This also takes guards, 35mm tyres and a rack.

I did over 40 miles  on this last night and it didn’t disappoint. The ride is as good as the Flyer and very smooth, the brakes are very good. In fact they may be too good, I think grabbing a handful on a bend at speed would be nasty on a slippy surface. They are fairly powerful and don’t have the progressive modulation of dual calipers. The wheels are fairly stiff with little sideways flex when climbing and roll very freely considering they are not as good as the ones on the Flyer. They run nicely on 23s and accelerate well, the bars are nice too having a compact drop which I’m used to. Best of all is the frame and forks, it really soaks up bumps and removes road buzz. It even minimises pot hole thud!! The only downside for me is the saddle, it rubs a bit which as you can imagine isn’t good! a Fizik Arione is on its way.

Fantastic bike – go buy one!!!

Although similar to the Flyer there are a few differences. Certain parts on the Flyer are better quality, forks & wheels for a start so you can see where the extra £100 comes from . I’m not a fan of mini v’s but these seem to work very well even with a nice gap from the rim. I will in time fit tektro cr520 cantis. This will have guards fitted and 23mm in summer and 35mm in winter.

I’ve not changed too much but will change to a Fizik saddle and fit a white industries freewheel when the current Shimano one starts to grumble. I may even risk a mini tour on it!!

Slideshow:

It even lugs my fishing gear around!

here’s a slideshow of the new additions:

Full Spec:

Frame size = small

headset = FSA Orbit XLII

stem = Ritchey carbon matrix

bars = 3t ergonova with 3/4″ removed to accomodate the bar end shifters without any out of saddle knee knocking!

tape = Brooks honey leather

shifters = Dura Ace bar end 9sp

brake levers = Cane creek SCR 5c black

seatpost = specialized carbon 27.2

saddle = Brooks b17 honey

wheels = DT Swiss x430 26″-dt swiss spokes

hubs = XT centrelock front/rear

front mech = XT       inline cable adjuster

rear mech = XT shadow      inline cable adjuster

Chainset = XT triple 48/34/22 hollowtech II plus XT external BB

Cassette = XT 11-32

chain = shimano hg93

Brakes = Avid BB7 road    180mm front / 160mm rear

tyres = 26 x 1.125 continental gatorskin

guards = 35mm sks road guards

pedals = time roc atac carbon

When I arrived on the far side of the lake  the wind was absolutely howling so I had a quick brew and bedded down for the night. I luckily wasn’t in the tent but the van wasn’t much better. There were cones hitting the van all night which gave me a heart attack the first time one hit the roof, the wind was whistling through the trees and the rain was bouncing off the roof. Usually when I go I’m up and out at first light, with having no sleep I didn’t wake up until 9.30am. I got out of the van and it was dull and still howling a gale. I didn’t fancy the climbs I had planned for the morning and it took a lot of effort to get ready and get going. It was 60 miles and on the folder that I hadn’t really tested yet.

Once going the wind wasn’t too bad in places and luckily eased off on the lower sections. It was different higher up though where it was exposed. I went from the lake up to Tynant ( blowing a gale) then down to  the south end of Bala along a road I’ve been meaning to ride again for a while now. It is completely free of traffic and has gates on it that you have to open to continue, maybe this is why the cars don’t venture along it. I then headed back towards Bala and took a turning off the main road, again a lovely empty road, this took me to the north end of Bala which was full of caravans and trailer tents being towed so i was glad to be on the road to Rhiwigor. This road is my favourite climb in Wales, from Vyrnwy side. I rarely do it this way but thouroughly enjoyed it. Once through the wooded sections it takes on the usual rocky mountain scene and is very desolate ( and windy)

As I approached some of the climbs I wondered if the bike would make it but the Sram hub gears were just like a compact chainset. It was raining heavily as I reached the summit so I stopped for a brew up under the trees for some shelter.

I’m not apologising for the blurry shot, I could barely hold the phone still!! Once stopped I realised just how cold it was the wind was bitterly cold and me cooling down didn’t help. A cuckoo was nearby so being in the middle of nowhere and nobody able to hear  I decided to cuckoo back. Within 3 minutes the cuckoo was sitting in the top of a tree about 20 feet from me. He looked then flew off and started to cuckoo away again. I didn’t see a goshawk this trip even though i’ve found one of its posts. There was a Peregrine watch around the lake but I didn’t see one of those either. On the descent from Rhiwigor a couple on bikes asked me if I’d been ‘up there’ on that. I said yes and offered them a race around the lake, they declined. Lucky really because i was knackered! This bike really can shift, looks are deceiving.

On getting back to the pitch I decided to call it a day, I was going to stay another day but the weather was too cold to enjoy it. I had some lunch and did 2 laps of the lake then headed home. On the last lap I stopped on the dam and watched the swallows for about 30 minutes catching the flies, you could almost reach out and touch them. A total of about 85 miles for the day on its first proper trip out.

The bike performed perfectly, it’s the closest i think I can get to a full size bike performance wise. It never faltered, the 20″ wheels are barely different from 26/27 wheels with the exception of going over cattle grids!

The weather is now lovely!!!! I’m looking through the window and the sun is shining and the wind has eased, just my luck.

It’s a nice ride and pretty agile although to be 100% truthful I could be on an aluminium frame rather than a reynolds 520 frameset. It’s almost impossible to tell the difference with the exception of the more comfy steel fork. The high flange white Formula hubs are nice on a bike of this price, they also have good bearings from the looks of it. The tyres are a bit slow but are comfy being 25s. I’ve decided to run this single speed rather than fixed so I’ve added a White Industries trials 18t Free wheel, what a beauty!! This really puts the Shimano ones to shame, smooth with no grumbles at all. It also makes a lovely loud tick when freewheeling, similar to Campag, which I like when approaching people/horses etc. on narrow lanes. I was going to use all polished campag bits to tart it up but changed my mind because it’s not an old lugged frame, it is actually a modern steel so I used all Ritchey finishing kit.

I’ve also added a 16t sprocket on the other side of the hub, this did need a small 1mm spacer on the inside to get a perfect chainline. Why people have found this a problem is a mystery to me!!

The only complaint I have with the bike is the need to add the third top tube cable clip. I went out with just the 2 on and the cable rattled on the top tube so much that I stopped and put a cable tie on it!! The third clip has cured it now. It also only has bolts for one bottle cage so the other bottle unfortunately has to be in my pocket.

So far the alterations include:

SRAM Rival brake calipers

44t Surly chain ring

Ritchey wet white seat post / stem / handlebars

Fizik Tundra white/ sid blue saddle with matching fizik sid blue bar tape

White industries 18t trials eno freewheel. Yes the green does match, the bike has green lining on the name plates.

Blackburn stainless bottle cage

below is a full shot and a slideshow of the close up bits

I’m a fan of Time pedals ( due to float and walkability ) but 2 pairs have failed on me recently with another on the way out

I’m sure these will be fine, the a520′s I have still got are ok but tatty now so I thought I’d try these, they also match the sl chainset (tart!!!)

So I went to buy this

or this

but ended up paying for this

I have now got another fixed/ss on the road for summer !! The Langster can stay on the trainer, I can’t ride around here with almost 100 gear inches anyway and it’s too much trouble to convert it for hilly road use. I couldn’t resist this really, no really. It was a one time offer and not to be missed, it was greatly reduced in price.

The only problem is that I’m still left with grinding the Peregrine drivetrain away . If this Genesis is a good bike I may just get the day one  for getting dirty on, especially now I haven’t got the mtb. I still have one of the racks empty and needs a bike hanging off it anyway but that’s the household limit once the rack’s full so I’ll have to choose very carefully which crosser to get.

The new bike is here tomorrow so I should be out after work…………….but they’ve forecast crap weather !!

I haven’t posted any pics of it before, it’s colour is called Rootbeer and I’ve added gold spangly bits to it.

It’s also recently had a brand new and unridden pair of Rockshox Reba race 100mm dual air forks fitted with a poploc on the bars.

Standard spec is:

clump alu frame

sunn Ditch witch rims

maxxis high rollers

xt rear mech

deore front mech

hayes nine hydraulics with bfl levers

deore shifters

fsa seatpost

I’ve also added:

fsa k-force carbon riser bars

spank saddle/grips/Royala stem

slx double chainset with bashguard

Hope  qr seatclamp / spacers / head doctor

halo porky gold qr’s

Cheapskate innertube chainstay protector

cycraguards

rrp mud guard

time z control pedals

cateye wireless comp

I’m thinking of selling this and getting another cross bike. Why I buy mountain bikes is a mystery , I never use them and always use the cross bikes!!

Firstly  the Specialized S-works Tricross. I’ve added all of the new bits – dura ace 7850 cl wheels, ultegra 6700 shifters, bar tape, ultegra sl standard chainset, 6700 front & rear mechs, chain, cassette. I hope the wheels withstand the local roads which are starting to look like third world dirt tracks!!!

Next the Singular Peregrine . I’ve changed it to summer mode for some insane reason! Guards removed, brooks Swift added and B17 stored. I’ve also found a good way to add the rear light! The Brooks honey tape is holding out very well. I DO add proofhide to it unlike others recommend and it seems to keep it clean.

Finally the Dahon Speed Pro TT. I’ve added guards and Koolstop tectonic pads because this will be used in all weathers. I’ve put drops on and shortened all cables as short as possible so it all still folds ok.

there’s 20 pics so I’ve stuck them into a slideshow -