Bike Review 2008 Guru Praemio

(Post Sub Title: Jack Be Nimble)

So when I walked into Jack and Adam's the other day and said, "Hey Jack you got a bike I can ride?" I had no idea what I was in store for next. All I did know was Jack was smiling from ear to ear as he led me over to one of the coolest bikes I've ever laid eyes on.

"Wanna ride my new bike," he asked?

Needless to say after words like, "Wow!" and, "Jeez that is one sweet bike!" escaped from my lips, all that was left to say was, "YEAH!"

So the bike Jack pulled off the floor, his own personal ride, was the new Guru Praemio. Needless to say I was impressed. The lines of this bike were simple, yet compelling. White paint and the polished silver of titanium were complemented with white handle bar tape and white sidewall tires. This bike folks, was a thing of utter beauty. I couldn't wait to ride this bike but there was just one condition prior to my test. Because this was Jack's own bike, I would need some special equipment prior to taking his bike for a ride. Mind you this is Austin and on the day I was riding it was 85 degrees outside. But if this one small concession was all it took for a ride on this machine, I was willing to make the sacrifice.



But with all the aesthetic attention to detail, only one question remained. How would this beauty ride? Again I put the bike through my standard tests. There was climbing, turning, acceleration, descent, and plain old tooling around looking very, very cool.

The most noticeable thing I have to report about the Praemio is how quick and responsive this bike felt. It was almost as though my nervous system was hardwired into the frame itself. This bike seemed almost to anticipate my movements and put me where I wanted to go before I could even think about it. Amazing. I could slice through turns, leaning in deeply with confidence and bring the bike back upright without a second thought. On climbs it was as though the pedals danced underneath my feet as opposed to my mashing on them.

I think this bike is for someone who wants and likes to ride aggressively. The Praemio let me do that without question or thought. Because of the responsiveness, I think the Praemio will bring out the more aggressive side of any rider who chooses this bike for their training or racing. The bike is really light without the obvious extra steps that some manufacturers can take to make their bikes invisible to scales. The ride is solid and comfortable, though it wasn't the quietest or the most comfortable titanium I have been on. There was a bike more of the frame noise than I like that can be present when riding either aluminum or titanium, especially on bumpy roads. I can say this bike is a marked improvement over the Guru Tri Ti I tested last year in terms of temperment and agility. It also seems lighter.

The Praemio has four options for pricing(based on components) and two titanium gauges, straight and double butted. Double butted is more expensive. You can find detailed information and the specs here. Like all Guru's after you choose the basic options, you are free to customize the ride with everything from level of stiffness and paint to the extent your wallet will allow.

All I know is now that Jack has one of these and he's motivated to ride, you'd best be nimble, and you'd best be quick, otherwise Jack'll be beating you in next spring's crit.

Bike review - 2007 Felt B2

This bike is fast. And it looks like a stealth bomber. It is priced around 3,400. Need I say more?

I assume the reduced price is meant as a consolation prize to those whose wallets can't or won't support the next bike up in the Felt TT food chain the DA. Long story short was I really liked this bike. I liked the way it felt and handled. And did I mention that it was fast? Okay so on my tests which controlled as much as possible except for wind this bike really stood out. Solid turning, quick acceleration and adequate climbing. The bike is also very aero with many of the components being smooth-faced or tucked out of the wind to reduce drag. The bike was definitely well thought out. So why didn't I buy it? It came down to some small things really. And that isn't to say this isn't a good bike for someone but these are three things I didn't like.

1. Well it wasn't that I didn't like the price. What I didn't like was how the price was achieved. $3400.00 was quite a bit less than I thought I'd be spending on a TT bike. In fact this amount left ample room for some really good racing wheels. And I think this is what the folks at Felt had in mind. Give folks a quality frame at a price point that puts some quality aero wheels in range, perhaps even buy them the same day with the bike. That being said, in order for them to do that you get a mish-mash of components ranging from Dura-ace rear derailleur, to Ultegra freewheel, to an FSA crank and bottom bracket set. So while your frame looks like it came straight from NASA or JPL, your components are from Frankenstein's lab. Honestly I think this was born out by the shifting which I felt was a huge disappointment.

2. For a carbon bike, this bike was heavy weighing in at about 18 or so pounds. Again, we can probably trace some of that weight back to the components.

3. Another good/bad thing really. This bike was really, really stiff. Probably a factor of the high modulus carbon and the lay up. The good news is this makes climbing and accelerating on this bike very lively and responsive. You step on the pedals and you just go. The bad is that the bike ride felt rougher than I would have imagined. Honestly, I could have been on an aluminum frame with my eyes closed and wouldn't have known the difference. But I'm not a big guy. I would guess the ride would feel softer if I were a few pounds heavier. But that would also eat away at the responsiveness of the ride.

All in all if you aren't picky about your components and want a fast bike for your buck that leaves enough for good wheels, the Felt B2 is definitely worth a ride. Oh and as I was looking over the specs again I noticed the free wheel is a "tight" 12-23 and the crank is a 54/42. This probably accounts for the speed factor. What I mean is the gearing on the freewheel is going to be very consistent from gear to gear. That is awesome for a time trial because it means you won't have any dead spots where your gearing is either too hard or too easy for the terrain. But with the 54/42 on the crank, you need to have some strong legs because the 23 on the back is as small as it gets. Translation? Climbing in an area like Austin, say Bee Caves or the Dam Loop won't be easy. Normal gearing on bikes is usually something on the order of a 12-24 and a 53/39 crank. Just something to consider if this is going to be your main training bike.