After the last 6 weeks of non-training culminating in my smash on the bike, it’s a relief to be training again. Actually, I’ve managed to build the running quite steadily, and it seems I’ve had no ill effects from the crash. I ran for 14km last night in a reasonable 1:15, and that’s after a fast 10k on Friday night in 44 mins; not bad for a week that started with a bike wreck of cosmic proprtions.
Jon at Bicycle Smithy gave the Principia the once over and gently broke it to me that it was time that the old girl went to the frame graveyard in the sky:
- Front fork snapped;
- Frame cracked where headtube meets top tube and downtube;
- two busted rims;
- Carbon fibre handlebars had a heavy impact, so retired.
It’s a testament to the strength of the Principia frame that it didn’t actually snap or bend, still it’s done four years sterling service. I’ve actually found that the top tube length was a little too long for my liking giving the bike a very relaxed ride, but making it quite difficult to get a comfortable yet aggressive position when using clip-on tri bars. My number one priority when selecting a replacement is finding a slightly more aggressive geometry yet remaining comfortable enough for longer sportives. I also want to take the opportunity to move up to a full carbon frame which will hopefully give me better shock absorption as well as some weight saving (although the Principia was pretty light). All the running gear, including the shifters are still in good order so that’s one small mercy, I suppose.
I think I’m going to go for Kinesis KR810 frame with their tracer fork. In the small size the frame weighs an impressive 985g and the top tube length is 2.5cm shorter than the Principia. I’ll mate this with a slightly longer stem making the overall difference 1.5cm which I’m hoping will be just the right sort of reduction to give the ride I’m looking for. The problem is, how to pay for a new frame and assorted bits while waiting for compensation. I spoke to the police last night, and they are definitely prosecuting the driver so there should be no question of liability.
Categories:
