Last year wasn’t a good one for finishing big races – a broken collarbone brought an end to team-mate Mike Blewitt’s and my Absa Cape Epic campaign in 2011, and then my Craft Bike Transalp was cut short by a bunch of highly professional Italian thieves half-inching my lovely Scott Spark.
The silver lining to this particular cloud was, thanks an nicely timed change to my home insurance provider only six months earlier, a chunk of change to spend on a new race bike.
It’s a nice dilemma to have; but what to get? My choice wasn’t entirely free, because it had to come from the insurance company’s nominated replacement ‘specialist’ shop. I ended up working a few things out – I wanted plush Fox forks, familiar Shimano shifting and a very light 29er frame. I also liked my Scott and had read good things about the 2012 29ers. Then there’s the choice of hardtail or full-sus. I had enjoyed the few months I had managed to cram in on my Spark in 2011 before those Italian toe-rags intervened. But I feel my spiritual home is on a hardtail – great for climbing, simple, light. So Scott Scale 29 it was.
It ended up being a custom build – more expensive, but it means you get what you want. It’s also ended up being a bit of a mixed bag, but in a good way.
Then the problems started – come 20 January 2012, when the frame was due to arrive at the shop, I called them up to find that it wasn’t going to arrive until mid-May! Not ideal if you’re racing the Absa Cape Epic in March… So after much hunting around for alternatives, of which there weren’t many – apparently most manufacturers had totally underestimated UK demand for 29er frames – I ended up buying a frame from R&A Cycles in New York. Thanks to a friend of my girlfriend who lives in Brooklyn (thanks Brylie!), who went into the shop to order it for me, the frame arrived not much later.
The only thing I’m not pleased about with the bike so far is its carbon footprint…
I’ve had three proper rides on it so far, and first impressions are excellent. That said, I’m always sceptical of individuals’ opinions on bikes they’ve chosen and paid for themselves (as opposed to ‘professional’ reviewers in magazines), because it’s hard to admit to yourself, let alone the world, that you’ve made the wrong decision. And I’ve also got few points of reference – I’ve got unfamiliar wheels, wheel size!, forks, frame, tyres, etc., all at one go. But notwithstanding these two things, it feels great. I’ve had a good day around the Forest of Dean, a biggish ride on a familiar loop around the Black Mountains on the Welsh border, and now and probably most usefully, a night-ride on my home trails in Surrey.
Especially on familiar trails, I don’t sense any 29er-ish lack of agility. All I detect is lots of grip, lots of good momentum-carrying, and excellent stiffness, both in drivetrain and in steering. The only apparent drawback to the big wheels is that it’s harder to get the front wheel properly off the ground when popping a manual over trail obstacles; the flipside of that, though, is superlative climbing on steep stuff – in Wales, I was able to ride decent chunks of a ridiculously steep and rocky climb that is normally a hike-a-bike from start to finish.
Mainly, whenever I get on it I find myself wanting to absolutely hammer along as hard as I can. That I take to be the best indication I can find that this is a great bike. Bring on the Absa Cape Epic 2012! Only days to go now.
Full spec:
- Scott Scale 29er RC frameset, including Ritchey seatpost and saddle
- Fox Float Terralogic 100m
- Hope Hoops – Hope Pro 2 Evo hubs on Stans ZTR Crest rims
- Maxxis Ikons, running tubeless of course
- SRAM XX chainset, 39-26, for the narrow Q factor, with pressfit BB92 bottom bracket
- Shimano XT rear mech, with Mt Zoom super-light ceramic bearing jockey wheels installed
- XTR rear mech, because a mate was selling one cheap and almost new
- XT shifters
- XT pedals
- KMC chain
- SRAM XO brakes – I’ve always used Avid brakes, so “stick with what you know” is the motto
- Race Face Turbine flat bars, 710mm length and 8deg sweep
- Thomson stem; Mt Zoom top-cap / bolt combo
- Lightweight Mt Zoom bar-ends
- ESI Chunky silicone rubber grips
- Specialized Phenom Ti saddle (not the SMP Forma one in the picture – need more padding than that!)
- And for racing I’ve added Elite Cuissi Gel cages, an Arundel bag with tube, Lezyne multitool, CO2 and levers, and a Lezyne pump
- Weight? I don’t know – I don’t tend to weigh my bikes. But it feels light