New Sponsor - Quintana Roo bikes

 

Today I had a much anticipated package waiting on my doorstep, a brand new 2013 Quintana Roo Illicito frameset!  

A few weeks back, an old friend and contact from QR got in touch with me and we started discussing my coming on board, and QR as my potential bike sponsor. This was very exciting for many reasons, but the two most prominent in my mind was that 1:
Quintana Roo is a creative, forward thinking bike manufacturer that is dedicated to triathlon as is evidenced that they do not build bikes for ProTour time-trialing, with triathlon getting the leftovers. The Illicito is not UCI-compliant (inspiration for the frame's name), and that is perfectly fine with me. They were the original tri-bike company and they are still pushing the envelope on design and functionality.

Not my frame, but highlighting the "missing" seatstay

And 2:
Quintana Roo is a real "racer's" or "people's" company, not defined by multi-million dollar marketing campaigns or making a litany of models and lines. As stated above, they make only tri-bikes, and they make them for true triathletes. In addition to this company ethos, it is widely known and it is also my personal experience, that if you have a problem with your bike, they leap to solve it, and with a personal touch that is uncommon in the bike industry.

To my first point, the Illicito has a revolutionary design that is founded on two key points, QR's SHIFT technology and the complete removal of the left seatstay. As a result of this advanced engineering and design, the Illicito has the lowest drag coefficient at high yaw angles of any current tri-bike out there. This should be a great advantage on a course like Kona, or even on my local Brush Creek training loop! Much more has been said about the Illicito, and by much more informed personnel than I, and some of the reviews and explanations of features can be found here, here, and here.

My personal experience with QR stems from an issue my wife had at Kona in 2010. Long story short (and a lot of you already know it), she was hit by a car the Wednesday before the race and her first tri-bike, a QR Lucero, was completely destroyed. Not knowing what to do, and also with a touch of hysteria and panic, we stopped by the QR booth at the expo to see what could be done about her destroyed frame/derailleur hanger. Try getting personal attention from the directors of European & North American Sales, and the chief design engineer of one of the "industry giants". Not a chance, but that's exactly what we got from QR who saved the day, and did it with a smile on their face. Disaster averted, friends made, and fans we had become.

Jocelyn's trusty first steed until she caught the dreaded "right hook" on Ali'i Dr

So that's the scoop! I'm really excited to be working with Quintana Roo because their bikes are fast and as a company, they are incredibly supportive of their athletes because they "get it." And as an added bonus, they seem to think I'm fast and get it too! Now I just need to get this beast built up and ready to roll in Kona!

That's the one. There's my baby!

Quintana Roo can be found here online, as well as on Facebook, Twitter, and Blogger. Check them out, they make the most cutting edge stuff and they really are "True to the Tri!" Thanks for reading, and thanks to QR for making me part of your team!

P.S. And finally, I am told (and I also read) that bikes are supposed to bear a name, similar to a sea-going vessel. I have heard all types of names for bikes, both male and female, creative or banal, suggestive or simple, and even inspirational or in memoriam. I have yet to name my ride, but I'll keep you posted if I do!