StuAff
Silencing his legs regularly
- Location
- Portsmouth
Stevevw's Mares (which if I remember correctly he's just sold) looked great, and they get decent reviews.
N+1 beckons............
- Thread starter Flying Dodo
- Start date
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velovoice
Veteran
- Location
- Between the City and the Sea
It's actually quite fun ridden solo - feels surprisingly like a large(r) Brompton.lol.... I want a go of that
OP
OP
Flying Dodo
It'll soon be summer
Right, after going round umpteen different bikes shops and extensive test riding , I've whittled down to a choice of 2:- the Whyte Charing Cross, or Evans own brand Pinnacle Arkose Three. £999 or £1,000.
Both bikes seem to have naff tyres fitted as standard, and seeing as this will be a commuter bike, I'd have to fork out for some Marathon Pluses.
Overall though, the Arkose Three is better equipped with 105 compared with Tiagra, and having BB7 brakes which felt much better than the BB5's fitted to the Charing Cross. However, the Whyte bike felt very slightly lighter, and was a very nice design, especially the seat stays, but the frame does have very relaxed handling - many reviews refer to it as languid. It also stood out more as being a bit out of the ordinary. Now I would normally revel in that, but bearing in mind I might occasionally be leaving this locked up in central London, or at a train station, the sensible part of me is erring towards the Arkose Three, especially as buying it from Evans via Quidco this week gives me 5% cashback.
Decisions, decisions.......
Both bikes seem to have naff tyres fitted as standard, and seeing as this will be a commuter bike, I'd have to fork out for some Marathon Pluses.
Overall though, the Arkose Three is better equipped with 105 compared with Tiagra, and having BB7 brakes which felt much better than the BB5's fitted to the Charing Cross. However, the Whyte bike felt very slightly lighter, and was a very nice design, especially the seat stays, but the frame does have very relaxed handling - many reviews refer to it as languid. It also stood out more as being a bit out of the ordinary. Now I would normally revel in that, but bearing in mind I might occasionally be leaving this locked up in central London, or at a train station, the sensible part of me is erring towards the Arkose Three, especially as buying it from Evans via Quidco this week gives me 5% cashback.
Decisions, decisions.......
OP
OP
Flying Dodo
It'll soon be summer
And I've clicked on the Evans Pinnacle Arkose Three.
Daft name (type of sedimentary rock) but it's a lovely silver finish. It'll be delivered to work (seeing as it's a Cycle to Work bike), and in fact surprisingly enough, this one will actually be used for commuting on a daily basis.
It may even get an outing for the FNRttC to Burnham at the end of the month.
Daft name (type of sedimentary rock) but it's a lovely silver finish. It'll be delivered to work (seeing as it's a Cycle to Work bike), and in fact surprisingly enough, this one will actually be used for commuting on a daily basis.
It may even get an outing for the FNRttC to Burnham at the end of the month.
StuAff
Silencing his legs regularly
- Location
- Portsmouth
Nice bike! Better spec than the Trek Crossrip as well (that has Sora on the better version). These urban CX types really are jacks of all trades (and masters of most of them). The Portland is the commuter, but it's certainly not 'fourth best' bike- it's more comfortable than the Condor, and even the Viner in certain circumstances, and not much slower.
Tyre recommendation: Marathon Supremes (get them from Germany). Knocked a pound of the Portland's weight (regular Marathons before). Still tough (Vectran layer), but much faster.
Tyre recommendation: Marathon Supremes (get them from Germany). Knocked a pound of the Portland's weight (regular Marathons before). Still tough (Vectran layer), but much faster.
yup, I like that. And with the gearing you will be able to climb Mt Everest with ease. 
I found that the BB7's needed a little adjustment at first, but once bedded in they work perfect.
When you need new pads Adam, I found Disco Brakes to be very good. The Semi Metallic pads are £5.25 a pair. And you will find the pads will last 5000+ miles easy.
Welcome to the world of non black gungy brake dust rims...
I found that the BB7's needed a little adjustment at first, but once bedded in they work perfect.
When you need new pads Adam, I found Disco Brakes to be very good. The Semi Metallic pads are £5.25 a pair. And you will find the pads will last 5000+ miles easy.
Welcome to the world of non black gungy brake dust rims...
OP
OP
Flying Dodo
It'll soon be summer
A belated photo of the new bike in full commuter mode:-
I've flipped the stem and replaced the cheap, nasty nylon nobbly tyres with 28 mm Marathon Pluses, and added a rack and mudguards. Generally, I'd say the spanner monkeys at Evans had done a good job of assembling the bike. Most things seemed to be greased up ok, although there was no grease on the wheel skewers, and bearing in mind the way the pedals turn when the bike is pushed along, there's some drag on the rear wheel. Whoever they got to actually build the frame didn't blank off the bolt holes for the rack or mudguards bolts, so they had a layer of lacquer which meant some issues getting bolts to thread correctly. But apart from that, it all seems nice & solid, and the gears were set up perfectly. I've started pulling off the massive Alex stickers on the wheels, as they look daft.
I've now done a week of commuting on it, and also did the 50 odd miles to Burnham for last Friday's FNRttC, as a shakedown to see if the fit needs tweaking at all, but nothing ached, although I think I'll see about a slightly shorter stem.
I'm really pleased with it, as it handles well, is fast(ish), and is definitely lighter than my old commuter bike.
I've belatedly realised that 3 of my bikes are now silver-ish in colour. The last car I had was also silver. Make of that what you will.
I've flipped the stem and replaced the cheap, nasty nylon nobbly tyres with 28 mm Marathon Pluses, and added a rack and mudguards. Generally, I'd say the spanner monkeys at Evans had done a good job of assembling the bike. Most things seemed to be greased up ok, although there was no grease on the wheel skewers, and bearing in mind the way the pedals turn when the bike is pushed along, there's some drag on the rear wheel. Whoever they got to actually build the frame didn't blank off the bolt holes for the rack or mudguards bolts, so they had a layer of lacquer which meant some issues getting bolts to thread correctly. But apart from that, it all seems nice & solid, and the gears were set up perfectly. I've started pulling off the massive Alex stickers on the wheels, as they look daft.
I've now done a week of commuting on it, and also did the 50 odd miles to Burnham for last Friday's FNRttC, as a shakedown to see if the fit needs tweaking at all, but nothing ached, although I think I'll see about a slightly shorter stem.
I'm really pleased with it, as it handles well, is fast(ish), and is definitely lighter than my old commuter bike.
I've belatedly realised that 3 of my bikes are now silver-ish in colour. The last car I had was also silver. Make of that what you will.
OP
OP
Flying Dodo
It'll soon be summer
Something I forgot to mention was the goody bag provided by Evans. This contained small & large shims for adjusting the angle of the STI levers, some spare bolts, a spare rear dérailleur hangar, various Shimano manuals, a mini-tool set, and the pièce de résistance, a very high quality pedal spanner, which was marked with the correct way to tighten pedals (very handy, as I can never remember).
velovoice
Veteran
- Location
- Between the City and the Sea
Evans is a participating bike shop (chain) so why wouldn't they?
OP
OP
Flying Dodo
It'll soon be summer
I've decided to get a second set of wheels, so that I can use the original wheels in winter with a set of Marathon Winter studded tyres to quickly fit on when the weather's nasty. However, I can't seem to find anywhere with 700 disc wheels at a decent price. Anyone got any suggestions?
Evans cycles and Simpson cycles has some
