My new Cannondale Slice

I guess I'm trying to be like Christie Wellington, I am now a proud owner of a Cannondale Slice. I have been doing research around the clock on all my options since the mechanic at performance bike told me I was down one Shimano Ultegra drive train. The cost has now been put to good use and I am very excited after hours of scouring reviews, forums and talking to salesmen. I also must admit I am embarrassed by my lack of previous knowledge. I am going to explain how ignorant I was to the equipment I have accomplished 2 Ironman's 1 half Ironman and countless sprints with. This has motivated me with a renewed understanding of what equipment I have/had and how it is intended to work. I can thank a wonderful salesman named Alan at Tribe Multisport for taking four hours to answer every novice question I had throughout the grinding out process.

The top contenders were a Kestrel 4000 SL (just purchased for a steal by the Firefighter), a Fuji D6 (on sale at performance bike), a Cervelo P3 ultegra, Cannondale Slice 4, and what I'll call other. I am not very familiar with many of the other brands so such bikes as the Scott Plasma, QR, Felt and Giant I just had a harder time finding information on. Turns out a QR is not ideal for someone of my 185 pound size, the Scott Plasma from this year has a molded seat post that was not ideal to me for resell and the Felt/Giant I never got to. The Fuji D6 was not ideal for a bike that was now going to get all my miles as well as harder to upkeep the brake system on and Cervelo just thought a little too much of it's name in the bang for your buck contest. Kestrel was so popular everyone is sold out of 2011 models and I need a bike soon, thus disqualifying them from the fight. This left my new companion for the foreseeable future the Cannondale Slice 4. This is not just any Slice 4 though, it was adjusted one piece at a time to make the bike best setup for me. I will have pictures in the gear section soon, but I'll walk through how it went.

this is my stock model before any of the changers are made, it's gonna be nice

SRAM Red Derailleur

After the first hour of settling on the Slice as my bike we began talking about what we could do to the 2200 dollar price tag already reduced from 2800 to make it better meet my needs. With this being my only bike we kept the cassette made of heavier stronger materials and chain to withstand the long miles going with a 11-26 ratio SRAM PG 1070 10 speed. The original cassette was a 12-25, but we thought the 11-26 would give the bike more versatility over different situations. nicer components would have weighed less, but been more fragile over hundreds of miles. We next took the basic Cannondale Base Bar and upgraded it to the Profile Design ProSvet Carbon Base Bar with ABS Semi Carbon Brake Lever. This reduces weight, feels better to the touch and helps lower the outer hand grips by roughly a centimeter. We took the SRAM Rival front derailleur upgrading it to the Force level (one higher) to improve it's quality while still keeping it a very rigid steel material that won't flex, or wear as hard under the many miles I'll put on it. The rear derailleur we went for broke putting on SRAM Red (2 levels higher in quality) to give the bike a much smoother gear shift in the rear cog. The crank was upgraded for stiffness, weight and to be honest partly color to the SRAM Red level. The wheels were a nice Fulcrum Racing 7 Wheelset, but I still upgraded slightly to Mavic Aksium Race wheels. The spokes are aero and they weigh a little less. This is the basic makeup of the bike. I didn't touch the brakes because it was not cost effective and would not help with aerodynamics just weight and a slight performance difference. The shifters were already a very nice return to center SRAM set that is the nicest I have ever used, very user friendly.

SRAM Force Front Derailleur

In the middle of all the looking I took the bike for a little stroll roughly two hours into the process to make sure the bike size I needed was actually in stock. All my measurements were taken and recorded. These measurements were compared to those given by Cannondale and I was narrowed to a 56, or 58 cm frame set. The 58 was the big winner with my long torso. I am not lying when I tell you a bike has never even come close to fitting so nicely. I was told quickly that my understanding of how a bike should fit was all wrong and Allen made the proper adjustments to get it close before I took about 3 loops between Indian School and Camelback roads behind the store. I have been sitting too high with a stretched out position trying to be much longer then is ideal. This was the bike for me, I rode over all the bumpiest parts, the shifters were sweet, it was responsive, and smooth. This was to be my new chariot for upcoming triathlons. The benefit of going to a place like Tribe to get your bike, the seat even at it's lowest setting was too high for my stubby little 34 inch end seam so he had to use a circular saw to cut it down to my size. This is the type of customizing that brought me in to get my specific bike, not just any stock frame.

easier to clip into using either side

We took the bike to the fitting room attached it to a trainer and really made it mine. With weights hanging from strings, tape measure, angle measurements, and the ability to move my the platform the trainer was on for multiple viewing angles the bike was adjusted to me. Apparently I am very flexible and easy to fit, having no problem holding any of the positions asked. Alan adjusted my seat height, angle, position, aero bar position, aero pad position and lastly handle bar height. I do not have my cleats on the ideal position for the pedal stroke, but this was not changed since I do have an Ironman with a different bike coming up and this is how I have practiced. We added some new Speedplay Zero Stainless Black pedals and cleats that will be put in the proper positions to the list. I also got 2 white X-Lab Gorilla Carbon Cages in White to match the back and use as rear water bottles. I did not want just one bottle in the back and since only one bottle mount is on the frame set I am doubling up the back. This left no room for my current bag of parts that sits under the back of my seat so I got an X-Lab XSW Strap and Rear Seat Bag in Black Small that I am going to try out. The bag setup could change, but Alan said he would set it up for me to check out when I pick up the bike.

2 of these for rear bottles

I would have considered doing this race with it, but the parts won't all be in tell Friday afternoon and the bike won't be ready tell probably Monday. The only part I forgot is a light so that in the now winter months I can ride before 7 Am if needed. The entire process of purchasing this bike was outstanding. I can tell you it was cheaper for me to get my Slice 4 with pedals, bottles cages and all then the Cervelo P3 Ultegra standard. My beautiful bride has been a rock star this entire time giving me a 5000 dollar budget. I had wanted to wait tell this time next year for this beauty, but knowing the races coming up for me my wife not only gave me the green light, but supported it enthusiastically. I didn't want to spend that and am glad that I didn't have to in order to walk away with a ride that has Justin Peele written all over it. There might be faster bikes out there, lighter, or even prettier, but none that at this moment fit me like a glove with my needs and intentions in mind. After Ironman AZ on Sunday I will pickup my new bike probably Monday, resist the desire to ride it for about a week and then start up training for Coeur D'Alene. I now have a ride being built for me with purpose behind every component hand picked by me, as opposed to a bike whose size I never learned, component set I found out after breaking, that I never understood the correct way to position myself on. The Aegis Trident was a great bike that I never took the time to understand, or use to it's potential. I won't make the same mistake twice, and I hope anyone reading this won't make the same mistake the first time.