The Dream RLT

When Peter came to us to find a replacement for his ti Lemond, we knew it had to be an RLT. And when he said he wanted his bike to be able to do all the rides he wanted to and also make zippy zappy robot derailleur noises, we priced out a couple options, but it always had to be eTap HRD. The ease of use, liveability, and performance are unmatched, and it's not significantly more expensive than a Di2 kit.

Not to mention that it just looks clean. It makes us dream of the days when we have wireless electronic brakes (dreams from which we wake up screaming when we reach the part where we've just turned around at the Hurricane Ridge visitor station to find we forgot to charge up the night before).

It's really easy to spec out a bike with all the go-fast "look at me!" carbon bits you can find—that takes a deep wallet and the ability to discern which number is the least. And those bikes are cool, but not as cool as a classy and tasteful build with solid, reliable, and (more) beautiful aluminum bits.

The eTap does make people pay attention, though.

We've gushed over these wheels a lot lately, but they really are amazing when paired with a supple tire like these Barlow Passes. They really let the tire do its job and they're fantastic.