Korn Julio
06-18-2007, 08:55 PM
Now that my brother E.T. has finally returned to Houston, I can finally tell you why our very own Sandy is one of the kindest and most generous souls on the planet! Sandy --- I hope you didn’t think you were going to get away with me not paying tribute on this forum to your recent act of extreme generosity and utmost kindness did you?? :rolleyes:
Folks, way back in March this year I, and probably a bunch of you D.C. forumites, received a PM from Sandy titled “Free CSi to someone who can’t really afford one”; since Sandy hadn’t ridden his CSi in years, he was willing to give it away to someone who couldn’t afford a top of the line road bike. I thought I had misread the email. Who in their right mind would give away Serotta’s best ever steel frame?? I mean, they would either have to be insane, or be one of very noble and charitable character. I met Sandy and his wife Gloria at Notrott 2006. Sandy and Gloria were very nice people. Sandy was great to talk to and did not seem at all insane at that time. :confused:
I had thought about my brother immediately after reading Sandy’s PM. So I replied back to see if the bike was still available, thinking I was probably too late and the CSi was already spoken for. E.T. lives in Houston and he visits me and my parents every year up here for two weeks in May. His birthday is May 27 and the little sneak always makes sure he spends his birthday with us --- smart guy. :bike: Well anyhow, E.T. has always drooled over and admired my CDA and CSi. We’ve discovered my 55cm CDA was too small for him. My 56cm stock CSi was a little better, but also a bit small. Of course that didn’t stop me from slapping some cheap plastic platform pedals on the CSi so he could ride it during his visit. He absolutely loves riding the CSi! This Campy Chorus equipped piece of Serotta art performed light years ahead of his dept store bought Murray “road bike” – yes, MURRAY. E.T. has always mentioned he would love to have his very own Serotta. But at the same time he isn’t really “rolling in the dough” so Serotta ownership was pretty much impossible. And being the rich, selfish and cheap brother that I am, I wasn’t about to buy him one :no: even if his birthday was coming up in two and a half months.
To my absolute surprise, Sandy PM’d me back and said his old CSi had not been spoken for and was still available. The only “catch” was the bike didn’t come with pedals or a saddle. And just to show you how magnanimous a person Sandy is, he even offered to ship the bike. I told Sandy the bike would be perfect for my brother who was coming up to the D.C. area for a visit – and the time period of his visit would also include his birthday. What a perfect birthday gift Sandy’s CSi would be!! I offered Sandy a token couple of hundred bucks, but he would have none of it.
Well, come late May I get back in touch with Sandy to coordinate my picking up the CSi. When I saw the CSi for the first time my mouth was agape and I was totally floored. :eek: The bike was gorgeous! It was a 57cm CSi equipped with Dura Ace-9 and rolled on 32-hole Mavic SUP Ceramic rims. I don’t know the proper term for the color but it’s a beautiful midnight blue metallic. Sure there were a few minor dings and scratches here and there, but overall the CSi was in awesome shape – cosmetically and mechanically. Here’s a photo gallery with pics of Sandy’s CSi in it’s Standard Serotta Sandy Set-up:
http://www.pbase.com/nikonbuff/1998serottacsi&page=all
Not only did I pick up the CSi, I also got to spend some quality chat time with my pal Sandy. We covered a whole gamut of topics from Beamer’s to Porsche’s, to volunteering at the animal shelters, the cards that fate deals all of us, to Costco Tire Installation scams, to the advantages of curved carbon seatstays vs straight steel, to how hott Rapid Tourist is……and almost everything in between. Thanks for all the words of wisdom Sand-man!
On an odd note, I also discovered the deleterious effects of Sandy’s Searing Sulfuric Sweat on Dura Ace cranks. NEVER let Sandy sweat on any of your bike bling or it’ll end up looking like this:
http://www.pbase.com/nikonbuff/image/79256414
I got the bike home and made some minor tweaks to the drivetrain and brakes. I also cleaned and polished the frame a bit. I had a new 9-spd Ultegra cassette and Dura-Ace 9-spd chain laying around which I ended up installing to give the drivetrain that sparkling clean look. I threw on one of my spare saddles and replaced the old tires with a set of blue Fortezza Tri-Comps and topped the bike off with a new wireless computer. Now all that was left was for my brother E.T. to arrive.
Upon his arrival the day before his birthday, he immediately noticed the “new” blue CSi in the basement next to my “old” Candy Apple Red CSi. His initial comment was why did I buy a third Serotta? And what the heck was I going to do with three Serottas? Then I sprung my birthday surprise. I told him “thanks to the generosity of a Serotta forumite and friend, this Serotta is YOURS! Happy Birthday bro’!” He didn’t believe me at first. I told him “the bike isn’t mine, you know me, I NEVER buy anything used”. I even got on the bike to show him it wasn’t for me because it was too big. After slapping on some platform pedals he was ready to give it a whirl around the block. At this point he was very excited. After two loops around the block it finally began to sink in that I was not kidding and his dream of Serotta ownership was finally coming true! You should’ve seen the big smile on his face. :D
After visiting for two and a half weeks, he returned to Houston. My brother must have put at least a hundred miles on Sandy’s old CSi before he went home. It may not sound like a lot to us mileage junkies but believe me, 100 miles in a little over two weeks was A LOT for him. E.T. loved how the CSi shifted, braked and even coasted. I’m sure with more miles he’ll also learn to appreciate that sublime CSi ride.
The bike is now getting boxed for shipping to Houston. The LBS should be done with boxing by Wednesday and I’ll UPS it to my brother Thursday. Here’s a question – I’ve never shipped a bike before. About how much should I expect to pay for delivery in 3-4 business days?
Sandy – I can’t say it enough but here it is again – THANK YOU!! Thank you for your kindness. Thank you for your generosity. And thank you for enabling someone who WAS NOT expecting it to join the ranks of the very few who ride the best made road bikes on the planet! I “heart” Sandy!
And check out how happy E.T. looks. :banana: :beer:
Folks, way back in March this year I, and probably a bunch of you D.C. forumites, received a PM from Sandy titled “Free CSi to someone who can’t really afford one”; since Sandy hadn’t ridden his CSi in years, he was willing to give it away to someone who couldn’t afford a top of the line road bike. I thought I had misread the email. Who in their right mind would give away Serotta’s best ever steel frame?? I mean, they would either have to be insane, or be one of very noble and charitable character. I met Sandy and his wife Gloria at Notrott 2006. Sandy and Gloria were very nice people. Sandy was great to talk to and did not seem at all insane at that time. :confused:
I had thought about my brother immediately after reading Sandy’s PM. So I replied back to see if the bike was still available, thinking I was probably too late and the CSi was already spoken for. E.T. lives in Houston and he visits me and my parents every year up here for two weeks in May. His birthday is May 27 and the little sneak always makes sure he spends his birthday with us --- smart guy. :bike: Well anyhow, E.T. has always drooled over and admired my CDA and CSi. We’ve discovered my 55cm CDA was too small for him. My 56cm stock CSi was a little better, but also a bit small. Of course that didn’t stop me from slapping some cheap plastic platform pedals on the CSi so he could ride it during his visit. He absolutely loves riding the CSi! This Campy Chorus equipped piece of Serotta art performed light years ahead of his dept store bought Murray “road bike” – yes, MURRAY. E.T. has always mentioned he would love to have his very own Serotta. But at the same time he isn’t really “rolling in the dough” so Serotta ownership was pretty much impossible. And being the rich, selfish and cheap brother that I am, I wasn’t about to buy him one :no: even if his birthday was coming up in two and a half months.
To my absolute surprise, Sandy PM’d me back and said his old CSi had not been spoken for and was still available. The only “catch” was the bike didn’t come with pedals or a saddle. And just to show you how magnanimous a person Sandy is, he even offered to ship the bike. I told Sandy the bike would be perfect for my brother who was coming up to the D.C. area for a visit – and the time period of his visit would also include his birthday. What a perfect birthday gift Sandy’s CSi would be!! I offered Sandy a token couple of hundred bucks, but he would have none of it.
Well, come late May I get back in touch with Sandy to coordinate my picking up the CSi. When I saw the CSi for the first time my mouth was agape and I was totally floored. :eek: The bike was gorgeous! It was a 57cm CSi equipped with Dura Ace-9 and rolled on 32-hole Mavic SUP Ceramic rims. I don’t know the proper term for the color but it’s a beautiful midnight blue metallic. Sure there were a few minor dings and scratches here and there, but overall the CSi was in awesome shape – cosmetically and mechanically. Here’s a photo gallery with pics of Sandy’s CSi in it’s Standard Serotta Sandy Set-up:
http://www.pbase.com/nikonbuff/1998serottacsi&page=all
Not only did I pick up the CSi, I also got to spend some quality chat time with my pal Sandy. We covered a whole gamut of topics from Beamer’s to Porsche’s, to volunteering at the animal shelters, the cards that fate deals all of us, to Costco Tire Installation scams, to the advantages of curved carbon seatstays vs straight steel, to how hott Rapid Tourist is……and almost everything in between. Thanks for all the words of wisdom Sand-man!
On an odd note, I also discovered the deleterious effects of Sandy’s Searing Sulfuric Sweat on Dura Ace cranks. NEVER let Sandy sweat on any of your bike bling or it’ll end up looking like this:
http://www.pbase.com/nikonbuff/image/79256414
I got the bike home and made some minor tweaks to the drivetrain and brakes. I also cleaned and polished the frame a bit. I had a new 9-spd Ultegra cassette and Dura-Ace 9-spd chain laying around which I ended up installing to give the drivetrain that sparkling clean look. I threw on one of my spare saddles and replaced the old tires with a set of blue Fortezza Tri-Comps and topped the bike off with a new wireless computer. Now all that was left was for my brother E.T. to arrive.
Upon his arrival the day before his birthday, he immediately noticed the “new” blue CSi in the basement next to my “old” Candy Apple Red CSi. His initial comment was why did I buy a third Serotta? And what the heck was I going to do with three Serottas? Then I sprung my birthday surprise. I told him “thanks to the generosity of a Serotta forumite and friend, this Serotta is YOURS! Happy Birthday bro’!” He didn’t believe me at first. I told him “the bike isn’t mine, you know me, I NEVER buy anything used”. I even got on the bike to show him it wasn’t for me because it was too big. After slapping on some platform pedals he was ready to give it a whirl around the block. At this point he was very excited. After two loops around the block it finally began to sink in that I was not kidding and his dream of Serotta ownership was finally coming true! You should’ve seen the big smile on his face. :D
After visiting for two and a half weeks, he returned to Houston. My brother must have put at least a hundred miles on Sandy’s old CSi before he went home. It may not sound like a lot to us mileage junkies but believe me, 100 miles in a little over two weeks was A LOT for him. E.T. loved how the CSi shifted, braked and even coasted. I’m sure with more miles he’ll also learn to appreciate that sublime CSi ride.
The bike is now getting boxed for shipping to Houston. The LBS should be done with boxing by Wednesday and I’ll UPS it to my brother Thursday. Here’s a question – I’ve never shipped a bike before. About how much should I expect to pay for delivery in 3-4 business days?
Sandy – I can’t say it enough but here it is again – THANK YOU!! Thank you for your kindness. Thank you for your generosity. And thank you for enabling someone who WAS NOT expecting it to join the ranks of the very few who ride the best made road bikes on the planet! I “heart” Sandy!
And check out how happy E.T. looks. :banana: :beer: