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Michael’s Upgraded Emonda ALR


Michael is a long time employee here at Mystic Cycle Centre. Michael has been with our team since he was a young teen and it has been the utmost pleasure to watch his growth and journey to becoming such an incredible young man. Michael has an insatiable desire for details and information; he feeds his brain with bike knowledge and tech daily. If there is something we want to know more about, we know Michael can help and educate. We had the honor of watching Michael graduate from UNH this May; a place where he not only obtained his Bachelor's Degree, but also where he raced for the school's bike club team. He had so many wonderful adventures there with his bike featured. We adore Michael and are beyond grateful for him as both a member of our team and a beloved human in our life.

"I’ve been fortunate to ride many different road bikes over my time here at MCC. I’ve always loved the look and feel of the Emonda, but it didn’t pan out until last summer, when I got an Emonda ALR 5 to replace my Specialized Allez Sprint. I wanted a bike that was lighter and more comfortable than my Allez Sprint, while also looking better and being more aerodynamic. I did consider getting a carbon Emonda or a Madone but decided on the Emonda ALR 5 because I felt the frame design looked better, it came in a better colorway, and because, at the time, I was racing collegiately, where crashes are rather common.


Right out of the box, I upgraded the wheels, handlebar, and seatpost to make it fit me better, to make it mine, and to make it faster. I put Bontrager Pro 37 wheels and a 40 cm wide Ritchey WCS Carbon Stream handlebar on it, as well as a Bontrager RSL seatpost with 0 mm of offset. The wheels were installed to save weight and for aerodynamic gains over the stock wheels, but the bar and seatpost were more about dialing in my fit on the bike for comfort and performance. I find my hands start to go numb about 20 miles into a ride running the stock 42 cm wide bar, but that issue goes away when I’m running a 40 cm wide bar. Those upgrades, combined with a pair of 30mm wide Continental GP5000’s and some TPU inner tubes have turned the already race-focused Emonda into an absolute weapon. It weighs in at 19 lbs 5 oz with bottle cages, Garmin and light mounts, Garmin Rally RS powermeter pedals, and a flat kit, which is pretty light for an aluminum, mid-range disc brake build.


From flat sprints to climbing mountains, my Emonda can do it all. It’s taken me up and down mountains in New Hampshire, to the rolling hills of northern New Jersey, to the flat crit course at Ninigret State Park in Rhode Island, and everything in between. While I started out my cycling journey on a mountain bike (and even though all of my worst cycling injuries have come on the road), I’ve always gravitated to road riding and racing. I spent the spring racing on my Emonda, and while my best result wasn’t great, with it being 9th out of 52 in a 45 mile collegiate road race, it was much more enjoyable racing that bike compared to the other road bikes I’ve raced. Unfortunately, my road season did end with me getting hit by another rider. This resulted in crashing out in a crit the day after said 9th place finish. Unfortunately, the aftermath was a very damaged bike and some sustained minor injuries. However, once I was home from school, one of the first things I did was fix my Emonda so I could ride it again.


I ended up needing to replace both wheels as well as the handlebar, as they were all damaged beyond repair in the crash. I ended up replacing everything with the exact same parts as what was on it before, which is a testament to how good the bike was before the crash. Those who know me know that there’s always something that I don’t like about each one of my bikes. My Emonda is the only bike I’ve got where I wouldn’t change anything because I am super pleased with the way it is set up. I love that my bike is fast and light, and this is a great bike for anyone who wants that and more"


- Michael