrible hinderance in my upcoming (loaded) season of sprint-distance tris?
Giant: ~1991 980C Frame and fork (carbon tubes, aluminum lugs, steel/aluminum fork), headset, stem.
Shimano: Cables. (Thanks TomD/Bikesport! They’re great!)
105: Derailleurs, brake calipers, hubs.
Ultegra: Brake/shift levers, BB
Dura-ace: Crank/chainrings, cassette (8 of 9 speed, 12-23).
Campagnolo: Rims (Ypsilon), downtube converters.
Modolo: Handlebars
Thomson: Seatpost (straight)
Speedplay: duh. SS Zeros.
Syntace: C2 clipon, small (too small for me on a “real” tri bike)
Selle San Marco: Azoto, jammed all the way forward.
Easton: Tape and plugs!
Trek: 25lb 25c, wire-bead training tires (with Pro Race standing by)
It’s kinda heavy, very flexy, twitchy as a squirrel on speed, and loaded with sentimental value: 13 years ago, the first time I ever laid eyes on my wife she was test-riding THIS bike (with the original parts kit).
Anybody else racing on a Frankenbike? Am I a poseur, or noble junkyard warrior on this bike? Or should I just frame it, hang it on the living room wall, and sell my soul to get a new Cervelo from TomD?
Those are so B-E-A-yoootiful. But alas, I have only 126mm between my rear dropouts, thus the funny 8 of 9 cassette, 9-speed shifters, and 7-speed derailleur.
If you are veyr, very fast, your bike can live on, but otherwise I think it is time to give your bike it’s hard earned retirement. If you love it set it in your living room, or at the dinner table. Bike love is like puppy love, it comes and goes, but someday you’ll meet the perfect bike, fall in love, and go prancing into the sunset. Then five or six years later it’s lawyer (known as a gear junkie) will explain to you that you are needing to leave the relationship and re-enter the world of being single. This will last for a short time, and then so on…and so forth…
I’d buy a real tri-bike. QR, Felt or Cervelo all have very affordable kick-ass bikes. P.S. it’s ussually best to sign a Pre-nup^ before you spend to much on the bike.
^Pre-nup is a gopher term for spending all your money on a bike and not having any money for wheels, clothes, food, ect…
If you like it, ride it!!! But if you ask the question publicly, then you’re really asking if it’s okay to get a new bike. Get it!!!
By the way- every single one of my bikes are Frankenbikes, using this definition. My definition of a Frankenbike is multiple materials on one frame, not counting an insert for headtube or bottom bracket on most carbon bikes.