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16 Nov 2009
A brief ride report.
Okay, so I put in a first initial quick ride in on the new steed this afternoon. Nothing too strenuous, mostly because I’m not capable of anything strenuous, but it’s just really to get most things dialled or close to dialled so it involves riding around with more tools than any normal person should have to carry, most of which never get used. So, here’s my thoughts, in point form so as not to bore the attention span challenged.
- Damn it, looks like I’m going to have to get a layback post, and only Thomson makes a 30.0 and it’s ugly as sin. This is what happens when your custom bike is a stock size. Sometimes it sucks to be egalitarian.
- The Geax Sagauro 2.2 is one sweet tyre. Soft riding, relatively quick for what it is, and predictable.
- 22.2mm chainstay are awesome. Don’t let anyone tell you oval chainstays are the way to go because everyone does them that way, it’s a lie. Big arse round chainstay rule. I’m a convert.
- This thing is easily as stiff as the old Arete SC [Scandium], but the ride is softer despite the seatpost being considerably fatter. Go figure. And no I don’t care about the 400g weight penalty.
- 180mm Hope floating rotors hit Fox’s post mounts. Annoyance ++
- Brand new bikes look crap. I’m thinking of selling a kit that has a bucket of water, mud and dust in it for that “just back from the singletrack, yeah, it was bitchin” look. Oh, and hey, brown dirt matches the duco perfectly!
So, all in all, I’m a pretty happy chappy. Okay, so my Glutes feel like they’ve been kicked hard my Magda Szubanski, but I’ll get over that. As I sit here typing this, I’m glancing over at the bike hanging on the wall, thinking “Wow, you’re a bit of alright, I wonder when I can squeeze in another ride”, and that my friends, is what it’s all about.
Posted by warwick @ 10:31 am
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November 16th, 2009 at 11:49 pm
Yeah, yeah. Back to work, bike-monkey!
Seriously though, lookin’ good.
Seatpost wise, maybe a shim? Not elegant, but the only other thing I can think of to de-uglify the Thomson a little is to buy the silver post and investigate aftermarket anodizing… which sounds like a pain in the arse, and would probably make the cranks look out of place.
November 17th, 2009 at 5:00 am
I think I may have a 30mm shim at home, I’ll take a look.
As for the rotor hitting the post mount bits, I assume it’s actually hitting the caliper as I’ve had the same problem with mine. You just have to move the caliper over a fraction, it doesn’t take much.
We’ll make a grease monkey out of you yet!
November 17th, 2009 at 7:38 am
Nah Simon, I can’t have a shim on this bike. I’ll just have to get the Thomson and live with it. I made the active choice to get a stock sized frame, and I wanted to try a more upright seating position because I hadn’t had one since forever and I wanted to see how the other half lived….and guess what, it sucks. So back I go. No biggie.
Brett, the bit rubbing is the rivet that connects the steel part of the rotor to the Aluminium part. On the 180mm rotor it’s wider than the 160mm.