The new bike

So I finally bought my new bike at Halter's Cycles today, as my insurance money was guaranteed . It is a sweet, sweet bike. However, because it's red, I can't name it anything having to do with blue this time (last two bikes were "Blue" and "Blue, Too"). If anyone wants to propose a name, I'm all ears. One thought is Leonidas, from 300 / the battle of Thermopylae.

Anyways, I thought I would do a few pictures cyclingnews.com style.

This season Paul will be riding a red Cannondale Six13 - a deal since Cannondale is now heavily promoting the SystemSix.

He has opted to go with a compact 50/34 crankset, which should give him more options in the hills. We'll have to see as the season progresses if he runs out of gears in the group sprints.

In an effort to balance out the compact crankset, Paul will be using a 11/26 in the back. This will give him a wide range of options, but could lead to some rough, jumpy shifting. Although the majority of the bike is Shimano, he has opted for a SRAM rear cassette, both because of availability and because of the wide gear range.

A view from a day at the office for Paul (he wishes). He has customized the bike with Easton carbon fiber handlebars for added shock absorption and an FSA 110 stem. His mechanic added grey handlebar tape, which goes great with the grey carbon fiber of the handlebars, fork and tubes.

Paul also upgraded the wheels to Ksyrium SL3s. These have been heavily relied upon in the pro peloton for years. While the Ksyrium ESs would have been 5o grams lighter, such a small weight improvement is not worth the extra cost. Notice also the stylish profile design water bottle cages that were acquired at an unbelievable price.

Don't forget to send in your name ideas!