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Just had its first ride since gaining longer stiffer forks (Float 140) and wider stiffer wheels (Flow / Pro2 Evo). No longer anything I want to change about it bar the assorted timber and foliage. Awesome.
Dude, seriously.....the garden!
The garden at the back is nice. The one at the front is getting there. You however are looking at the shared drive up the side of the house!
I like that, looks like a proper bike for proper riding. You see a lot of very pretty very posh bikes on here but it's very rare that I could honestly say I'd be as happy riding them as my own bike (which is not particularly pretty or posh) without major changes. That one passes the test though. And not just because it's slightly cleaner.
Nice pallet! Also you have foolishly not bought a black one, but apart from that obvious error I approve.
Extra marks for the bashring!
Nearly the same spec as mine
[url= http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3424/5801231505_04ddcdbe08_b.jp g" target="_blank">
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/17059060@N00/5801231505/ ]P1030728[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/17059060@N00/ ]eastham_david[/url], on Flickr
enjoy, they are truly great frames and with that build they can be ridden pretty damn hard.
It's been a slightly expensive (for me at least!) journey to get to this point but it rode so so well yesterday. It was christened doing 30 odd miles criss-crossing the South Downs following a gentleman who was on a mission to show me the best descents in the area. Wet, muddy and very slippery in some places, dry and fast in others. Gnarlier and rockier than I thought we had round here (clearly I spend too much time playing in the woods). And with the descents came those damned climbs back up but despite the long fork the weak link was definitely me - straight post and saddle well forward on rails stops unwanted wheelies. Totally love the slacker geometry, still plenty quick enough but I noticed I was riding more in the middle of the bike instead of being a bit too far back for fear of going over the bars.
Also switched at the same time as the wheels was the cassette - from a cheap 11-32 to a middle of the range 11-34. A small but worthwhile improvement for my riding. 22t granny now only needed for the very long or steep climbs or when my legs have had it. The Hope freewheel is nowhere near as loud I was expecting - satisfyingly clicky rather than annoying. I think the Flows must be as light as the skinny rims I had before, not noticing any unwanted inertia there - and the big tyres I like fit much better. All in all the bike really feels like it goes where I point it (all of me, not just the bits holding the bars) so if I don't point it the right way there's no-one but me to blame!
P.S. For anyone doing the tubeless thing I can state that the Bontrager XR4 2.2 and Flows (with tape) went straight up first time with a track pump and nothing else (no soapy water, sealant, etc). Added the sealant the next day once I was sure they were seated properly. A good pairing if you like reasonably fast rolling, rather knobbly and very high volume tubeless tyres that don't weigh a ton and can stay on all year (you know, like the old days, before t'interweb).
Excellent evening ride in my local tight twisty woodland singletrack. Can't think of a single thing I don't like about it! Only potential problem is that I was riding it faster and faster and by the end of the ride was probably asking for another broken ankle... ****ing fantastic! (add the alliteration yourself, it needs it.)
Weighed it earlier today: Bang on 27.5lbs, which I believe is the same as it was with the old forks and wheels.
fancy showing me the same trails on the south downs? Ive only seen flat bits so far.
P.S. For anyone doing the tubeless thing I can state that the Bontrager XR4 2.2 and Flows (with tape) went straight up first time with a track pump and nothing else (no soapy water, sealant, etc). Added the sealant the next day once I was sure they were seated properly. A good pairing if you like reasonably fast rolling, rather knobbly and very high volume tubeless tyres that don't weigh a ton and can stay on all year (you know, like the old days, before t'interweb).
+1
Looks great, I love the Cotic orange 🙂 I'll be very tempted to buy a Soul in the future now they've got that CEN thing - liked my BFe but was pretty heavy and a bit sluggish unless the trail was going down.