My SWEEEET Bike!

Ok, this will mainly the construction of this amazing cycling machine told through pictures.  After the pictures you can check out how to get a couple sweet deals and I’ve put a list of all my components, etc.

Because of some ordering conflicts I did not get the complete SCOTT Plasma LTD, as they ran out in my size, so I ended up getting just the frame.  It was like Christmas though when I received it!

I made some other “arrangements” so that I was able to take the wheel set off of another Plasma that would be using other wheels.

Here’s the frame/wheels  hanging up on the wall.  They did so for over a week while I was waiting for parts.  It was somewhat torturous waiting around.

My components ended up arriving in waves as Zipp and SRAM were out of stock in several items.  Below is a picture after I made the big step of cutting the seat post.  I had my SRAM Red brakes and front derailleur, but had to borrow James Lawrence‘s SRAM Force rear derailleur while I waited for my derailleur and crank.  Also, I received my Zipp VukaAero bars and sweet VukaR2C shifters, but they did not have the VukaShift extensions available yet so I borrowed some extensions from Heath Thurston.

I ended up putting my old crank and saddle on the bike so I could race.

After I had raced twice I finally received my decals made by the sweet people of WheelTags!  They did a great job.  I spent a good, late night cleaning the wheels and putting on the decals.

Here are the decals before they were put on.  Just to let you all know (because I’ve received some criticism), I did not design them.  I like them though.  My name is Jameson King, so the crown is not trying to say that I’m the king of triathlon or some fetish that I have with crowns, it simply represents my last name.  We were able to get PowerTri on there too!

Here’s a photo when my bike was displayed at IRONMAN St George.  A lot of people’s attention was grabbed by the WheelTags.  Surprisingly I have many people very interested in my GU bike-mounted flask and had offers from people to buy it off my bike (and it still had used gel from my last ride in it!).

Here’s the wheels with the tags installed.  I’ve found that besides the wheels looking dang cool, having something on there makes them unique and therefore harder to steal.  In the last year I have heard of three bikes getting stolen at triathlons.  It is going to be hard for someone to walk out of a transition with this bike.

One other thing to mention about these wheels is that they are tubular.  This means that the tube and tire are one piece and you glue it to the rim.  The rim ends up being a little more aerodynamic and lighter.  I got these knowing very well that if I got a flat in a race I probably wouldn’t be able to change it.  I figured that even with clinchers, if I got a flat, I would finish in the competitive region I was aiming at.

However, after getting the wheels I learned a few tips to prevent flats.  First (before gluing them on), I filled them with silicon tire sealant.  This should fill any holes before the tire even deflates.  In the event of a flat I can use a product called Pit Stop, made by Vittoria.  It is a small canister that is pressurized to seal the hole and refill the tire.

Here is my Cobb Cycling V-flow Plus that I have enjoyed… well, enjoyed is a strong word.  I’m not sure yet if there is any saddle out there that you can enjoy.

Here are my Zipp VukaR2C shifters and VukaShift Extenions that took forever to receive (I kept getting messages from Zipp saying they would be available in 2 weeks.  2 weeks later it was another 2 weeks.  After 3 months I finally got them!  They were actually the biggest holdup on my bike.).

The extensions are really cool because they actually integrate right to the bolt area of the shifters.  Normally, shifters insert into the extensions and expand to hold their place on the extensions.  With these, you do not have to have the portion of the shifters that insert into the extensions so it cuts a lot of weight out (well, weight is very relative at this point).  Also, the shifters are really cool because the “R2C” stands for Return to Center.  This means that when you shift it down a gear, the shifter pops back up into the normal position, so it is always in the most aerodynamic position.

Here are the integrated brake levers on the aerobars.  Another cool thing about the aerobars is that the cables from the shifters run internally down the extensions, through the handlebars and out the back side.  This means that there is very little exterior cable weaving around the stem/steer-tube.

Sweet shot from the head tube.

Down tube shot.

Gotta put my name on it so no one will steel it!

Ohhh, Sweeeet!

So, now that you’ve seen my bike, you can get some SWEET DEALS!!!  First one is with WheelTags.  You too can have some sweet tags on your wheels.  Just is the code “JAMESONROCKS” on their website and you’ll get 20% off!

Next deal is at PowerTri!  When you come in and buy a SCOTT Bike, just tell them that you’ve seen Jameson’s bike and you’ll get $100 of free bike accessories to go with it!

Components
Frame – SCOTT Plasma LTD, 49cm
Crank – SRAM Red, 165mm arm, 50-34 rings
Bottom Bracket – SRAM Red, Ceramic
Front Derailleur – SRAM Red
Rear Derailleur – SRAM Red
Cassette – SRAM Red, 11-25
Chain – SRAM Red
Brake Calipers – SRAM Red
Stem – Profile Design Lava, 26.0mm clamp, 90mm length
Handlebars/Integrated Brake Levers – Zipp VukaAero
Extensions – Zipp VukaShift
Shifters – Zipp VukaR2C
Saddle – Cobb Cycling V-Flow Plus
Pedals – Look KeO 2 Max Carbon
Wheelset – Zipp 808/1080 Tubular
Tires – Zipp Tangent