Taking prototype bikes out for the weekend has to be one of the biggest perks of the job here at the Adventure Dojo. I’d like to leave here with my initial first reaction to swinging my leg over this new bike. I rode what is a pretty typical weekend, a cafe spin on Saturday morning and a longer ride on some of my favourite roads in the Dandenongs on Sunday. Only about 140km in total. But the difference in feel of this bike was crazy. As soon as I rolled down the street I knew this thing was gonna be like rolling through the hills on what I imagine riding a double decker extra fluffy cloud would be like. I’m looking forward to putting some extra kms on it to really get dialled in, but for now, my initial thoughts. 

Ride feel & Geo Tweaks:

Now this thing is one smooth ride. Nippy, agile and light at slower speeds, you can dart around on it and throw it into corners. But smooth and insanely stable once you point it downhill. I don’t classify myself as someone with much descending prowess, but this rig is confidence inspiring. I had no problem at all chucking it around the nongs descents and it felt confident as hell on the rolling twists and turns on my little test loop. The thinner chainstays and flattened top tube really do soak up so much road buzz, even more than what you’d expect from a ti frame. 

The ride is more relaxed to what I’m usually used to. But, that's the idea. A bit more chilled out and higher on the front end, only added to the confidence inspiring ride, combined with the Walmer bars, this is one COMFY rig.

Smooth as butter, no notes Jimmy. Hell yeah!

Groupset & Tyres:

This was my first time using the new SRAM E1 road groupset. The new lever shape and braking continues to amaze me. The extra control on the braking, and the ability to brake with one finger really is a game changer.

And as the shift for all bikes seems to be in wider tyres, road bikes included. I’ve been running 32mm on my Belgie Disc and the jump up to 40mms was very welcomed. The modern era of tyres, even this wide, feel super quick, with no noticeable increase in drag at regular cruising speeds. But with just so much confidence in the corners, and much less worry about road debris, dodgy gutters or unexpected pot holes. It really feels like a bit of a gamechanger. To have the speed on the road, but a 40mm slick will be perfectly capable on light gravel, it's a no-brainer really.

Mudguards & Dynamo:

Did riding around in December in Australia with full mudguards turn some heads? Yes. Did I love every second of it? More yes.

Just the practicality of this bike is phenomenal. 40mm slicks, full mudguards and the internal dynamo lighting. It really is the age of the do it all big tyre roadie. You could cruise on this thing all year round, anywhere you like, and you don’t have to worry about getting wet or forgetting to charge your lights. So if it was the daily commute with a few club runs chucked in, or a long distance endurance mission to get across a country, this bike really would have you covered through anything.

And as a Brit, mudguards rock. 

Why do we do prototyping?

Prototyping is a fundamental stage in the process of bringing a bike to production. And in my short loop round the hills I found out why. After stopping for maybe the third time to adjust the seat height, I remembered maybe putting some carbon paste on the seatpost wouldn’t have been a bad idea. Something you forget when running just solely Ti bikes. The mudguard bolts too, were just done up to bike-show-spec torque, not road-ready torque. And lastly the poor little front dynamo light mount. A super elegant solution to neaten up the front end, but as I discovered not beefy enough to survive the real world.

All part of the process, and a super valuable step, back into the workshop we go!

Conclusion:

This bike really was a treat to ride. It couldn’t be more different to my usual Belgie Disc setup in race mode, but it was a pleasure to ride, and honestly I was surprised how much I loved it. I’m excited to give it a run on some gravel operations too! If you’re after that more relaxed, confidence inspiring, smooth ride, a bike to go long on or just your new maximum capacity commuter extraordinaire. This will be the rig for you.