5 months after getting back into cycling the whole n+1 thing struck.
There I was in the LBS one Saturday morning a couple of weeks ago buying a cassette removal tool when the owner asked if I needed anything else. "Well, I'd love a full carbon, Di2 Ultegra groupset road bike" I say, only half joking. He asked what kind of riding I do and I replied that I have a CX as it means I can ride on canal paths with the kids and ride on the road when out on my own, and that I was enjoying riding on the road much more than I'd expected to. If I was going to buy a road bike I'd buy something that I wouldn't want to start upgrading so I'd want carbon, Di2 etc.
From a line of bikes he pulled out a Giant Defy Advanced Pro 1 and offered me a great deal on it as it's a 2016 model. Big discount, bike fit and 2 services a year for however long I have the bike. It's a bike I shouldn't have to upgrade for a long time.
I made the huge mistake of having a test ride. Oh my, Di2 is amazing. This thing just flew. I was smitten. However, I'd gone in to buy a £10 tool, not a bike. "I'll think about it" I say.
A couple of days later I've read all the reviews I can find and confused myself over frame sizes (I'm convinced I'm an M, the LBS think an ML). I go back to the LBS and try both frame sizes and they're right, the ML feels better. The mechanic says I've got a long torso and long arms for my height and the sizing chart doesn't take this into account. He talks me through the different ways to setup the Di2 shifters, his advice is right hand one to move to smaller cogs on the cassette and big ring, left one to move to larger cogs and small ring. I'm sold.
So, today I had the fit and here it is...my (first) n+1
There I was in the LBS one Saturday morning a couple of weeks ago buying a cassette removal tool when the owner asked if I needed anything else. "Well, I'd love a full carbon, Di2 Ultegra groupset road bike" I say, only half joking. He asked what kind of riding I do and I replied that I have a CX as it means I can ride on canal paths with the kids and ride on the road when out on my own, and that I was enjoying riding on the road much more than I'd expected to. If I was going to buy a road bike I'd buy something that I wouldn't want to start upgrading so I'd want carbon, Di2 etc.
From a line of bikes he pulled out a Giant Defy Advanced Pro 1 and offered me a great deal on it as it's a 2016 model. Big discount, bike fit and 2 services a year for however long I have the bike. It's a bike I shouldn't have to upgrade for a long time.
I made the huge mistake of having a test ride. Oh my, Di2 is amazing. This thing just flew. I was smitten. However, I'd gone in to buy a £10 tool, not a bike. "I'll think about it" I say.
A couple of days later I've read all the reviews I can find and confused myself over frame sizes (I'm convinced I'm an M, the LBS think an ML). I go back to the LBS and try both frame sizes and they're right, the ML feels better. The mechanic says I've got a long torso and long arms for my height and the sizing chart doesn't take this into account. He talks me through the different ways to setup the Di2 shifters, his advice is right hand one to move to smaller cogs on the cassette and big ring, left one to move to larger cogs and small ring. I'm sold.
So, today I had the fit and here it is...my (first) n+1
