Only took it on a short 35k ride but so far, muy bueno. A very, very different bike to the Talbot. 25c, even tubeless on a wide rim, feels incredibly different to 30c tubeless on a wide rim. A huge amount, in fact. Mostly when out of the saddle, I can’t really throw the bike from side to side as much as do with the Talbot.
I feel this frame flexes far more where you’d want it to from a compliance perspective. Bumps in the road feel the same as they did on the Talbot, despite the skinnier tyres. The Talbot was built with MAX in a good few places including the chain stays, whereas this is far more forgiving in that area due to its svelte, heavily shaped stays.
It climbs effortlessly, too. Considering I’m very overweight at the moment, it was much easier to get up an incline than expected. The Talbot has admittedly always felt like a bit of a tank to climb with. This... like a race car by comparison.
Overall, I’m very happy indeed. Fit is mostly dialled other than bar height and the frame itself arguably is a better fit than the Talbot, too. Will probably bring it up a tiny bit then take it back to the shop to have it’s steerer cut once I’m happy with it.
Only took it on a short 35k ride but so far, muy bueno. A very, very different bike to the Talbot. 25c, even tubeless on a wide rim, feels incredibly different to 30c tubeless on a wide rim. A huge amount, in fact. Mostly when out of the saddle, I can’t really throw the bike from side to side as much as do with the Talbot.
I feel this frame flexes far more where you’d want it to from a compliance perspective. Bumps in the road feel the same as they did on the Talbot, despite the skinnier tyres. The Talbot was built with MAX in a good few places including the chain stays, whereas this is far more forgiving in that area due to its svelte, heavily shaped stays.
It climbs effortlessly, too. Considering I’m very overweight at the moment, it was much easier to get up an incline than expected. The Talbot has admittedly always felt like a bit of a tank to climb with. This... like a race car by comparison.
Overall, I’m very happy indeed. Fit is mostly dialled other than bar height and the frame itself arguably is a better fit than the Talbot, too. Will probably bring it up a tiny bit then take it back to the shop to have it’s steerer cut once I’m happy with it.