Originally published on West End Bikes
I’ve been the floor manager at West End Bikes for only a short time, and even in those few weeks, the Sage titanium bicycles we sell have taken too much of my attention. They are beautiful to look at. The damn bikes just call my name, and I didn’t like it. For, you see, I’m a carbon weight weenie through and through. I like my steeds light and stiff, I’m a climber after all. It’s important to me. Those ti machines aren’t my style (jump to the bottom for my pros and cons for the ultra-fast ending). When us roadies crawl away from climbing hills to die, when we finally admit defeat, we learn to play golf, tell bad stories, and chose to ride smoother, heavier, much more sensible bicycles. Ya know, steel ones. I’m not ready to die just yet and I don’t like golf.
Dave of Sage has come in to talk with customers about the titanium beasts that he produces, and I listened. To prove how much I’m still too young and still too wild to ride anything but the most plasticish of whips, I dared Dave to let me ride one of his monstrosities for a full day. He bet me $1000 that I would like the ride quality of his “Skyline” road bike, and since I’m freakin’ loaded (and, admittedly, ridiculous), I took the bet. We spit, pinkie swore and a date was set.