Well at last the on-going saga of  many others and myself awaiting the arrival our new Giant Trinity TT frameset is over!

Was it custom made encrusted with diamonds or even handmade cuts of gold? Nope just an off the peg size small in standard colours.

I had many sleeps and stresses so can’t remember when my order was officially placed but I reckon November 2015 or thereabouts.

So what is the going ‘rate to wait’ for a bicycle frame? Bearing in mind this is a carbon (common material in the Far East) frame which is the same small size as every other small size as is the paint design.

This wasn’t a bespoke design of art engineering I was ordering , it was a frame set produced by a company who produce thousands of frames every year so personally , waiting 7 1/2 months warrants me to slate this companies customer care policy!!

Ok rant over and onto the build of this carbon lego set.

Getting a new frame set mid season is not healthy as late nights and rushing around missing training disrupted things even further.

I already had a  vision of the bike in full once finished (certainly had time didn’t I?)

So the build started and I was committed now. Not that the world would stop and wait until I’d finished , no life carried on so the reality was that I may have got on average 1 hour a night to work on it with more time allowed over the weekends.

As I was struggling, and with the weekend approaching faster than a day back at work, I desperately pleaded with my manager for a day’s A/L to which he granted so 6am the day before the Belper BC 25 I got zoned in once in the workshop, phone off, radio on and here we go.

My making good progress came to rotating halt once I discovered that the already pressed in BB wasn’t compatible with my chain set which Jon Surtees had painstakingly painted for me.

A quick call to Ed Neilson At Vive Le Velo then a rapid drive over for a bearing got me going again but there was too much axle exposed so after much pondering I finally gave up and informed my team mates via our foul and disgusting FB chat that I would have to be a DNS the following day. Time had ticked too far now and the bike shop opening times had long gone.

Hey, at least I could relax , calm myself down, stop and have a cuppa knowing I am no longer in a rush.

That was until Ali bloody Wareham announced to us all on the chat that he had the BB I needed!!

No, no , shit , surely it must be the wrong size?, nope BB86……

Agh I don’t want ceramic , it’s not ceramic  it’s standard…..

You sure it’s SRAM as not that common , IT’S SRAM!!!!…..

Yeah but you live in Huddersfield!! , it’s an hour away……..

FFS WAREHAM couldn’t you have been on baby duties or trying out the latest aero dummies ??!!

Finally a picture comes through that confirms it is the BB I need.

Argh Ali , my hero and my saviour , I’m on my way…………TWAT! (after convincing the Mrs she didn’t really want to go and watch that rugby match she has a season ticket for and would rather stay in and look after the boys wouldn’t she!!)

So a  guided Vauxhall Insignia Missile sped to Huddersfield and back and back into the workshop until 10pm with the chainset at last fitted.

Race morning , back in my new home with my new family of Park tools , Keeley Hazell posters  and cracking on .

Just before beans and toast time it was ready to ride but not finished and not tested.

A few hours later with a dense head of stress and tiredness I for the first time cocked my leg over Wonder Woman and ventured into my warm up.Straight away the bike felt stiffer than my previous Scott Chazma but the extensions where angled too low but nothing to be done now. Also a big bonus was that both brakes worked really well!

The result of the race was a bit of a let down in the end though as I was one of the riders who copped for the sky water dumped on them before the first TI on the D/C which ruined the potential of my race performance.

Until next time……

 

Special thanks to SSLL  and  Paul of CycleSense in Tadcaster for the grateful gift of this framset.

Tech Spec;

Giant Trinity TT   SMALL

Specialized Power saddle

Zipp 900 rear disc 10 speed tubular

ADR front 3 spoke tubular

Planet X titanium skewers

Dura Ace 10 speed cassette 11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,21 , Token alloy lock ring

Vittoria Crono Pista CS tubs  , 22mm rear , 19mm front

KMC DLC 10 speed chain red/black

SRAM standard press fit BB

SRAM Rival crank arm modifed 172.5

SRAM Stages power meter

Fibre-lyte custom 58 tooth aero full carbon chain ring

Custom made chain catcher

Dura Ace 10 speed rear mech modified, ceramic over size j wheels, custom made carbon inner/outer cages , lightweight bolt upgrades.

Speedplay red cromo pedals

40 degree USE extensions

Dura Ace 10 speed single gear lever modified

Fibre-lyte carbon arm rests , trimmed

Custom carbon Garmin mount

Jagwire gear and brake cables

All bolts upgraded to titanium or light alloy.

 

Weight 18.2lbs