Why this blog?

It all started with the desire to buy my dream bike. For those who are brave and if I may add rather presumptuously, foolish enough to tread on such paths – Beware. For such journeys can prove to be quite the adventure. An expensive and treacherous adventure.

This is obviously not true for the thoroughbred cyclist geeks, who can all at once embarrass the procurement and engineering department of bicycle companies with their knowledge. I intend to address the larger majority that aspires without the requisite experience. That hopes for redemption without equipping themselves with the necessary understanding that is needed to make the right choice. That prefers to focus on cycling as a hobby rather than pour over heavy engineering gibberish that confuses more than clarifies. That has long divorced simple English and is in a lifelong relationship with jargon.

The world of social media has been rather helpful in cutting through the clutter. There are videos explaining most facets of bicycle form and function in reasonable detail. However, they do sometimes suffer the disadvantage of over simplification and under detailing issues given the typical attention span associated with the medium. In that sense, the written word can still strike a chord, though not surprisingly with ever dwindling numbers.

What I intend to do with this writeup is fairly clear from the title. This is my dream bike journey. So obviously, it is bound to be influenced by my choices. Or should I say my idiosyncrasies. And as you will realise, there are quite a few, given the choices that I made with this build. The reason I still decided to put this down was more to do with the process and analysis of options, rather than what was specifically my choice at the end of the selection process.

Therefore, I can completely understand the disagreements. In fact, I would be surprised if there are just a few. But again, unlike the rather fixated position that often tends to get taken on most cycling channels and publications, usually influenced by their sponsors, I have no such compunctions. I also have no illusions about the fact that these experts individually and collectively almost certainly know more than me. But I have the advantage of knowing what I wanted better. Besides, no sponsor can question my choices and no one tells me what to say!

Next: Some fundamental questions...