The Candy Store, part 2

I don't know how people decide what bike to buy.

I went back to WheelWorks and spent some more time with Joe Santos, who impresses me more and more. He has spent hours and hours with me allowing me to do test rides and I still haven't spent a penny in his shop. I guess that's the way you develop loyal customers. In any case, I am still going through the selection process. This time around I rode the B12 again, twice. I rode a P2 again. I also rode 2 different sizes of P3s.

The B12 felt quite good. It feels stable and fast. The frame may be a bit short for me, but overall it feels good. After my first whirl on it, Joe tweaked the front end and moved my hand position upward. After doing that, I felt really good on it. My only minor complaint was that my knees where bumping my elbows a bit when in the aero position, a sign that the frame/top tube may be a bit short for me.

Next was the P2 again. It also felt pretty good from a geometry standpoint. It still felt a little twitchy and I didn't feel as stable on it as I did on the B12. Otherwise, it felt good. Next was a P3 with 808s. This was the first time I have been on a P3 and the first time I have ever ridden with real race wheels. It may have all been in my head, but I felt really fast with the wheels. Also, I don't think I'll have a problem with deep wheels. It was fairly windy on my test ride, but I never felt like I couldn't control the bike. The fit was good, very similar to the P2, but it also felt a little more twitchy than the Felt B12. Moving to a smaller size P3 helped a little, but the Felt still was a tad more stable for me.

The other option Joe is setting up for me is a really sweet deal on a Felt DA. It normally retails for like 9500, but he can get the '08 version built up with the race wheels and a PowerTap for less than 7000. It's a little more than I wanted to spend, but I want to at least try the bike. The geometry of the frame is similar to the B12, but it has the bayonnet fork (like the B2), so that will be interesting. I still need to ride a B2 and I will try the DA that they build up for me. I may even borrow it for a few days.

I'm to the point now where they all feel pretty decent, so it will be a tough decision. Leaning towards the Felt right now, just not sure which one! Hoping to have a new bike in January!