wrapped inside a riddle

[sam]

or, n^Ti + 1

[The single life cont'd]

I've ordered another bike. The polar opposite of the impulse bike, it's the do-I-have-to-think-of-everything? bespoke bike. To be honest I'd rather get something off the peg, because you can see it and ride it and decide there and then if you like it. This way, you're stuck worrying about it for the months it takes to be born into this world, much of which is spent making its way through the queue of orders.

Went through the usual list of ti dealers on the "affordable" end of the spectrum, including Van Nicholas, Sabbath, and Burls. Took a Condor Percorso for a spin after admiring it for the last year or so, to confirm that it wasn't right for me despite come-hither rear-facing horizontal dropouts (sorry Sheldon: track ends) which appear to have been magicked rather than welded on. Finally chose Enigma because they're in East Sussex, like me, which is nice; they offer a lifetime warranty (the life of their company at least, so here's to their health); and because it will be made in Britain. I'm not usually a stickler for that last one, but I rather like the fact that my money will be going into the local economy.

This will be a modified Esprit with track ends, 130mm across the stern so as not to narrow my selection of hubs and to keep me from relying on bmx freewheels.

Here's the one I road tested in quiet little Westham, whose residents must be used to the parade of cyclists heading into and out of the industrial park by now. Mark, the Enigma guy, kindly wrapped bar tape around the top tube to mimic S&S couplers so I could see if that bugged me if I decide to desecrate the frame to give airport security a run at it:



There will be no decals, though I suppose I could slap on a bumper sticker saying MY OTHER BIKE IS A LITESPEED. Having two titanium bikes is admittedly an indulgence, but the Litespeed is limited to a Highlander magic gear (There can be only one), and anyway this will add to my precious metals portfolio in these uncertain times.

PS. Fortunately plastic surgery wasn't necessary.

[sam]

It's still early days.



Part of the mystique of titanium is that by simply throwing the tubes on the ground, they will automatically form the correct shape.

[sam]

Picked it up yesterday, @ 18lbs not quite weight weenie territory, and accompanied by my wife on her electric bike, which for the record weighs 56 wonderful pounds, we made our way to Hastings.



Back at home I was pleased to discover that quick release wheels don't appear to lose traction in the track ends like I'd been warned they probably would, so the hub I'd had surgically implanted with a solid axle turned out to be unnecessary. Nor is it a problem removing the rear wheel with mudguard in place.

This is my first bike where I noticed toe overlap, which is mostly down to the mudguard. Every beauty needs a flaw.



* The stem supplied was a bit too long

continued...