Dogtrousers
Kilometre nibbler
I took my first steps into modernity recently. On holiday I hired a carbon Bianchi bike with hydro disc brakes (105 I think, I didn’t check the groupset).
I’ve never ridden a bike equipped with either carbon frame or discs before. The other major difference with my usual ride (a Spa Steel Audax with rim brakes) was a much smaller load, I normally carry a few kilos of pointless extra tools, food, other stuff. This time I was much more minimalist: Spare tube, levers, some snack bars, multitool, waterproof, phone.
First impressions were that it had a different, positive feel, especially when climbing (of which there was a lot – I was in the Pyrenées). First ride involved desperately chasing my wife on a hired e-bike up a steep twisty road to our accommodation and with fresh legs I was happy with how things went. Another immediate impression was “hey, these brakes are the wrong way round”. But that’s France for you.
The main event was climbing the Tourmalet which is a long slog (just under 20km at just under 8% overall) And to be honest all differences of the bike soon evaporated. The engine was still the same and it was just a case of keeping the pedals going. I soon forgot that I was on a different bike. OK the weight difference may have meant I was going 0.01 km/h or something faster for the same output but that didn’t matter, I was riding alone and not against the clock. It was the same experience, of just getting into a sustainable rhythm and staying there. Oh, and the saddle wasn’t very nice which gave me a reminder to put in occasional stretches standing on the pedals to let my backside recover.
Coming down was where I really felt the difference. Long steep descents with rim brakes can mean I have to stop to uncramp my hands, but the physical effort required to keep braking with the hydro discs was much, much less. All in all I did like the brakes a lot, even if they were the wrong way round.
So am I going to dash out and buy a carbon framed bike? Nope. Did I like the disc brakes? yes I certainly did.
I’ve never ridden a bike equipped with either carbon frame or discs before. The other major difference with my usual ride (a Spa Steel Audax with rim brakes) was a much smaller load, I normally carry a few kilos of pointless extra tools, food, other stuff. This time I was much more minimalist: Spare tube, levers, some snack bars, multitool, waterproof, phone.
First impressions were that it had a different, positive feel, especially when climbing (of which there was a lot – I was in the Pyrenées). First ride involved desperately chasing my wife on a hired e-bike up a steep twisty road to our accommodation and with fresh legs I was happy with how things went. Another immediate impression was “hey, these brakes are the wrong way round”. But that’s France for you.
The main event was climbing the Tourmalet which is a long slog (just under 20km at just under 8% overall) And to be honest all differences of the bike soon evaporated. The engine was still the same and it was just a case of keeping the pedals going. I soon forgot that I was on a different bike. OK the weight difference may have meant I was going 0.01 km/h or something faster for the same output but that didn’t matter, I was riding alone and not against the clock. It was the same experience, of just getting into a sustainable rhythm and staying there. Oh, and the saddle wasn’t very nice which gave me a reminder to put in occasional stretches standing on the pedals to let my backside recover.
Coming down was where I really felt the difference. Long steep descents with rim brakes can mean I have to stop to uncramp my hands, but the physical effort required to keep braking with the hydro discs was much, much less. All in all I did like the brakes a lot, even if they were the wrong way round.
So am I going to dash out and buy a carbon framed bike? Nope. Did I like the disc brakes? yes I certainly did.
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