Having just been back out on Camilla (my Wilier Cento 10 Air Ramato) yesterday, and enjoyed such a lovely cycle through the Chilterns it made me think back through all the bikes I’ve had over my time.
I bought my first road bike back in 2009, before that I had owned (not looked after) a number of mountain bikes. They were my main source of commute to school and back and to go visit friends pre car. I wish I had got into my bikes a little more back then and cared for them like I do now, instead of performing ghosty’s or bumping up curbs. I did however also own an old school Raleigh racing bike that my Grandad had bought me, one of the ones with the gears on the frame rather than the handle bars.
I wanted to get into triathlons and knew in order to enjoy them and set myself up for a couple of years I would need to spend a fair amount of money on a bike. Entry level bikes at the time were around £400, but there was no way I was going entry level. A friend of my Mum’s knew the owner of Sigma Sports in Kingston. The shop is still around now and does a hell of a lot of business with some seriously nice bikes! The sport of cycling and triathlons is huge now compared to 10 years ago!
My first bike, funny enough the only one that didn’t get a name! Trek 1.7, decent bike and at the time had an aluminium frame with carbon forks, wooooo I hear you say, hard to get anything but carbon these days. The bike itself was £975, yet I got a bundle deal, bike, shoes, helmet, wetsuit, some other little tri bits, all for £1100. Actually, my race belt they threw in is still what I use to this day!
That bike got me through a number of triathlons and also took me all the way to Malaga, Spain. So some good memories with that one. I do still have the bike, I may keep it for sentimental value, or use it for winter, or create a stool out of the saddle. See how guests think it feels to sit on, knowing that I was on it for 130+ hours on my way to Spain!
Roll on spring/summer 2015, I was booked into the New York City Triathlon and a cycle holiday from Venice to Dubrovnik that year. It was about time I upgraded my wheels! I knew it was going to end up costing me a fair bit more than the first bike, I quite liked new versions of the Trek, Specialized, Felt, to name a few. I went to a number of different shops trying to find something I liked. I thought I had settled on a Specialized Venge from the below options. That’s the orange option at number 2 for those of you not familiar with bikes.
However I was driving though Bagshot, which was round the corner from where I lived at the time and saw a new shop had opened, Spoke of Bagshot. It was May bank holiday and I was with my Mum and Dad, so we popped in. The shop was kitted out with some lovely bikes, options available were Giant or Storck, to be honest I hadn’t even given Giant a look in during my searches. Got chatting to the owner James, very nice guy who I’ve since come to get on with very well, between family and friends we have bought 5 bikes from his shop, so he should value my custom!
James asked what sort of riding I like to do, so I said I prefer short rides and going fast rather than any climbing. I don’t think Rutherford’s are made for climbing! He said “try this one” (yep no ask of budget), I jumped on a a Giant Propel Advanced Pro 1. An aero bike that was super super light. I didn’t even make it to the end of the high street and I knew I was having it. Now for the deal. Managed to get some discount, pedals thrown in for good measure, a lot over budget, but Doris was born!
Now I know a lot more about bikes I don’t think the Giant gear ratios were ever right for me. I learnt this after a day or two into the Venice to Dubrovnik bike ride. I was always last up the hills, it worked out I had the total opposite gear setup for climbing. However 4 days in my legs for stronger and I was pulling away from the rest of the group on the climbs. I did however change my cassette after this before I went to San Francisco for the Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon. I didn’t want to get caught short on any hills.
I may have brushed over the name a little earlier, Doris was my Nan and I bought the bike not long after a bit of inheritance came my way, so like a little present from Nan.
We now move on to 2018, spring time and the Spoke of Bagshot bike expo at Pennyhill Park. I wanted to go along so that I could support James and his shop. A few talks from guys cycling around Europe, some sale stools, and a display of a variety of bikes. James had recently started to stock Wilier frames, I liked the Cento 10 Air frame, they did this in red and I thought it looked pretty tasted. Also thought it was way too pricey, talking serious money now with these bikes. So back at the expo, I see the Wilier stand, they had the Aero Cento frames and also had an old school classic frame in an amazing metallic copper colour. I love a couple of things that my mates take this piss out of me for, copper, wood, cork and the odd bit of exposed brick! This colour was gorgeous, I happened to make a throw away comment that would come back to bit me in the arse!
“Oh imagine if you did the Cento frame in that copper colour”
Well, be careful what you wish for people! Within 5 seconds the brochure had been flipped open and there she was, the Ramato Cento 10 Air, a beauty!
It was almost like fate brought us together, it was meant to be! So I had to chat to James…again. The Ramato colour would take a while to come in, so James lent me a demo frame for my annual New Forrest sportive, this way I could see what the feel would be like.
Now although the demo bike didn’t have deep rims, neither did it have disc brakes or electric gears, the feel was very nice indeed. Something about riding a new bike. So after some more haggling with James, and some more thrown in pedals (had to get carbon pedals), I put a deposit down and got her on order. I was hoping to get her in time for JOGLE, which at this point was a couple of months out. I had made a few changes to the default spec, I mean if I’m spending a small fortune then I might as well get it setup for how I like to ride.
I went for a compact 50/34 at the front with an 11-32 cassette, this should mean hills wont be a problem, but I will lose a little top end speed. I also took the plunge, not just because it was the bike that James had on order, I had done my research. Electric Di2 gears and disc brakes, which I must admit a couple of years on, were worth every penny. The safety on the brakes alone is worth it, although a bit squeaky during the Windsor triathlon, I blame the overnight rain for that. The other change I made was a swap from inner tubes to tubeless tyres. Still something that baffles me, yet the feel of the ride mixed with 25mm tyres is decent. Lets not forget I did several 100+ mile days on JOGLE and felt comfy on her all week.
Camilla the copper Wilier, named by Dad before we set off on JOGLE was my new set of wheels!
I make sure I look after her very well, she only gets cleaned with fragrance free wet wipes, I blame John Cooper for that one! The chain and cassette always oiled, always ready for a spin. She has recently just had her tyres replaced after 3000+ miles of cycling, and in that time I had only suffered a single puncture in the back tyre which I didnt even notice on the ride. Camilla went abroad for the first time last year when I entered Ironman Sweden 70.3, she managed to pick up just as many compliments in Scandanavia as she does in the UK. I haven’t been out on a ride and not had her turn a head.
I think popping into the expo in 2018 was 100% worth it! I would say worth every penny, but that’s a lot of pennies! As the title of this post suggests, you don’t buy what you need, you buy what you want. Another thing I live by in addition to life isn’t a rehearsal.
I can’t recommend Spokes of Bagshot enough really. They have been great to me and my family, always welcome to pop in and say hello. I try to pick up as many bits as I can from them, all about helping the little shops rather than an online purchase. James will always go out of his way to help should you need any last minute support. I will always refer any person looking to get into cycling or upgrade to his shop.
I do see Camilla sticking around for a while. Even at the weekend I had a trip to Spokes to get new tyres and I was unable to see anything that took my fancy. I haven’t seen a better looking bike since I bought her! Well for now anyway…
I Just Felt Like Cycling 