Guru Magis for Teresa....

This time last year I met a girl through some mutual friends named Teresa who came to me for a fitting. After some quick assessments it became clear her bike was too big for her. I did what I could we put on some shorter cranks to help her out with that ill fitting frame. Of course from then on every time I saw her at the park or out on a ride I would harass her about getting a new Guru bike. Finally I broke her down and she gave in back in June and we started the process. There are two ways to buy a Guru. One is you come in and put down more money on a completely new bike than you did on your car or you buy a frame and maybe a couple new parts....but strip the rest from the bike you currently own and ride. This is what Teresa did. We looked at the parts she had on her frame which are Ultegra but her aero bars had to go. We pieced together a great build. Her shifters, brakes, front and rear D, wheels, tires and the cranks that I sold her a while back were all used. What did we add? HED Classic Aerobars, Ultegra cassette, KMC chain, Enduro Zero pulley wheels, Rotor SABB ceramic bottom bracket, KCNC stem, Selle SMP saddle, XLab SuperWing, Elite cages and Jagwire premium cables. The build was awesome and it came out great and at 17lbs...not bad...not bad at all. Now for the best part. The bike came in and I did a pre-fit. This is to double check the stem length choice and to cut down the aero bars to perfection and already she said it was felling better. After the build she came back for her Retul fitting. She has some pretty major back issues and the bike was designed for this purpose. We spent our time on the fitting and the bike was ready. Today she rode it for the first time. Post ride I got a text from her talking about how awesome the bike was and the compliments she got on it today. This is what I love to hear and why I do what I do. I can't wait to hear about her future rides on it...

The Kona Project

Above
Possible sprint and quarter position
Below
Possible half and full IM position

The heart of a bike...the frame. Tailor made to Andrew Strong's measurements and requirements. Being able to "tune" the titanium frame with specific tube selections is key for triathletes and something Guru excels at getting just right for every client of mine.
Also...the welds are beautiful!

So Andrew Strong is a friend of mine as well as an athlete I sponsor. Andrew has made it to Kona for the past two years...which has also been his first two years of competing in the Ironman distance races. So yes...he is a natural...but he also trains intensely and is VERY dedicated. Swimming is not his strong point, with 1:30+ swim times and qualifying for Kona still...yes his bike split is violent and run is vicious. The past two years he has done this on a Cervelo P3C and was wind tunnel fitted on it by John Cobb. Does it get to be any faster than this???
I believe it does. My business is based on the simple fact that fit is key. So if the bike fits better you are going to be more stable, more comfortable, and more powerful.
I am taking Andrew Strong, a man with strong Kona ambitions this year, off of what most consider to be "the fastest bike in the world" and putting him on a titanium frame that does have higher drag numbers in the wind tunnel...will he be faster?
I believe he will. This is what my business is and the proof will be in the real world...Ironman Brazil. This is his first chance to qualify for Kona. The fitting method right now will start from his current fit and then we will implement what I have learned under Dr. Andy Pruitt during my Specialized years and from Dan E's FIST method. I will be looking at everything with a Retul and Computrainer SpinScan.
Stay tuned as I put my reputation on the line for a proven athlete on a proven set up!
Soon I will have postings of the complete bike.
I look forward to seeing how this goes. Should be a fun little test!!!

Who says you can't buy speed???

Above is Euan aero. Below is the turn around where we met another client. Funny, her bike still gets more looks...

Well I started work today at 8am. When a client goes out on those first rides I like to ride with them to be there check the position and tweak anything that might need to be done that you just don't see on the stand or in the trainer. Yes...I had to ride as part of my job. AWESOME!!!!

Today was the first ride on the sickest Guru Crono that I know of. Euan (the owner of the rig) and one of my team members John met up with me this morning at 8am. I had a complete Allen set from 2-10 just in case there were some adjustments at all we would need to make on this first ride. So I figured since Euan is pretty strong (stronger than John and myself as well) but riding a TT bike for the first time ever, that there would be some pretty strong efforts that would be short lived as he got used to the position and new muscles used. Plus I am pretty trashed from my 95miles yesterday and looking for a fun ride with some stops for adjustments.

NEVER BRING A KNIFE TO A GUN FIGHT...

After rolling at 20-22 side by side for a little while chating about the bike and how awesome it is...we get to our first section of clear road (2miles into the ride) and Euan is in his aerobars at 26mph. Ok, so I just draft...John is behind me and I am checkin Euan's pedal stroke and hip movement...or lack there of. Our first light and he is just amazed and says he is feeling good on this so far. My spirits were dashed as I could then foresee the pain I was about to endure. Next section we were at 27-28 for 6 miles as Euan dragged John and I around. Then we started hitting 30....31...32. I would have yelled at Euan to cut that out and slow down but I could barely breathe let alone talk. This went on for the rest of the 75 mile ride. Every good section of road he was laying it down like a kid with his first video game...he would not stop! Mind you I am rolling on a 14lbs Kirklee and after about 50 miles John and I started taking turns...getting dropped.
I say all of that to say this. We did not make one adjustment to his bike the entire ride. He stayed aero the entire time and felt great at the end of the ride. Taking the time in the build and the fit of this custom rig really paid off. Sure we might try somethings but so far...he is faster than he could have thought and happier than he could have imagined. Which of course made me very happy.

Yes its rare to gain that comfort right away but it does show how fit and taking ones time in every detail is key...along with some ultra high quality parts that add to the go fast button.

Now on to an 11speed Campy upgrade on a Guru Praemio and my first installation of the Quarq power unit. I will keep you all posted on that one. Is it really fair to mention how bad my legs hurt and how good a nap sounds right now???

RIDE ON!!!