Well after work dragging their heels unbelievably (C2W) the 2nd week in January I finally got the Hurricane !
After tweeking the fit and a couple of upgrades/changes I’m pretty happy how it is now (although if a lighter seat post, stem and handlebars become available I might take a punt
)
Changes/upgrades :
Wheels and tyres
Swapped out the wired clincher tyres to 28mm Hutchinson tubeless
The standard wheels were also quite heavy so after looking at reviews I settled on the scribe alloy disc wheelset.
With just these two changes I saved over 500g of rotating weight. Did my first ride on them today and definitely felt they spun up quicker than the old set up.
Different crankset.
I run the same stages power meter on all my bikes so needed a 175mm crankset for the Hurricane (it’s supplied with a 172.5 and Planet X wouldn’t swap it out) As luck would have it I saw a brand new 175mm crankset on
eBay that in his description said was to long for him. I msg him and asked if he would be interested in a swap and agreed
Even better was he lived less than 30miles away, happy days
Mudguards
Because it’s going to be primary my winter bike I fitted some Kinesis Fend Off mudguards and I’m very happy with them. It says a lot when if I’m out on a group ride and the roads are wet everyone wants to be on my wheel
To complement the build my grown up son ordered at top cap for me, I’m making no apologies for what it says, it suits my personality
How does it ride ?
Very, very smoothly. Don’t know if it’s the frame, 28mm tyres at 70psi or both but it’s much nicer to ride than my Aluminium Sensa that I used previously. Not quite as good as my (very high spec) 2015 Hi mod Cannondale but not far off. It is stealthy quiet though, proper mudguard mounts with those Kinesis make a world off difference, no rattling at all.
Running sram shifters and derailleurs for the first time on a roadbike. Bit of a mixed bag really, took little time to get used to them, the rear mech is kinda clunky but in a good way. Very positive shifting up or down the block. Not quite as enamoured about the front though, it changes fine going either way on the rings but compared to my Dura Ace 9000 on my Cannondale the lever is very, very stiff. In fact one cold ride I was struggling to change from the inner to the big ring.
Also on disc brakes for the first time and although it’s still early days have to say I don’t feel they’re any better than my DA callipers and carbon rims on the Cannondale, even in the wet. I might change my mind though after a few more rides.
