My old Geneo has found a new home

WG Crono
Originally uploaded by shamacycles

So upon opening Shama Cycles I had Guru build me the ultimate Geneo. Custom for me for road racing and climbing (I am NOT a climber) in those races. Not only was it a custom in the geometry it was custom in the carbon lay up for BB stiffness and power transfer with out a real weight penalty. I had it built up with a mix of Rotor, Sram Red, Edge and TRP parts. It weighed 14lbs on race day. carbon tubulars help alot! I had my best road racing season on this frame.
But alas I can't keep these frames forever...guys who are 5'7 to 5'9" are in luck when I move off of one frame and onto another. Wilmer is one such guy. A friend of mine who I ride with often on the weekends needed a new road bike. By needed I mean he was on a Giant road bike that was 7 years old with the original saddle. It was nearly painful just to watch him ride...haha. So now...after 7 years he is on a new rig...FINALLY! The funny thing is...my Geneo part 2...I think it looks better now than when I had it. Seriously...this build is WAY TOO CLEAN! With the HED Bastogne wheelset...it looks perfect!!!
The best part is...after 5 months of hard riding and racing the Geneo frame polished up better than new...giving Wilmer a new bike...that will last him another 7 years.

Guru Crono, Johnny Cash Style

Coy Connelly 005
Originally uploaded by shamacycles

By far the most popular custom tri bike is the Guru Crono. I get to do these frames in all kinds of colors...here I am doing one in plain black with white letters. While it might sound plain to some...there is still a certain look to it that still most bikes just don't have. We did what was smart and light here. Not to mention the HED Jet 6 FR wheelset.
Syntace CX base bar, Vision carbon aero bars, KCNC stem, KCNC brakes, Nokon cables, Sram Force front and rear D, shifters, carbon brake levers. Selle SMP saddle. A serious machine for a guy who LOVES to ride and race at his best...not to mention look good for the pics! haha!

Sometimes the color surprises me

TRP 029
Originally uploaded by shamacycles

With all the paint options Guru has and the paint box I have at the shop to help decide some times you just don't know how its going to look when it comes in. This frame showed up and I ripped it out of the bike and was amazed. What brilliance and color. The pictures do not do it justice. From here we built it up with a basic build and HED wheels. The important thing to Mike was that he got the custom frame and as we upgrade this frame with high end components we get to kick these parts down to his old road bike which is 8speed. Yes...8 speed. But that can come later. For now...we are super happy with the set up and he can't wait to kill it at the next race. More importantly finally have his father's respect at a race....since his dad has had a Guru titanium tri bike for 4 years now. HAHAHA

The Rule Breaking Magis!

Steve Quick was at the shop for a fitting on his TT bike and helped to unload her bike. I think most women would enjoy his help with their frame...haha

KW Magis
Originally uploaded by shamacycles

So here is one that I am super proud of. Kathleen is a triathlete who I have known for a couple years and as long as I have known her she has worn pink and tried to "pink out" her QR which unfortunately (not for me though) did not fit her at all. I think she first thought custom was out of her range but after looking at it all we figured out a way to make it work...as in showing her how she can live off of no food or gas for a month. haha No seriously.
So we picked out the frame, a Guru Magis which is a carbon frame that can work with the paint color she wants...PINK! But not ALL pink. We had to throw in some white to go with it. We choose the ultra reliable Ultegra SL components and went all out on the aero set up. Also of course we did out little ceramic bits with some little pink tricks.
The best part of this story is we broke the BIGGEST RULE in triathlon racing. NEVER EVER EVER NEVER EVER NEVER NEVER EVER EVER race something new on race day...let alone a whole new bike! I LOVE IT! I have done it before and will do it again. Custom works and when its right its right. Kathleen's frame came in from Guru at 1:45 pm on Thursday...as in the Thursday before Redman Half Ironman on Saturday. My friend and team mate Steve Quick pulls it out of the box and of course we start in on it right away. Just after 2pm Jon and Kathleen show up wondering if she will race on the Magis or on her old 2 gear working QR. By 5pm this was built and by 6pm she was fitted and loaded up in the car and off to OK for Redman. I triple checked every bolt on that thing as I knew the risk involved here but I have done it before and it has worked every time and with the condition of her old bike we did not have much choice. So Friday's ride report was pretty good, nice ride and nothing hurt or alerted anything. All systems go for Saturday. Saturday came and from another friend there I was getting info that they might cancel or start late due to weather and flooding. The race went on with a mandatory bike dismount in the flooded areas. WOW! Later that day while I was working in the shop with some friends I get this text message saying that the bike was awesome and that she had a 21 minute PR. OH YEAH!!!! TAKE THAT NAY SAYERS! Now, lets just be real here, her bike split was slower than before, the Cyclo Cross style tri did not make for fast splits but her run was very fast. Which if you have ever read this blog or followed my tri bike fitting philosophy you would know that while I know you will be faster on the bike...I look for faster run splits on race day before I say I have "delivered" to my clients what they came to me for. She was excited and loved it and also happy to be able to shift all her gears. haha
Look for her to get used to the new position and dialed in and start to realize her full potential. She trains hard and puts in the work...she may have bought some speed but she earns her AG placings!
Rock On Kathleen!

2005 Sworks Tarmac....Shama Style

JC Sworks
Originally uploaded by shamacycles

I met Juan Carlos at the first bike shop I worked at. He came in wanting the best and being the Specialized fan that I was at the time I sold him this Sworks Tarmac. It had full DuraAce and I spent about 10 minutes fitting it to him on a trainer.
WOW! I have learned so much since then and have even kept in touch with Juan Carlos. Unfortunately for him I opened Shama Cycles directly across from his work. I can look at my front door and see his building. He thought it was great at first but is now cursing me for being so close. HAHA! I stripped this frame down to nothing and compounded and polished the frame to restore its brilliance. Then the build, new headset, ceramic bottom bracket from Rotor the SABB, Rotor Agilis cranks, QRings. Sram Red shifters, front D, rear D. Tiso ceramic pulley wheels. TRP 960SL brakes. Nokon cables. Thompson seatpost. Deda Zero 100 handlebars and stem. Lizard Skinz bar tape. New Ultimate carbon cages and KCNC skewers.
Over all we dropped this frame down 3lbs and after the Retul fitting he is finally riding with power and comfort and loving the bike.
The next upgrade. Wheels...and then a custom Guru frame.

Independat Fabrication Crown Jewel...PIMPED

First Pics 011
Originally uploaded by shamacycles

So I got this frame in and immediately got excited. It was a plain old Shimano DuraAce set up with some pretty plain parts. It was 4 years old and had not been loved on. I stripped the frame down to nothing and serviced the headset and began picking out what to do. With in a week I had a Tiso bolt kit in blue shipped in from Italy and some matching Deda parts which also happen to be made in Italy. How ever the Nokon cables are German. One thing that took some time to decide on was the crank, finally I settled on function over pure aesthetics. A titanium spindle, ceramic bearings in the bottom bracket, and a 110bcd with a Rotor Qring 53/39 chain ring set. This way if we like we can go compact later with out having to change the cranks. Needless to say this frame polished up like new and with the build and new fitting this bike rides better than ever and looks better than ever.

Video from the show

Interbike 2009 Part 2

One of the Tibco bikes, ready for Look cleat fitting.

Di2 TT shifting. This is freaking awesome!

Time had a nice bike to show...

The Guru Photon! This bike gained a ton of press!!!
12lbs, BB30

Some of the Rotor booth. Zipp QRings. LOVE IT!

One of the rolling displays.

These are cranks they put on my bike...so NO they would not let me take them with me...its cool though...they were too long for me anyway.

EE Cycles cranks, super light and still stiff...

Thor pointing at my while I look at my bike...

Got Dave Scott to sign it as well.

RockRacing's rigs. Funny I didn't see a Rock bike in the crit but I did see a Rock racer

3D crank with Quarq and Rotor Rings.
Light, stiff, fast, power..my next crankset

The Luna Chicks were paraded around by the podium boys...

Things were pretty expensive in Vegas...like this little snack for two.
$15 for this...who can gamble after wasting money like this.
It was good though...

Shama at Interbike 2009

My Kirklee shown off at Interbike 2009 at the Rotor booth!!!!

Selle SMP Forma and Carbon Lite. Brand new for 2010 and I already have them in the shop.
Yup, the latest greatest!

Dan B from Kelly Benefits on one of his countless attacks during the Pro crit. He could have won
from his breakaway of 6 but slid out in the last lap...he rolled though last to a cheer and
applause from the crowd honoring how hard he worked during the race.

The GURU Dynamic Fit Unit. Fully motorized bike fitting and more.
Guru shows why they are the largest custom bike company in the game.
Below
Guru Crono 2.0. WOW

Well its here, the biggest bike show this side of the pond. Shama Cycles is here to check out the latest greatest and get new tips and see what works and what doesn't. Especially since I am always trying to push the limits with my bike builds. I would have updated sooner but my feet hurt so bad after the first day all I want to do is lay down by the end of the night...something about walking miles and standing up (even while eating lunch) just kills in this city...not to mention how much of a rip off certain things are here. Like $8 for a tooth brush...or $5 for OJ from the Starbucks at the airport. Might as well gamble and REALLY throw your money away. Ok...enough of my rant. ;-) Bikes...and more bikes and parts! Being in custom bikes there was not alot for me to really drool over. Every manufacturer comes out here to show off the lightest, stiffest, aeroest (just made that one up) latest version of last years bike. We all look at them and go WOW if I only had that bike. Well...not any more. Now, to me, its about can you make that fit me...not can I fit that? Rotor and Kirklee was my one stop where my bike that I race (and wrecked on) was chosen to be in the Rotor booth to show off the new Rotor 3D cranks, S2 stem, and S1 seat post. I was very honored and happy to have my bike that I built as a show bike at Interbike....that is HUGE! Watching people stare, take pictures, comment on my components, pick it up and freak out on a race worthy 13lbs bike. AWESOME!!!! Last year I couldn't get some manufactures to take me seriously and this year I had a bike in a booth, and the top dealer for some of my manufactures that I sell. What a change....that came with alot of 18 our days and not much play. Now over the the Guru booth....yes that was one of the most talked about booths there. Why? Three things...Dynamic Fit Unit, Photon, Crono2.0. The DFU is a fit bike that is fully automated to allow changes in position to be made by millimeters while the rider is on the unit and pedaling. Allowing for the perfect position to be found in really time and position. Guru was the first to try to get this going, its take three years but its finally here. Funny how others came to the show with something similar, even saw a demo of one, the thing looked shaky and not quite ready yet. Guru's demos that ran all day were exact, strong, and the DFU feels like you're on a weight machine at the gym....SUPER STRONG. What an amazing break through. Oh yeah...Shama Cycles will have the first one in the country and exclusively in Houston. So for the latest in bike fitting and custom frame design Shama Cycles is where its at as well as where it will be at. ;-) I love my job! Guru also brought to new bikes to the show. The Photon is a road bike made for the serious enthusiast or racer or anyone who wants a road bike that is in the 700 gram range that performs like a dream. The Crono 2.0 is a tt/tri bike that represents the push for an aerodynamic design that is still customizable. Very tough to get both. More to come on all of these....time to get some food and hit the final day. All exciting stuff. Some though I will not blog about as these are tricks saved for my athletes and clients...sorry. ;-)