I'm sure this breaks one of my previous posting rules about not using a Haygrath hand-me-down! Here it is with Mr Haygarth using this frameset in last year's 3 pks.
Test ride 1) - Lecky escarpment circuits (ingleborough training) proved the shouldered bike to be 1kg lighter (scales did that really) and great at holding a line down the goat track - already confident on the bike negotiating the rocky, rooty, twisty descent on this bike.
Test ride 2) - the Big One: The Gulley with Jeff and John - a 3:30hr technical ride on one of the club MTB routes. Later in the ride I mentioned we were about to tackle the gulley at which Jeff commented that he'd never done it properly on an MTB. In the end we did the gulley, a tight, rocky, stream bed ascent fairly comfortable showing once again that cross bikes can match MTBs cross country.
Initial conclusion on the whyte proto cross bike:
- Discs are such a dream - effortless and more power. Why wait for heavy, costly hydrolic brakes when the power from cable brakes is easily enough. I also want tektro cable 'cross levers.
- longer wheelbase resulted in greater confidence on technical 3pks like descents compared to my old Milnes bike where I was constantly battling the physics of tipping over the bars. In cross racing the lack of a foot & wheel overlap (1 inch on the milnes bike) means I can put 175 cranks on and negotiate the tight racing turns.
- Comfort - the carbon forks (my first on a 'cross bike) and the rear triangle absorbed huge amount of rocky descent. Pen-y-Ghent will feel so different :-)
No comments:
Post a Comment