Limited Editon Cervelos: Black, white and... SRAM Red

Some months ago I got to build up my dream bike, which was a magazine test: a Cervelo SLC-SL. That bike sits in a case, surrounded by Pringles, spare tires, boxes of Kashi GoLean and bubble wrap. That's right, I'm talkin' road trip.

I'm doing Escape from Alcatraz in San Francisco this weekend, and while that course, with its hills, technical corners at the bottom of said hills makes it heaven-sent for Alcatraz, I'm not riding that bike there. No, I've road-ified the PK Racing Guru Crono (which you'll see in the July issue of Triathlete and you'll see on this blog in a few days in way more glorious detail than Triathlete delivered. If you're at the race, look for the blaze vermillion and silver rocket, strapped with Zipp 808s. Hard to miss.

No, that bike will sit in its box while I race Alcatraz. Because two days after the race, I'm on my way to Switzerland. Thanks to this MacBook, I can do my work from anywhere. So I'm gonna spend a month being my wife's soignieur, cook and grocery-getter while she's doing the Team TBB thing with her team in Switzerland.

So I'll be damned if I'm not bringing the baddest road bike to ride the Swiss Alps for a month. The Tour de Suisse passes nearby for a stage finish and start too, so I gotta check that out for sure.

So this test Cervelo SLC-SL delivers pretty much all I, as a triathlete, look for in a road bike. Light weight, great steering, tight compact design, and the thing few other road bikes offer: aerodynamics.

Sent as a frameset, I got to put what I wanted on it. I've been a big fan of what SRAM has accomplished in short time with its road offerings, and the new Red group was gonna make this thing... perfect. A Zipp Vuma Quad Crankset, Fizik Arione saddle and Flashpoint Racing 60 carbon wheels with alloy rims (in my opinion one of the most underrated wheelsets in the sport), and I'll be damned if I don't have one of the baddest bike around. I wish I was racing it in The City, but with a day turnaround, It would be impossible to pack it with all the other stuff Donna and her teammates are asking me to schlep from Encinitas to Leysin.

When I told the Cervelo folks that I built what I considered the perfect bike some months ago, they nodded, then said they had something up their sleeve. Those that know Cervelo know they only deal in Shimano. This year, as a bit of a test, Cervelo is doing a limited run of three models kitted with SRAM. Here's a traveler sheet with the info on the SLC-SL, outfitted with Red:

Love it, love it, love it. I wonder how many have swapped their Shimano spec for SRAM to complete their masterpiece on their own. Now, in an "act now!" kinda way, Cervelo plays liek Burger King and says you can have it your way, offering SRAM.

There's gonna be only 300 Cervelo RS bikes available kitted with SRAM Force, as well as 215 R3-SL kitted with SRAM Red. And my "dream bike," the SLC-SL, outfitted with SRAM Red? Just 180 of 'em.

Like I said, "act now," and save yourself from having to build it up. I sure hope Cervelo finds this to be a good litmus test as to whether they ought to be spec'ing SRAM. Not that they're having any trouble selling their bikes as it is.

Meanwhile, I'm looking forward to having fun in San Francisco. My younger brother Jon is doing the race for the first time, and I'm gonna try to steward him through the swim for a bit. While he knows pressure (in '95 he kicked a game-winning field goal with 22 seconds left to help our alma mater, the University of Arizona Wildcats, knock out a Jake Plummer-led Arizona State Sundevil team—in Tempe no less), he's making himself a ball of nerves. Just like I tell anyone else, just enjoy the experience...the boat, the bay, the sand ladder, Crissy Field, all of it. Because I've been to races around the world and there's just one race—Monaco 70.3—that rivals Escape from Alcatraz for sheer beauty. I'll be taking this one in, while tracking the race leaders on the course. You'd be surprised how much of the race you can follow on the bike and run while racing.. so look for a stellar race report at slowtwitch.com after the race.

Then the SLC-SL and I have a plane to catch...

Sneak Peek: Guru's Limited Edition PK Cycling Crono

Had to put this out asap, because.... wow. Just, wow.

OK, lemme explain. Everyone throws around limited edition whatever. I was at an Adidas outlet and saw Kobe Bryant jerseys with a special patch on the bottom, eliciting that it was limited edition—No. 684 of 5,000. Wow, really exclusive.

Then a frame showed up in our office from Guru today. The folks from Guru up and Montreal and I been talking about something special: a true limited edition model of the Crono, which is Guru's flagship full-carbon tri bike. The project is actually a collaboration between Guru (www.gurubikes.com) and Bay Area bike fit "guru" and longtime Triathlete contributor Christopher Kautz of PK Cycling out of Fairfax, Calif. Kautz's fittings at his immaculate studio (www.pkcycling.com) have hosted athletes ranging from pro triathletes to pro cyclists, his boutique environment a model for what should be any triathlete's first purchase when buying a bike... before pedals, helmets or carbon water bottle cages.

So, they were to do a limited edition bike based around a Kautz fit, and I would get to do a test. Usually it's "OK, cool," but I'd tested a Guru Geneo road bike before, so it was more like "OK, sweet." Ride quality for a Guru is remarkable, and the organic aesthetics, from the tube shaping segues to the paintwork artistry would put arguably as one of the most visually pleasing bikes in the world.

Back to this afternoon: I've been watching first round action on my computer all day, waiting for my Arizona Wildcats to play tonight. Those that know me know the NCAA tournament is all-encompassing. I'm insufferable about it. I was kicked out of high school algebra for bringing a mini TV to watch the Cats play back in 1988. Whatever. Nothing changes. I make the day as productive as possible, but find myself watching the action in the background of the monitor. It takes a lot to tear me away from any game this time of year.

So then this frame showed up.

I've seen limited edition bikes here and there, but this was the first time I'd seen anything like this. I'm giving you a sneak peek of the bike, which we'll be featuring in our July issue as a special review. What you see is a small taste. When we took back the foam padding, the first words were "holy s--t." The next were a flurry of adjectives during a call to Kautz, who has yet to see the creation, to tell him just how unbelievable this bike looks. I've been to a few strip clubs and have a wife that kicks their asses in the "easy on the eyes" category, so I know what gorgeous is.

What's impressive is that Guru founder Tony Giannascoli is one of the master painters who pushes back from his desk, dons a mask and applies coats of brilliant paint and clear coats to any of the bikes, as he did with our test rig. Talk about a man of the people.

So what's behind the curtain? Here's a taste.

The concept: make the finest tri bike, from function to aesthetics. Guru created its new benchmark foundation version of the Crono, then left creative control to Kautz. He wanted the bike to do certain things (which I will discuss in my review), but he had a look he wanted as well.

That look has a lot to do with motorsports. Particularly, McLaren Racing. Lewis Hamilton is the hottest F1 racer, but it's his ride that is visually striking. So, Kautz said: see this car? I'd love you to make that. Guru loved it.

To get an idea of concept inspiration that Kautz envisioned, do a bit of Googling on McLaren and the MP4-23. Meantime, here's a look at the mast and a bit of the seatstays.

Really, though, the pics don't do it true justice. The colors: indescribable, striking, gorgeous. Technically, it's a vermillion orange, and Guru reportedly had nightmares with it, not only mixing the right amount of candy apple red and candy apple tangerine to make it. Then there was the silver, which presented its own set of challenges.

The end result is easily one of the most remarkable paintjobs I've seen, whether on a bike, car, moto, boat, anything. Guru's reputation for elegant, aesthetic perfection was seemingly trumped by their own challenge. This bike has to be seen to be believed. We'll have it thoroughly explained and reviewed in our July issue, with our photog John Segesta giving it due photographic treatment next week at his studio.

And the limited aspect: This specific test bike is not part of the series, as it's only a test version. But there will be a limited, serialized run of just 25 bikes. The bikes will be professionally fit by Kautz, custom-created—as all Guru bikes are—with a special layup (I'll talk about this later), and spec'ed as Kautz sees to be the ideal spec. Again, more on this later. Every buyer will recieve a headbadge keychain with the specific serial number of your bike, as a memento.

Price: $11,000. Guru's motto is one soul at a time. This takes it to the n'th degree. So, what price for a soul that is yours alone?


This particular test bike is set up with the same treatment any PK/Guru customer will get in this bike, as Kautz took my measures a month ago.. my last emails to Kautz about fit were Feb. 12. And here it is: a full-carbon Crono, sitting in my office, with my exact custom measures, just a few days over a month later. Unreal turnaround for a custom carbon fiber bike. I don't know how they do it Montreal, but our managing editor, Cam Elford, got a tour of the factory up there, and will explain his facility tour in our July issue as well. Selfishly, I wish I'd seen it. I cannot tell you how excited I am to build and ride this bike.

Stats on this one, which is about a 56cm? 4.14 lbs, or 2.2 kilograms for frame, seatpost, headset, uncut Alpha Q fork with uncut carbon steerer and Ritchey WCS carbon stem.

Meantime, I thought this was too stunning to let sit while the games are on...there's no big upsets yet and my bracket isn't too tarnished, so I ain't missing that much. And if your team lost, well at least you have the hint of what this bike might ultimately look like to take your mind off it.