Nice looking bike - it fills the same brief that my audax bike has evolved into, but with more panache.

How do the 'Speed Zertz' work, i.e. what form do the fork blades take where they pass through the (presumably) elastomers?

Why cantis rather than Vs? Is it still the case that you're very limited when it comes to V-compatible drop levers? What V-options (if any) exist for the levers that wouldn't require bodging on bar end shifters?

Great bike for Winter training and pootling about on if you ask me.

I think bikes like this ought to be more popular. I picked up a Cannondale Cyclecross disk brake version at reduced price 3 years ago. Needed to get the gearing a bit lower than cyclecross standard so I just stuck a 34 tooth dinner plate on it and fitted race blades as the disks mean no room for full guards

I never intend to ride cross on it but find it ideal for winter commuting on the rutted tarmac and potholes that Sheffield council call roads. It gets me home on the odd day of snow. I can save my best road bike yet still keep up with the winter road rides on it and I can join in with my off road mates as well.

Sure the really serious stuff is beyond it but mostly we ride woodland trails and tracks where it’s actually quicker then the rest anyway.



Ian

Monty Wick,canti's work better with road sti due to the amount of cable they pull. Using V's would have resulted in long lever travel and little modulation unless you used a cable gismo that adjust the cable pull.
Speed Zerts as opposed to full on zerts,sit on the outside of the fork,but are still effect in taking out the buzz.

Mike D it actually has 3 bolt mounts,there is one on the down tube.I also found it fine for CC racing ending my first year of CC racing ranked 212th in the country !!!!!! ;¬) I have to admit i've not raced a specific CC bike though. Weight can be easily and cheaply saved on this bike as well.Got to agree that it is scarily do-able of road. I had to remind myself i was on road wheels on a stone singletrack section as i shot along dropping some of the mtb boys.

Yeah, I know that JD, but I also know there's at least one set of drop levers on the market configured for Vs. It's just a question of jigging the lever geometry, same as it was canti levers when Vs first came out. Given that many tourers use Vs and drops, I would've thought Shimano had at least one set of compatible lever/shifter combos, but not being the kinda guy who pores over catalogues, I'm not familiar with the ranges available.

I much prefer reviews of quirky bikes like this, as opposed to yet another 5" 'all-mountain' blah blah, which the Nicolai man effectively admitted in the MBR thread are all the feckin' same anyway to all intents and purposes.

Maybe its because canti's offer better mud clearance than V brakes ?!?!

I love mine, put Ultegra 10 speed on it straight off, couldn't be doing with the nasty 8 speed stuff!

Friend of mine who has one does truly insane stuff on it, ironically the only thing he changed was the seatpost- to an Alien Titanium and snapped the head in half last time we were out!

Think I'll put some mid range Bontrager wheels on it too, then she'll fly!

And sadly Montgomery, Shimano don't do any STIs that are V-Brake compatible, as they're all ultimately designed for calliper brakes, they don't feel amazing with cantis IMO and they feel down right shite with V-Brakes. I've put some Avid jobbies on there and they're surprisingly handy really.

I can't see 10spd working in the mud as well as 9,if at all, yet alone as well as my luuurrvvveee 8spd.

Been ok so far, it was mainly so I could swap my 'turbo trainer' wheel around between my road bike, and because I've been spoiled by the Dura Ace 10 speed shifters!

If you want to run V brakes with road levers, use a Travel Agent (got mine from the LBS but I thnk CRC or Wiggle do em).

I swapped my front Avid Shorty 6 (canti brake)for an Avid vee and find it loads better. The bike is used for commuting mainly, but has done some Cross races too. Mud clearance isn't an issue - Vees are fine.

No mention of the ill fated trip on the SPC with it then, Mike?

No mention of the ill fated trip on the SPC with it then, Mike?

I don't think it's terribly relevant - it was far from the only bike to shed a hanger that day ;-)

Too true!

Was just wondering how it had fared before the mechanical. Especially as I do a fair amount of riding on the Plain all year round, and thought it might be one to add to the new toy list!

Those Travel Agents look interesting, ta.

Was just wondering how it had fared before the mechanical.

It was fine. Not enough grip on the steeper chalky climbs, but again, certainly not alone in that. Rocketship on the Tarmac bits :-)

I don't like Travel Agents etc, they're fiddly and usually spongy. You can get mini Vs that don't need different levers, or get Dia Compe 287V levers and old-school bar-end levers and use normal Vs.

Grip? On that terrain? You are joking, Mike, yes?

There was no grip for anyone!

HAd a good look over and a test spin on one at the weekend. Tempted. Very tempted. Thing is, a Pompino might offer better value, even without the gears.

I had a look at one of these as an all-round road bike. Very nice, and would have taken a rack etc very well, but the limited gearing just knocked it on the head for me - not high enough, not low enough. Bought myself a Kona Sutra instead - also very MTB-like in geometry, but has Avid BB7 disks too.

I'm just addressing the gearing for a customer at the moment. Its going out with a 105 long cage mech to take a 11-30 cassette and the 34 inner ring is dropping to a 33, not much of a drop but a bit better. I feel and so does the new owner that a 48/11 will allow him to go plenty fast enough. On mine i have the 48/12 it comes with and don't spin out till about 30mph which is ok for everything except a road race imo. I found the gearing ok for all i've done off road and road,but this customer is touring fairly loaded i wanted to get lower gears.

Discs would be nice in terms of rim wear,but the added weight for no better braking due to the small contact patch of the tyres,there not worth it on this bike. Also i'm running 2 different wheel sets at the moment and hopefully by next winters CC race season will have another set of race wheels. Its just easier/cheaper to have rim brakes when swapping wheels than disc wheels and all those extra rotors or rotor swapping.

The Travel Agent on my bike is fine - set up carefully it seems positive abd direct, not spongy at all. It does require a bit of care when replacing cables, it only adds 5 minutes to the job though.