Cycling Coast to Coast

Breaking news! Bike & Build has finalized its deal with Zane’s in Connecticut, which means now I can get a bike. B&B is going with the Specialized Allez Triple, but we’re also getting the chance to upgrade to a better bike. My trip leader, Jose, suggested that I spend some extra money to upgrade to the Specialized Elite Compact, and I think I will. For not that much more money, the Elite Compact is a nice upgrade from the Triple (better components, wheels, etc), and, in my opinion, it’s a much nicer looking bike. One big difference is that the Triple has a triple crankset, whereas the Elite Compact has a compact double. With a triple cranket, you get more gear ratios, but it turns out the the gear range for a compact double and triple is pretty comparable. Because I’m a geek, I spent some time reading about gearing, and made a spreadsheet comparing the Elite Compact and the Triple. It’s online here.

For curious readers, I used Sheldon Brown’s (an excellent web resource for technical bike info) Online Gear Calculator to make the spreadsheet. Another great resource is the Exploratorium’s Science of Cycling. Chain Reaction Bicycles also has short page about double and triple cranksets.

Today, I hopped on my bike and rode over to Landry’s Bicycles in Boston to test ride the Allez Elite Compact and get sized. It was fun to ride, and shifted very smoothly (unlike my current bike). I’m looking forward to to putting a lot of miles on my new bike. Unfortunately, I don’t have any photos to post, but hopefully I will soon. I need to get in contact with Zane’s to work out the order, give them my sizing info, and figure out shipping details. Until then, here are the product shots from the Specialized website. I can’t decide which color I like better, blue or red.