Frankenbike

"Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house.
Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife, or his manservant or maidservant,
his BMC TT02 with the Zipp Speed Weaponry or his totally bitchin' carbon-framed road bike with the super smooth Campagnolo components and the ride like butter,
. . . . er . . . . or anything that belongs to thy neighbor."
Exodus 20:17 (Greyhound Standard Version)

They say he will come again--He Who Shall Not Be Named. This, I believe. And I believe the Word of He Who Shall Not Be Named and that of The Holy Prophet:

It is all about The Bike.

Amen. Let us meditate for a moment in silence, His Name be praised.

Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned. I know I should be faithful and train harder on the bike, but I am not in love with my road bike and I have been coveting new bikes. I even surf bike porn late at night on ebay rather than love and maintain the bikes I already have.

I want a new road bike. BAD. Right now I have my first grownup bike, a Canondale R600 that rides like a Panzer Tank falling down stairs. You could chip your teeth riding over a gum wrapper on that one. I hate riding it for long periods of time, and it is slower than slow and heavy.

But beyond having something new and shiny and (presumably) faster, I also want to be less clueless about bikes and how they work. And I don't want to have a bike just like everyone else. And even though it is generally more expensive to build a bike than to buy one new, I don't want to spend an excessive amount of cash all at one time on a bike. You are, after all, reading the online rantings of a cheapskate lawyer who has never spent more than $20k on a car.

Ever.

Really.

So, I've hatched this plan to feed my lust and my curiosity by building a bike from the ground up. A "Frankenbike" if you will. She will be just what I want and perfect in every way. She will be strong, und powerful, und schneller, und die schönste . . . . . .

* * * * *

Oh, I'm sorry. Forgot you were there for a minute. What were we talking about?

Oh, yeah.

I originally was going to start by buying a frame and then getting the necessary pieces one by one. But I'm having a hard time pulling the trigger and making a decision concerning the frame I want. Carbon? Steel? New school? Old School? Titanium? A mixture? New? Used?

Plus, I went here and saw this yesterday, which is essentially my bike frame that has been outfitted with the best components to make it lighter and (presumably) better.



So, I've modified my plan, and I've decided it would be fun to have the community participate--in part because I don't know what I'm doing and I need the input. I think I'm going to learn about bikes while working on my current road bike, trying to improve its ride and performance while lowering its weight. Then, when I've got it as good as it can get, I'll think about buying a super frame and transferring the good components to the new bike. At the end of the process, I will be Des Knaben Wunderrad.

But like I said, I need help and advice. This is the first in a series of posts in which I'll ask, "OK, what do I do now?" And I'm really hoping the bike savvy amongst you will chime in--especially (new picture link) He Who Shall Not Be Named or his One True Prophet.

What is the first thing I should change that will give me some bang for a moderate buck in terms of improving the ride and performance of the Panzer Tank? The current setup is an aluminum frame with a carbon fork but alloy steerer. Right now it has a triple front chain ring (which I intend to change eventually) and it rides like a tin lizzy tackling a rumble strip. I was thinking maybe:

A carbon seat post?

With a carbon seat?

A new fork and steerer?

Only a steerer?

Carbon handlebars?

Something else?

If one of these components, what type? What brand? Where's a good buy?
Können Sie mir helfen? Bitte?