Finally I get the frame I’ve been after. The previous frame was every bit as good as this one, but too modern and flashy for me. This has almost symmetrical tube sizing and all the lines are clean without fuss. Beautiful.

A friend has been moaning at me to not buy carbon. While I understand the argument against – that if you get hit it’s almost guaranteed the frame will be toast – I’m ready to take the risk. In fact I don’t see it as a risk. Early carbon frames did crack easily, but that was nearly 20 years ago. Emerging technologies rarely evolve without a few wobbles and I see carbon frames all around me these days. I want to try one. If it does crack, c’est la vie, I’ll either go buy a replacement or then switch to steel.

Enough of the carbon vs. aluminium crap. Just look at those clean lines. Mmmmmmmm. It’s now also official, no respray required.