In a fit of bike fettling the other day, I decided to refit the Marzocchi Super Fly Z2’s that came with my Bow Ti, along with the Avid Arch Supreme brakes (kept the modern Ultimate levers though). Went for a long ride yesterday round the Surrey Hills and you know what, the fork was excellent, though a bit flexy! To be expected with 30mm stanchions I guess!

I never really noticed that I ‘only’ had 63mm of travel up front as it just went about it’s task of smoothing out the trail nicely, no fuss no muss, just doing what a suspension fork is meant to do… And the Arch Supremes were actually better than the more modern Ultimates I had on there before, no squealing, lovely lever feel and modulation, really nice brakes!

Swapping from the Fox F90 to the Zocchi resulted in around 25mm being taken off the A2C, this was immediately noticeable on hopping on the bike for the first time, felt really weird! First decent climb of the day and the difference was definitely for the better, the front felt much more planted and less prone to lifting, result!

Next thing I need to do is bite the bullet and refit the lovely Chris King wheelset with the flashy gold titanium spokes; though I think I’m loathe to do this as they’re just soooo luverly, perhaps too nice for everyday use! Anyhoo, before you know it she’ll be back to the same spec I bought her in (without the garish ‘Stars’n’Stripes’ groupset of course 😉 )

Here’s a gratuitous shot up on Leith Hill, just to show she does get out and about! Lovely days ride yesterday, perhaps the last ‘dry & dusty’ ride of the year I think…

Bow-ti by ten_sim, on Flickr

Not convinced by the Ergo grips, I think they might be going in favour of some normal but extra thick grips… I also need to cut the bars down a teeny bit I think, at the moment they’re 700mm wide, which is a tad excessive! Also need to trim the seatpost, once I finally decide where I want to set it, changes every ride almost…

I had some s/h air sprung Z4’s, better than the (newer) RS forks they replaced, infinately better than the minutes that replaced them!

Odd to think that fox float 36’s are probably lighter!

The CK’s on that would be stunning – just don’t let it out of your sight.

BTW you were fortunate you didn’t die due to lack of bar-end plugs 😆

Careful if you ride it past Tesco, they might accuse you of nicking one of their trolleys!

😉

The CK’s on that would be stunning

These are the wheels in question, they really are very nice, even have matching green Cook Racing skewers 8)

IMG_7763 by ten_sim, on Flickr

Careful if you ride it past Tesco, they might accuse you of nicking one of their trolleys!

Quite a bit faster than your average Tesco Trolley 🙂 Well, it would be if I wasn’t so fat and unfit right now 😳

Avid arch supremes – the best v brake ever – fact! The Ibis fell out of the ugly tree but I would still love one. Still, I can make do with my old Silk Ti 😆

Cheers

Sanny

Ps what’s with the Playboy-esque soft focus for the picture?

Ps what’s with the Playboy-esque soft focus for the picture?

Long lens (200mm) and small aperture (f4) on a DSLR, gives you lovely ‘bokeh’ as the photographers call it (the diffused out of focus areas in the pic)… ’tis a good effect 🙂

Avid arch supremes – the best v brake ever – fact

They really do feel quite different from the Ultimates, much more ‘cushy’ and less on/off, though maybe that’s more to do with how I’ve set them up? No expert on v-brakes, it’s possible I set the Ultimates up wrong (or the Supreme for that matter!). Anyhoo, I like how they feel now, lever action is very progressive/modulated and smooth feeling… 🙂

Ps what’s with the Playboy-esque soft focus for the picture?

Or were you talking about the first pic? If so, that’s a crappy camera phone shot, I think there’s something wrong with the lens in my phone, it’s not taking great pics at the moment 🙁 (HTC Desire)

“Long lens (200mm) and small aperture (f4) on a DSLR, gives you lovely ‘bokeh’ as the photographers call it (the diffused out of focus areas in the pic)… ’tis a good effect”

I think that’s still supposed to keep the subject matter in focus 😉

In any case, lovely bike and good to see it back to more ‘period correct’ status.

I’m been up at Leith Hill probably once a week for the last couple of years (…including yesterday) and I’ve never noticed that wood sculpture 😕

Have to look out for that when I’m up there tomorrow.

It’s my stock place for staged bike pics… ’tis down the hill a little bit from the Tower (in the picnic area on the left as you head down towards Coldharbor, I think?)