Thanks all. It's been fun and looks like it'll continue to be fun - this bike has all the signs of becoming a battle scarred veteran
I did the school run today, then continued on to Glenelg ie, down the Expressway, across to the beach, along the beach front, back up the Sturt River Linear Park, up the Expressway and home.
46km
She's a lovely ride. Smooth. Secure. Stable but with a very fast change of direction. Seems to be rather fast too ... in an upright stance sort of way
The brakes are so good they're bloody frightening - three lockups on the rear today
and that's from someone used to moderating his brakes. I'll be backing them right off but will have to loosen the cable to do so.
The wheels chatted and discussed life for the first km or so, then were dead silent from then on. This thing is a real stealth bomber. I do get a creak/click from one spoke in the front wheel under braking. I haven't gone looking for it yet - it sound's like a spoke creaking but could also be something tapping the spoke under braking. The front wheel had developed a slight
wiggle when the tyres went up to full pressure but a few kms on the road removed that (obviously the tyre) - the mould release feather in the centre of the wheel spins dead true
First retrue is scheduled for a couple of hundred km down the track unless I find a reason to do so before then (was half expecting to have to do it after the first ride).
Climb? It's like a cat up a tree. Higher gears used all round. I did consider dropping the low granny, but it doesn't hurt to have it there and while loafing up Expressway Hill with my HR in the mid to low 150's, I thought to myself - climbing hills doesn't have to be hard, why make it so? Compare that attitude to some of my posts from a year ago.
Along the beach front. Dead flat. Wind on my shoulder so probably some assistance there. I was cruising with my hands on the bend of the bars (on the tops, where it goes from outwards to forwards, my favourite cruising spot). Heart rate in the mid 130s. Cadence in the low to mid 80's. 43km/hr on the speedo
Obviously a couple of kilos of weight and better rolling resistance make a difference
(surprises everywhere aren't there
)
Comfort wise? Pretty darned good ... once I got the Brooks at the right angle. No problems at all in my left hand. My right hand (which has the diccy shoulder) went numb at one point but no-where near as bad as normal. Excellent set up methinks with some fine tuning to come. She rides the rough really well too - a very comfy bike to ride.
One of the joys of a high top tube is waiting at the lights, one leg on the ground, other foot clipped in, thigh leaning on the top tube - very relaxing.
Thanks to a blustery head wind at times (in all directions dammit), I spent a lot of time down on the drops. No problems there - it isn't my preferred position but I can ride them comfortably for Mike like aerodynamics
All in all, a very promising shake down. The project has delivered all I asked it to
Coming home, the mind kept saying "let's go further, let's go further" ... and the body kept grumbling "sod off and try doing some of the hard work for a change"
Richard
I had a good bike ... so I fixed it
Seriously, she felt very good. Accelerates and stops nicely. Seems nicely balanced.
