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@skoota
My first polo bike was a gazelle champion mondial, that i rode fixed / front brake.
My second was a version 1 14bikeco polo bike that me, aidan and dave 'designed / asked' for to be built. It was basically a track bike with 0 rake. It was a deep end to jump into and not everyone agrees on the rake issue. But once i got used to it, i've always felt is the right way to go.
We started to look to a V3. We wanted to go the route of a traditional grass bike but with the hardcourt aggressiveness. It took some time and now i have the V3, (which i ordered with couplers for travelling). Even now if i have changed my saddle, front tyre, twisted the bars a bit forward or backwards, the bike feels entirely different.
If i ride, todds, or luca's, or daves they all feel different and i realise that even if you have geo in common. the cushion of your saddle ( i have tried 5 different ones in two months), the pedals you ride, the rise of your bar / stem, the grip of your brake front or rear, makes a huge difference to the bike handling. Sometimes my bike feels completely dialled, i'll have an amazing night of throw-ins and i can't stop looking at it once i have got home.
On occasion my girlfriend gets pissed at me for staring at the rack longingly, rather than watching the movie or listening intently to our conversation. At other times i just can't get it to feel right. The wheel wobbles a little, the headset is not right, i bang my ankles on the cranks, the brakes feel spongy and yet i still stare at it on the rack, as if i am having a silent conversation, trying to get under its skin and ask it 'whats wrong? How can i make you happier?' I have always ridden with a disc on the front until the Lii, never liked the look of the bike without it, like a photo shoot in 'OK' magazine where they are permanently missing their shoes. This last two weeks i look at it with the spokes showing proudly and love its classic lines. Discs are now soooo 2011.
I have ridden every braking setup you can think of, tried most tyres and always feel not to say 'never' to a change. I have a quick go on everyone else's bike at some point or another, but mine is the best. It hasn't got a paint job, it has 'livery'. It isn't a bike it's a business partner that doesn't always subscribe to my point of view.