The bike I'm going to tour with is my Giant TCR C2. I am very happy with this bike, although I will admit that the bike is pretty heavily modified (mostly courtesy of Joe Elam at Habersham Bicycles: http://www.habershambicycles.com/--thanks Joe!!) The wheels are Mavic Ksyrium ES, the brakes, derailleurs, cassette (12-27) and chain are Dura-Ace, the crank is Shimano compact (50-34), the pedals are Speedplay X2's, the handlebars are FSA Carbon K Wing, the seatpost is FSA K Force Lite Carbon and the saddle is Fizik Alliante. (for the non-bike-geeks among you- all this means is that I've spent a bunch of money buying shinier and lighter parts for my bike that it came with. I'm still slower than molasses, even with the same components that Lance has.) The bike is an XL frame and both the frame and forks are original.More than one person has urged me to change to a triple crank (three gears instead of two, smaller gear=easier to pedal up long/steep hills). I have resisted this, mostly because I don't want to spend the money and also because I think I'll be OK with the compact gearing on the bike now. I can climb hills with 17% grades as-is, so I don't need lower gearing for short steep hauls. But as Ron Lau told me the other day- what's gonna get me is the really long, moderate grades like I'll find in the Rockies. Maybe he's right.
I've also heard (thanks Ron Coker) that anyone who's been out west riding and has fought those headwinds, will have aero bars so they can tuck down out of the wind. Unfortunately, my bars, which I LOVE, are carbon fiber and cannot have aero bars clamped on. Maybe he's right, too.
So I've been warned. When I'm groaning about it in July, you guys can say "We told you so"...
So, Ron and Ron, thanks for the input. But for now, I ain't changing anything.
