You are reading a single comment by @ElGonzo and its replies.
Click here to read the full conversation.
London Fixed Gear and Single-Speed is a community of predominantly fixed gear and single-speed cyclists in and around London, UK.
This site is supported almost exclusively by donations. Please consider donating a small amount regularly.
Marcootsee
@ElGonzo
I’ve been very fortunate to spend some time cycling in Mallorca and Girona this month, Mallorca wasn’t an all-out cycling trip as I was with my partner so rides were kept short and with a fair bit of climbing, more freedom in Girona for longer days out. I took the Klein with me both times, with 53-39 and 11-28 it’s not exactly a climbing bike, but some cursory research suggested that I would just about be ok on that... Put in about 900kms and 13,000m in total with the longest day being around 140kms and 2,500m in Girona when we climbed both Mare de Déu del Mont and Rocacorba.
Given the aggressive geo, stiff frame, relatively thin tyres, etc. my main concern was comfort; not only on the day, but crucially the day after. Happy to report that I didn't feel completely broken riding back-to-back days, I mean yeah my legs were fucked at times, obviously, but the rest of me was relatively ok. Maybe it was because the rides had a fair bit of climbing which meant time out of the saddle. When the position did become a bit of an issue was on long descents, staying in the drops for any kind of decent stint did start to make my back and neck quite achey. That aside the bike was brilliant. Between the two trips I got my hands on a seatpost with less setback and I also got hold of some Ultegra 8000 derailleurs so the whole drivetrain is now 8000. I may look at getting matching levers and calipers but that's very low down the list of priorities right now.
A word on the Panaracer Agilests; really nice tyres. I fear they'll get cut to absolute shit on UK roads but out in Spain they were brilliant. Carbon rim brakes on the other hand, well, I treated them with the utmost respect and didn't push my luck on any descent, did start to experience brake fade on the longer descents and 13kms down Rocacorba in biblical rain is not something I want to experience again. I'm guessing the lack of grooves on the braking surface doesn't help things but oh well, they still got me round and surprisingly there's some life left in the pads!!!
1 Attachment