Transformation.

Back in October I purchased this Cannondale Cross bike for one sole purpose. TransIowa. It has taken some time to get her to this point but she's getting closer. I ended up trying the Origin 8 Gary bar on another bike and liked it so much; also being influenced by the Fargo and G-Teds preferance for it on his 29ers. I opted for the WTB Mountain Road Drop Bar.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

I also finally got the new crank for it since I had broken the first crank. This was just the stock replacement but Cannondale took care of me promptly and can't complain about that. You bike be wondering why I have such an odd rise to the stem, for that you might want to consult this article on Twentynineinches.com, all of you fit guru's might also argue that I have the wrong size bike... but before you get going on that one, here are some stats on me... my torso essentially forgot to go. I have an inseam of around 36" and a wingspan of 6'6"; I stand at 6', maybe 6'1" on a good day. All of that together with the 'proper' set up for this type of bar, topped with crossbike geometry makes the bike appear that it is the wrong fit. The bar is still a few inches below the seat height and for a 320 mile gravel grider which will take me all of the 34 hours allotted for it, I needed to sacrifice looks for practicality.

You might also wonder why I went with the WTB bar instead of the Gary bar or the On One Midge bar. My reasoning being that the WTB seemed to have a wider 'flat' section to give another place for hand positioning which on the Gary bar that I run on the other bike does not allow. From the first ride nothing seems to be an issue, although I am wondering about more padding in the 'drop' section which is definitely something I will be exploring in the month to follow.

Hopefully we don't get the amount of snow they are saying tonight so I can go out and put in a good amount of miles after work and Sunday to really dial things in.