Goodbye, incredibly annoying creak.  I guess I should have come to this conclusion a while ago, but my bottom bracket was shot.  I finally isolated the bottom bracket as the only possible source of the noise – and it was bad noise.  I’m not sure why I let it go so long, as it drove me crazy while riding.  I’m sure it drove everyone else crazy too.  It’s not good when I’m embarrassed to crush the pedals because of the horrid sounds my bike would produce as a result.  The bottom bracket had 3000 or so miles total on it, and at least 1500 since last overhaul.  That’s quite a bit more than the expected usage for one of those Dura Ace bottom brackets
– known for having a pretty short life.

So I finally bought a new Ultegra bottom bracket
and a new chain while I was at it.  I rode this afternoon over to the velodrome to watch track racing, and it was amazing to be able to power up the west hills silently.  I went with the Ultegra because they have a longer life and I’m avoiding putting too much money into the race bike at this point.  The race bike is about to become the rain bike.

Which brings me to the exciting part.  I’ve decided I’m saving up over the winter for a new race bike for next season.  Here’s what I know so far:

• It will be carbon.
• It will likely have full SRAM Force.
• It will be fast.

I’ll have to see what sort of team deals I can get and such, but I need input.  What should I get?  A Cervelo? A Specialized?  A Felt?  An Orbea?  A small brand?  I want something that fits my personality – proven and reliable, but not the same old Trek everyone else is riding around.

Let me know your suggestions in the comments.