So today I managed to steal three hours to snaffle a ride at Llandegla. Plan was to do the blue route because I wanted an easy test of the bike so I could get used to it and in case of a build dogtastrophe occuring halfway and because I had only enough time to do that and quick loop of the skills area before needing to be back. It all went swimmingly to plan up until I locked my keys in the car then the day went a bit excrement shaped....
So, never mind that, how did the bike ride: it's definitely a first impressions post this, I 'll need a few more rides before man and machine are one. I didn't start too well with the front wheel sliding a bit on the gravel bends which made me a bit cautious until I remembered I'd left 40psi in both tyres. I left it like that until I got to the top of the climb and then I stopped and let some air out front and back, which was bit guesstastic but...
I set off down and felt reasonably comfortable with the position. I wasn't quite at one with the bike and was scrubbing speed off too much before bends and obstacles, one of the reasons I picked the blue but I managed to get a few sections right and that felt good. Bike feels very tight and quick, needing little input, certainly not ponderous, in fact I forgot it was a 29er. The back end is stiff though, get the position on the bike wrong and the back skits, especially under braking. I need to keep more weight back than I usually do. I might yet change tyres on the back because of that, I'll see.
I also let a bit more air out the front and that seemed to improve things but the sliding was still fresh in my mind and I'll need some time to find the limits of this bike and tyres so didn't really push it. Front suspension is plush. I still actually had feeling in my hands when I finished.
One of the things I was unsure of was getting the bike up off the ground ( I speak here in terms of my limited abilities). I needn't have worried. I managed a few little airs off humps without any difficulty and though there's no real need on the blue, could easily pull a manual, both things much easier than on my old Marin.
In the skills area, the forks easily absorbed the drop offs in comfort. There's a couple of short steep climbs there and I felt the front end lift a bit on them, I'll have to try more to see if I need to alter the stack height.
That was all I took from today, I'll start to fill in the gaps on other rides. So far though, I reckon this is going to suit me once I get more used to it.
Oh, I checked the pressures when I got back. 20 in the front and 25 back, that surprised me. My old Velociraptors would have been flat at those pressures. I'll start at around 30 next time.
Here's the ride
http://app.strava.com/activities/95204148
