I was on the vodka during the build the other day, and soon after taking the last photo late in the afternoon I decided I couldn’t wait for my AliExpress brake levers to arrive so I raided the Extralite brake levers off my fixie.
By the time I was done it was night so I strapped on some lights and went for a blat around the block. I felt right at home on this thing! It’s so playful that I found myself rolling down stairs instantly, then I started rolling up stairs, did some rad skids, wheelies, then I thought I’d huck some stairs and well, the front quick release skewer somehow (blame the vodka?!) slipped enough for the brake pads to lock against the tyre and I had a good stack in front of the local barber shop (he was very amused!).
With a bloody knee, elbow and dented pride I rolled down to the local burger haunt for a feed to contemplate what had just happened. This bike makes me feel like a kid again, but I’m 50! I need to chill.
This morning I got up and instead of joining the guys at the park on my SL8 Tarmac I thought I’d hit the trails instead! And yeah… more revelations. This bike is so fun in an urban environment, but on the trails? Not so much. Some of the bits had rocky steps and I was bouncing around so much my feet almost came off the pedals a few times.
I could get fatter tyres, run lower pressures and SPD’s too, but nah, this is underbiking! It’s sketchy and exactly what I wanted. Having said all that I think the bike would be fine on gravel trails, the weekly grocery shop and night rides to the pub.