Giant Halfway Scratching my itch

[biggs682]

Just back from a 5 mile across town ride to drop off some supermarket recycling.

Took some tools to do a few adjustments en route IE rotate the bars and play with the height of them.

Found a bit more comfort and overall rides well just runs out of gears so just taking it easy.

Measured the Evo earlier and I made it 52 cm so a bit longer.

 

[biggs682]

First double figure ride completed on the Evo Two , very impressed all things considered.

Need to get on top of the Halfway then I can do some evaluation

 

[biggs682]

A fruitful hour in the garage after work has hopefully sorted the Giant and got it ready for a longer test ride.

Also fitted some double sided pedals and a selle SMP saddle and rotated the bars right forward to give me a bit more room and that meant having to re position the levers and twist grip control.

I also checked a few things on the Evo two and I had about 2 inches of seat post out over the min insertion mark which I did expect as I was playing with seat height on this morning's ride , and of course the very long Giant one is a different dimension so can't swap them over which means the Evo two will more than likely be sold.

 

[biggs682]

No further tests have been carried out due to not being well enough.
Managed an hour this morning in the garage removing the rear carrier from the Evo two and fitting it to the Halfway.

 

[biggs682]

A nice 8 mile ride completed this morning across town and back via cycle pathways and industrial estate roads on the halfway with the revised bar position and all went well.

 

[biggs682]

A 12 mile ride completed this morning on the Halfway did my normal Earls Barton loop so a mixture of roads IE country lanes and town roads it held its own and only about 5 minutes slower than a road bike.

No feeling of flex even when hitting bumps or leaning for bends 😄 quite impressive really.

 

[biggs682]

The halfway has come away to north Wales with us and fitted in the car behind the front seats nicely so no loss of luggage space.

Hopefully going to get a few rides in.

 

[biggs682]

Well the Halfway got me up more hills today between Gronant and Gwespyr than I have cycled up for years , it coped really well and surprised me and coming back down to Talacre was even steeper so glad I went in the direction I did.

Got a bit of headset movement just starting to show so will have a look at that once back home.

 

[N0bodyOfTheGoat]

Well the Halfway got me up more hills today between Gronant and Gwespyr than I have cycled up for years , it coped really well and surprised me and coming back down to Talacre was even steeper so glad I went in the direction I did.

The hills are generally very rampy around that area from my handful of visits to Prestatyn between '19 and '22 and it's always a shock when I had to "pick a poisonramp" to head inland... I soon leanrned to use the Prestatyn-Dyserth Way for some flat when feasible!
Hillside to Gwaenysgor (has a 33% sign at top, it's certainly very steep)
Ffordd Tanallt
Allt Y Graig
Waterfall Rd
etc.

The one hill that absolutely baffles me around their is the climb from the T-junction near the Llanerch Bridge (destroyed in the storms a few years ago and still unuseable) to Trimechion... How is that a categorised climb of 270-odd feet? Does it just feel super easy because of the steady low gradient compared to the ramps nearer Prestatyn?
https://www.strava.com/segments/31289795

If I hadn't developed long covid, I'm pretty certain I'd have bought that light blue Carrera 20" wheel folder with 9-speed and hydraulic brakes for under £350 when in sales, it was an absolute steal and would have been perfect for my train journeys to North Wales!
https://road.cc/content/review/carrera-intercity-disc-9-speed-folding-bike-292787

 

[biggs682]

@N0bodyOfTheGoat the Carreras were good value and get good reviews.
I am impressed with the Halfway it's a good bike to ride .
There are certainly some ramps up this way so It's nice to try them on my morning 12-15 mile ride.

 

[Drago]

If I hadn't developed long covid, I'm pretty certain I'd have bought that light blue Carrera 20" wheel folder with 9-speed and hydraulic brakes for under £350 when in sales, it was an absolute steal and would have been perfect for my train journeys to North Wales!
https://road.cc/content/review/carrera-intercity-disc-9-speed-folding-bike-292787

I have one. They ride like a dream, are so quick for a small wheeler I burst out laughing first time I rode it.

They are indeed perfect on the train and tube. I live in the middle and I've travelled by rail with mine down as far sarf as Ashford in Kent, and as far North as Edinburgh in Scotlandshire.

 

[biggs682]

I keep an eye out for another Halfway locally but with the single blade forks

 

[biggs682]

Another 12+ miles this morning with a degree of climbing.
Presthaven to Talacre on the flat coastal path then continued to Ffynngroyw then upwards to Pen-y-fford , Picton and down to Gronant and back to the start.

 

[biggs682]

Well I thought I ought to have a look at the headset freeplay tonight and sure enough the bearings and races were dry , so a quick clean and some fresh grease and re tighten it all up should see it good for a few more years.

I even got the slightly tight stem out and again cleaned up and a fresh smear of grease applied.