Tuesday 17 February 2015

The London Bike Show



This Sunday David and I went to the London bike show and neither of us bought much. In fact I only bought some electrolite tabs as they were half price and I'd been meaning to get some for when the weather picks up a bit.

David had been threatening to buy a bike, but good sense prevailed and so we drooled and enquired, oooohed and aaahhhd, discussed the various merits and asked a lot of questions. One thing that really struck me was how passionate and loyal to the brand they work  for many of the staff are.

I went expecting to see the Canyon Endurace and be smitten by it's sensible German attitude and equipment. It is a very good bike, but there was a real  lack of passion at the stand. All the Canyons collectively displayed in their incredibly competent and good value spec lacked a bit of sparkle.

Helmets

In my quest to find a helmet that I can't get burnt through and is  comfortable on a bald head I spent a fair bit of time looking at helmets.

Bikes

We made the mistake of heading to the Dolan stall early in the morning. To get there we had to pass the Starley stall with their beautiful Stainless Steel bike blocking my path. Beautiful but I don't need a race bike so I'm able to resist. We're heading to the Dolan stall to look at the Tuono but I'm immediately stopped dead in my tracks by the Dolan ADX ti. Very pretty in the flesh and with a really great spec on the show model very unfair. All through the day I kept coming back to it in my mind.

The Kinesis and Enigma both had better frames... The Orro and the Canyon a much  more affordable type of performance... but the Dolan had it. 

"It"

That weird thing that happens when a bike is just right. The Dolan staff are an absolute credit to the company, being both knowledgeable and passionate whilst remaining helpful and unobtrusive. 


The lovely Kask Protone 

 Giro space age commuter helmet

 The Kinesis Racelite GF_Ti

Orro Oxygen

The very pretty Dolan ADX Ti

Front view
 Campagnolo Chorus fitted to the Dolan ADX ti

Friday 6 February 2015

Already looking forward to the London bike show.

I'd really like to buy a new bike this year. My trusty Kona is a lovely bike but...

  • The wheels are heavy and nearly worn through at the rim,
  • The chain set is a little shonky (It's actually fallen apart once on a ride)
  • The rear derailler is bent beyond repair (by that I mean I've been told not to straighten it again)
  • The brakes are awful (I realised the brakes on the brompton are much, much better)
I looked at replacing all the worn parts and I'm looking at a few hundred quid, which I might still do if I'm allowed to have 3 bikes.

David and I are off to the London bike show ostensibly to get him a new bike, and whilst I'm not in the position to buy one yet, I'm using the opportunity to see some possibles and some unobtainables in the flesh (carbon,steel and ti)

What do I need from this bike?
  • Light. It's all relative isn't it? I mean around 8-9kgs for steel or ti and 7-8kgs for a carbon offering
  • Comfortable. I'm going to ride it for 20 out of 24 hours in August
  • Reliable. See above.
  • Something I'm proud to ride.
I'm probably going to carry 2-3 water bottles a snack and a jacket, tool, 2 tubes, snacks, batteries, more food, and a first aid kit (did I mention snacks?). I'm thinking that it'll need to be sturdy.

My list at the moment is...
  • Canyon Endurace (probably the Ultegra but I'd love the Campagnolo Chorus)
  • Orro Oxygen
  • Van Nicholas Ventus
  • Starley (something unmemorable like a number)
  • Planet X - RT58
I'd also like to look at lots of others. Weirdly the endurace in a size small is almost the exact same proportions and dimensions as my Kona...