52 miles on the CX bike today, forests, singletrack, mud, off road cycle paths, more singletrack, coffee, cake, more forests.
Good ride out.
52 miles on the CX bike today, forests, singletrack, mud, off road cycle paths, more singletrack, coffee, cake, more forests.
Good ride out.
Out of interest, Shaunaneto, what CX bike do you ride, please?
Originally Posted by shaunaneto
It's a heavy lump of pig iron, but it's very comfortable.
Genesis Day One Alfine. Don't fancy racing it, don't fancy big climbing days either. Not really a proper cross bike either I suppose. I'm not 100% sure what it is tbh.
What I do know is its enjoyable cruising around on. It's a bit like a stem roller at times, all that inertia I guess.
It would probably come under the modern genre of "adventure bike" ..... good as an on or off road exploration machine?
Steel is ok..... just a pity that bikes of this ilk are not built with heat treated CroMo, a lot stronger hence they could get away with thinner tube walls
I guess that will be the 8 speed Alfine?
Do you find bottom gear low enough?
How do you find the reliability .... certainly no exposed mechs to take a bashing?
I don't race my old 531 IslaBike, just use it for exploring on & off road. It's great for day rides, but it can't cope with loads for bikepacking / camping .... on steep downhills you can see the top tube shimmying in "S" shapes.
I'm looking to build up a Soma ( www.somafabs.com ) Juice (29er) as a "monster cross" adventure bike. With the right kit it should be quite a bit lighter than a Salsa Fargo.
Soma use heat treated Tange Prestige for all their main/front triangles.
Last edited by wheezing donkey; 15-03-2014 at 12:49 PM.
Yep, 8 speed. Surprisingly good traction, what with all that weight over the back wheel. The gearing does involve the odd bit of gurning on slow off road climbs. But on road it's ok, generally. But I've bought it for local rides and that involves a lot of flat, spent a lot of yesterday in an area that's probably 70sq miles that's formed from sea depositing soil/sand and full of forest tracks and twisty singletrack.
The only real gripe I have (bearing in mind I knew the limitations before I got it) is the bottom bracket height is quite low and had sent me over the bars a few times.
Seems reliable, I adjusted the gearing once. And have reset (piece of card technique) the brakes twice. Pretty much it. The hub should in theory be serviced soon iirc.
That Soma looks lovely.
Don't start talking to me about adventure bikes..... 'Heads off to Surly to gawp at the ECR.....again' I think I NEED bigger wheels on my mountain bike
A mate of mine rides a Surly Disc Trucker on local RSF rides. I was half tempted; but ( and I'm no weight weenie ) they are so ridiculously heavy. It's as if they are determined to use a sledge hammer to crack a nut. Admittedly their frames are cheap enough but I'd happily pay 40 - 50 % extra for a bit of sophistication if they were to use heat treated Cro-Mo and shed a bit of weight.
I thought you were on a quest for size zero Donkers and almost at the alter of lightness given the svelte look last time I saw you
Awww, Em. You've just made an old man smile.
I thought you were on a quest for size zero Donkers and almost at the alter of lightness given the svelte look last time I saw you
25mls in the Dales on the MTB today. Started at Storiths, quick visit to the Fountaine Inn en route for a pint of Wharfedale Blonde which saw me all the way up to Grassington mines. Fast, tricky miner's track down into Hebden with 3 river crossings; big climb up from Dibbles Bridge to Fancarl Top then dropped into Appletreewick.
Third week of this now, knees feeling fragile every time, if i can make it to 6wks i might have a chance at getting back this year. Starting to love the climbs more and more as my aerobic system realises it's still alive.
Clouds starting to turn up, windproof or waterproof...
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