Friday, January 01, 2010

Tsunami Frame - Ultrasound #3

Okay, now we're talking.

I just got an updated couple pics on the frameset Tsunami Bikes is building on my request, and now it's looking a bit more like a frame, a bit more... BMX-like.

Tiny Bike, as christened by Hans.

Primer grey now. You can see a bit more, compared to the unfinished aluminum. I won't reveal the final color because, frankly, I'm leaving it kinda sorta up to them. It may be bright, or dark, or bright.

Some interesting things hanging around in the background.

Note how low the bottle cage is on the seat tube. This is a side effect of having a 40 cm seat tube (center to top of top tube). It'll be about 42-43 cm to the top of the mast.

The short head tube and the long front center become much more apparent here. It seems a long way from the original fit session, but, at the same time, it seems really quick. It's only a month since my fit session, and it'll be just a month until I see the frame in person.

To put things in perspective, if I had asked for a primer grey paint job I could have had the frameset pretty much right now.

In Florida I was thinking of the "new fit" all the time. I'd ride in the drops and think, "They're there now, but they'll be 6 cm further out in a month." Or I'd stand and think, "Okay, my knees can brush the bars now, but in a month they'll be missing by at least 5 cm."

It's like the little scene in American Flyers, where Muzzin is taunting the Russian leader Belov.

"Think about this, Belov. I may be behind you but I'm really two seconds ahead."

(You have to go to about 2:40 into the clip. And, yes, it's kinda cheesy but it's a bike movie, and you take it when you can get it. Oddly enough no one talks about American Flyers when they mention Kevin Costner though. Anyway...)

Like Muzzin tempting Belov, I can feel the Tsunami tempting me. The longer, lower front end, the steeper seat tube angle, a saddle that's actually centered on the rails (not perched precariously at one end of the saddle), a position that lets me stretch out naturally.

I'm not stretched out an extra 5 or 6 centimeters but I can feel it.

Of course these pictures don't do anything to make me any more patient.

I can't wait to get the frame.

Oh, and Happy New Year. May all your racing wishes come true.

Except when it comes to beating me at my target races :)

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