Lighter than air

As 2020 ended I had more problems with my Pinarello Rokh – during the summer the Di2 battery went dead – understandable since the bike has over 16,000 miles in 6 years of riding. Then in December the front derailleur broke. I decided it was time to get a new bike.

Because of the pandemic bikes are hard to find but I started looking. I did some research reading my bike porn magazines and searching the internet. Some of the local shops were completely empty except for strange super small or extra large bikes. My favorite shop had a sign on the door – “No bikes available under $5000.”

But when I went back to Montclair Bikery (where I got the Pinarello) they had some bikes. The owner discouraged my interest in the newer Pinarello Prince – which would have to be ordered – because it is not as well made as the Rokh and is overpriced. I kept looking around and read about the Specialized Aethos and decided it might be right for me. I was first considering the Roubaix for the comfort but when I saw the actual bike it seemed too relaxed and upright even for me.

In January I decided to see if Montclair Bikery could order an Aethos for me. It turned out they had a selection of them in various models and sizes. I arranged for a demo ride on an unseasonably warm January day. It was like a dream riding such a light weight bike. I pulled the trigger and now it is mine.  After adding pedals (Shimano SPD XTR), bottle cages, computer mount and sensor and a mirror (yes I know, but I love having a mirror) it weighed in at 16lb 4 oz (7.37 kg).

It is such a  joy to ride – we had a few unseasonably warm days in January and I was able to ride. Smooth and stable and light. One of the most comfortable bikes I have ever been on.

this is spring riding in northern New Jersey!

 

 

 

 

 

May update… I have ridden over 800 miles on the Aethos and am totally loving it. I did find that the saddle was really uncomfortable, so I got a cool retro-ish Brooks Cambium saddle for my retro-ish Aethos (from bikeparts.com) It is a huge improvement – not just more comfortable – even my speed increased. I sold the Specialized torture chamber on eBay for about what the Brooks saddle cost.

I took the Aethos in for a checkup and a little love at the bike shop (no charge, thanks Bikery) and it is a bit better. It had developed a few annoying noises in the brakes and bottom bracket and they adjusted things and now it is quiet again. I am not complaining, this is normal for a bike.

Funny story: I got on the bike this morning after the tune up on one of my favorite routes I was killing it, much faster speeds. Then I looked more carefully and somehow the GPS had switched from MPH to KPH. Of course I was going 1.6x faster!  Still I felt like a champ.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Time limit is exhausted. Please reload CAPTCHA.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.