Ok, picked up my new bike yesterday. WOW
Took the new bike for its first run after picking it up from The bike station in Hove on Brighton Road. Noel was fantastic and did my final bike fit and helped me get used to the new feeling and riding position. It is certainly a different feeling riding a proper road bike compared to a FBR and a more upright position. But one I quickly got used to.
I ended up getting a co2 pump canister kit and a few spare pumps with my upgraded conti gator skins. very impressed so far with how well the gator skins handled the veloway. Generally the Veloway is littered with broken glass and debris from the ongoing construction that is underway with the Southern Expressway. I still made a concerted effort to avoid as much debris and glass more so than I would with my hybrid, and I intend on making this a habit.
The ride itself consisted of me riding to friends place so I could ride with them and compare my speed and cadence with them. I didn't expect to be on their level. They are seasoned riders with competition bikes but I managed to keep up with them on the flat and surprised myself in the increased speed that I wasn't used to. From what I was told the Conti Gator Skins have more rolling resistance to say the Conti GP4000s tires but the gatorskins are more resistant to punctures which suits me fine.
Anyway onto the bike, I cannot compare this with any other bike I had. so it may sound very biased but this truly is the best bike I have owned. take this little review how u will.
The bike looks amazing with the livery and design of the frame. It looks different to what was advertised on the website, but not in a bad way, it looks way better In the flesh. The bike feels fast, solid and efficient. the gear changing is precise and quick. Still a tad notchy till it settles in. The ride is actually quite comfortable more than my hybrid which I reckon has more to do with the carbon absorbing the shock better. I did find my lower back felt a bit sore during the ride but I attributed that to the head stem height being lower than I am used to and the new riding position. will give that a few weeks to get used before I make the lbs make and adjustments.
Other than this I love this bike. its perfect for me and suits me to a tea. I believe this has been accentuated with a custom bike fit and just having the bike adjusted and setup to suit my shape. can't stress enough how much getting that done before u buy or even to suit your current ride. it makes an amazing difference and can be the difference with just riding a bike and actually enjoying what you ride.
I spent some time fitting my lights, saddle pouch and make tweak here and there to hopefully enhance the experience.
So far its been a killer first ride and I'm looking forward to enjoying many more.
and a video
