I don't get new complete bikes very often, so it's cause to celebrate when i do. Picked up a new carbon-framed Sette Primo from PricePoint last week. the carbon frame is well over a pound lighter than the alumimum Kinesis-made frame I was on before. The complete bike comes in over 3 pounds lighter. I typically don't care much about a pound or 2 here and there, but 3 starts to jump out at you. This bike came with a complete Ultegra SL 6600 group. I dig the ice-grey color on those components even though most did not. These shift levers also still have the external shift cables, whereas the newer 6700 levers went for under-the-bartape cable routing. That does LOOK slick, but that just adds a lot of bends to the housing. Considering that most of my 'cross pit bike did not survive it's 3rd (or 4th) season, I was in need of an entire group of components and a wheelset, which is almost an entire build kit. This complete bike was about the same price as a build kit. That also enables me to keep my old road bike complete and use it for commuting only and this one for racing. Yes, racing. I will probably contest a few more road events this year, pending open weekends in the MTB schedule. All of the new Ultegra 10-speed stuff will work double-duty and go over to the 'cross A-bike in the fall and all of the old A-bike stuff will get handed down to the pit bike. The old pit-bike stuff will be reserved for commutter bike backup stuff. Everything has it's purpose(s).
Got the new bike out on the road on Saturday for a solid 3 hours. Rode up and did 3 laps around Lake Quivera (Quivera Road, Johnson Drive, Renner Rd. and Holiday Drive). Pretty hilly little loop and 3 laps is tough. Bike felt super solid. Super stiff but not harsh thanks to the carbon frame. New components always feel great. Neutral geometry doesn't require over-thinking. Besides the complete Shimano component group, the bike came with FSA bars, stem, and seatpost. Nice stuff that all performs perfectly.
Some people critisized me for buying mail-order and not suporting one of the local bike shops. As much as I like to support the shops in the area, and I do appreciate any discouts they give me, I simple was not in a situation to spend twice as much.
