Buyer's crisis

I’m buying a bike this week. Well, in theory I am.

I went shopping all weekend after weeks of comparing prices, specs, and materials online. What I found was that August is a bad time to buy a bike if you ride a 52. Why? Because the new model year comes out in September and the bike you’ve been lusting after for the past two years won’t be available in any bike shop in the entire city. Or something.

But despite that, I found a bike I love. I rode more expensive bikes and made bitter beer faces while doing so. This lovable bike, while from a brand I don’t like and a line I downright despise, felt like it was made for me. And it was $1000 less than my budget! Sounds like a dream, right?

NO. It just so happens that the 2005 Cannondale Ironman 800 (only in blue) is the ugliest bike I’ve laid eyes on. It’s way nastier than the bike about which I’ve been dreaming for all these long months: the Felt S22. Never mind I can’t find an S22 to test ride to save my life, and that it’s very likely I won’t like it. What do I know about what I like? Before last weekend would have guessed that the Cervélo I rode would have made my heart melt instead of my stomach rumble in displeasure (though it could have been because I was hungry. OR because I hated the bike… one of the two). Expensive doesn’t mean totally awesome when it comes to comfort, but I can’t let go of this dream bike, even when I have something I’ll love within my grasp.

But why am I being so silly about the way my bike looks? Hero George has the IM 800 and I don’t remember thinking his bike was ugly. Of course, George is so fast he could have just been a blue streak whizzing past me. And didn’t I learn in college that hot guys were way more likely to be dumb or not funny than the average or dorky looking ones? I am SOO over being shallow, and shouldn’t it be easier with an inanimate object than a person? Well yes, in theory.

Lists help me sort shit out.
Here are my problems with the bike:
* It’s unattractive and I identify with my transportation aides: my truck, my current Felt, my Mizunos
* It has 650c wheels, and while I’m all about accelerating/decelerating faster, they’re not standard
* It’s the same year as the bike I’m riding now since I bought Big Hoss at the beginning of the 2005 model year
* It’s a Cannondale
* It only has one place for a water bottle cage and I don’t like the ass grabbing seat stem water bottle holders
* It’s ugly
* It’s an Ironman® product, which isn’t my style (I think it’s borderline pretentious, especially because I’m slow)
* It’s $1000 less than I wanted to spend (and $950 less than the S22) so its components aren’t as nice… not that I could tell, but still
* It’s ugly as shit

Here’s what I like:
* It’s the most comfortable bike I've test rode by a loooooong shot
* It has Carbon Stryke aerobars, which I wanted to put on my bike anyway
* It’s a tri bike! I’m so grown up!
* It feels like half the weight of my last bike when really it’s only 4-6 lbs lighter
* It’s inexpensive enough that I can justify the $200 new tri cycling shoes I just bought
* It’s aluminum
* If I ever buy racing wheels in the future, they’ll be cheaper for 650s than 700s

Here’s what I like about the imaginary S22:
* It’s a brand I love
* It’s gorgeous
* It has nicer components
* It has 700c wheels on the 52 frame
* It has 11-23 freewheel versus 12-23, so the jumps in gears are slightly more noticeable
* It's also a tri bike
* It’s also aluminum
* I’ve been yearning for it since I first laid eyes on it last year

And what I don’t like:
* It’s punch-in-the-gut expensive for me
* I don’t know what size frame I need since my current 54 is too big but the 50 seems small
* It doesn’t have Profile Design handlebars, and I really like them because you can adjust them so much
* Again, only one water bottle cage spot on the frame
* IT’S NOT IN THE CITY OF HOUSTON

The obvious solution to my problem is to drive to Dallas and buy the bike I love. Oh wait, no. The obvious solution is to wait 3-6 weeks for the new S22s to hit Houston. When it’s so close to potential elation, why not wait? Well, the most obvious reason is Ironman Wisconsin. I have my longest ride this weekend and a (hilly!) 60-80 miler next weekend, so the timing is just right to get a new bike tested out and adjusted before the race; waiting any longer could spell disaster. So why not wait until after IM WI and buy it? Because of--hopefully--law school. IM Arizona will be my last full one til post-law school, and who knows when I’ll fit the next IM in since I see marriage not so far down the road. If I get a new bike, it has to be this week or not til I’m a rich and joyless lawyer. Another reason to not wait is that the price of the S22 has been increasing from year to year, and in September my $2600 ceiling will not be high enough to accommodate it. If I can’t afford it later, why wait? Finally, what if I wait to try this bike and I don't like it? What then? All my patience will be for naught and I'll still be buying the Cannondale.

If I get my way, however, Big Hoss shall not be taken to Wisconsin.

I was supposed to go purchase the Cannondale on Tuesday, but I couldn’t get there because of a fun (sarcastic fun) hill workout and spinning afterward. Tonight I’m doing my last long run (hooray!), so I can’t afford the time to jet to the bike shop. Tomorrow, however, I will have ample opportunity to choose reality over my dream. I don’t know what to do and time is running out! Any suggestions?