2006 Kovjanic Custom - My road bike build and ride stories

[cybernck]

"Good evening Weight Weenies, Bosnia calling!"

I've recently come across this excellent, inspirational and, what seems like, a very friendly forum,
so I though't I'd register on here to be able to join the discussions and present my bikes as well.

Perhaps my bikes are not WWW (weight weenies worthy ) as such, but I still think You'll find
this topic interesting (well, it will certainly be different from what You're used to seeing) and
that I'll get valuable input back from You.

I will start off soon, with the story about my 2006 Kovjanic custom road bike build and rides,
which is well under way, so I will post several successive posts to bring you up to date.

Thanks for your time and speak to you again soon.

Best regards, Nikica.

[legs 11]

[cybernck]

OK, here we go!


Kovjanic ultra-light 7005 aluminium road racing frame, standard geometry, aircraft spec welds,
59cm length, weighing under 1300g. Kovjanic is a Serbian manufacturer of custom bicycle frames.
It was custom built for me back in 2002 to perfectly suit me and replace my old and tired Kovjanic
frame of my road bike. Very nice colour - a pearl white base with transparent yellow lacquer.



However, I made a bold decision to break up my old and abused bike and build a new one entirely
down to my wishes, for years of troublefree cycling and enjoyment. I was on a very tight budget
and with specific component list on my mind, so it took me a good few years to gather all the parts,
which brings us to May 2006 - the assembly time!


The fork of choice, with the best weight/price ratio, was Time Equipe Pro "feather-light" 430g carbon
fork with 1" carbon steerer. I specifically wanted black components, so the only choice was to go for
Shimano 105 Black group (2x9 speed).




A few years ago, I've held ITM Millenium stem and handlebars in my hands and decided I must get
them one day. And so I have . Along with a Pazzaz Carbon aero seatpost, Selle Italia SLR XP saddle
and Elite Patao bottle cages.




We fitted all the mentioned components on the frame and finished routing the cables. It was time to
call it a day and continue the work the following day .




Photos here: http://photos.cybernck.com/kovjanic

[cybernck]

Continuing the build - I got the guy (Shimano shop owner) who always wound my bar tape,
to do it this time too . With the red Deda bar tape on, it was only wheels and chain left!




As for the wheels, not my first choice (it would have been Spinergy Rev-X, Mavic Cosmic or
Ksyrium) but a good one nonetheless - Mavic Aksium Race factory built wheelset. I've always
had Michelin tyres on my road bikes, so I got a pair of red Michelin Pro Race 2 in 700x23 size.
Good choice as, for our roads, 23s proved to be a much better choice than 20s I've always had.




There you have it - built up and ready to be ridden! The "venomous" colour scheme looks really
attractive and exactly as I envisaged it several years ago! It's hard to imagine that only a day
ago it was just a collection of useless parts and how is a fully functional road racing bike!
Total weight - a shade over 9 kgs or 20 lbs. Good enough for me (though I was hoping for less!).




And finally - the moment I've been daydreaming about for many years . Albeit with 8-9 kgs
over my fit weight and having to use my very old and knackered shoes and SPD pedals for
the time being .




Photos here: http://photos.cybernck.com/kovjanic?page=3

[cybernck]

2006 and 2007 went by surprisingly quick, but I got back into shape and decided to make
my old dream come true, which brings us to 31st of May 2008. The plan was to ride from
Banja Luka (BIH) to seaside in Makarska (CRO) - 250 kilometers via 5-6 hillclimbs,
at a moderate pace. Still 2.5-3 kilos over my fit weight but more prepared than ever
for this trek! And in my favourite gear, naturally .




Touchdown! Late in the afternoon, exhausted, but filled with joy and happiness!
A dream come true! That even sounds good, let alone what it felt (and still feels) like!




The stats: ~252 km, 8h50min riding time, 28.5 km/h avg, with mostly head-wind.




Photos here: http://photos.cybernck.com/kovjanic?page=4

Video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3y_xRQBnV4

[cybernck]

The following week, I finally got the package with some essential things, that would have mattered
much on my ride to the seaside. Giro Monza helmet - much nicer, lighter, more comfortable and better
ventilating than my old crappy Prowell helmet.




Shimano SH-R099 road shoes with three straps and (silver) carbon sole - new shoes after 10 long years!
SM-SH10 Red (no-play) SPD-SL cleats - should be a vast improvement over the original SPD system.
Shoes + cleats = nice combination! Can't wait to start using them . And finally - PD-R540 SPD-SL
black pedals. All-in-all, a whole world of difference over my old setup - I can't believe how much
energy I've been wasting with it! :O




Photos here: http://photos.cybernck.com/kovjanic?page=5

[cybernck]

02/Jul/2008 - Since I've been feeling really well and strong after the ride to the seaside, I decided to
go back to racing, just in time for the National Time Trial Championships. I was keen to make a worthy
"come-back", so I even got an Aero helmet from the UK a couple of weeks before the race, along with
the rest of the TT kit. Every bit helps on a TT event... especially being quite fit (for my standards) .



If I've ever been physically and mentally prepared for a TT ride - it was the time!


I did quite well - scored 2nd place and silver medal in Elite category, by doing 23 kilometers in 33 minutes,
41 km/h average - quite sattisfied with that.




I've done a few more road races in 2008, but roll on 2009!



Unfortunately, I was sick for 15 days early in 2009, which had completely exhausted me and messed up
my plans to go one better at the 2009 TT championships , but it didn't stop me from training and doing
some races and recreational rides, that I will present in the following updates .


Photos here: http://photos.cybernck.com/kovjanic?page=5

Time Trial video: http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1197585186461

Road Race video: http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1197591666623

[cybernck]

Well, that's about it (for now) - you're now up to date with the story, that continues soon!

Once again, all the full sized photos are available here: http://photos.cybernck.com/kovjanic

I hope you enjoyed reading this and I'm looking forward to reading some comments, good or bad .

Thanks.

[DMF]

I think this was nice, a bit of much needed reality and everydaylife of a ´normal´ cyclist, in a world of futuristic carbononium/titanium/unobtainium-hightech bikes that officially haven't even been manufactured yet with seriously silly pricetags... It's kind of reassuring to know that there are more people out there who live for the ride - not for the hype

Welcome to the forum!

[cybernck]

Well I started the build (or collecting the parts) in 2002 and completed it in 2006.

My 2010 bike (if I were to build one) would probably be a bit more futuristic .

Thanks for the comment and warm welcome.

[Powerful Pete]

Great story and pics. Bravo!

[c50jim]

Great story. Congratulations on racing so well in an elite TT without all the aero stuff that cat 5 guys like me use all the time here.

[NGMN]

I like the bike and the pictures. Welcome.

[Samuel Sanchez Gonzalez]

Makes me feel ashamed to have a 4K € bike offered by my father and haven't rode it for months.

[TheBugMan]

That is a great story cybernck (^_^). I can see your body changing over time in those pics.
Nice bike you put together also. And you were so close to being national champion!!!!