I was pretty nervous from the day I won the auction till my first moment with the bike. I was anxiously waiting for the first ride. I have always been a good biker, loving the city buzz to push myself to the limit (and ahm sometimes over the limit of road legalities ;-) )
And riding the new bike has been just great, a totally new experience. I felt that I was at the beginning of a new learning experience. The bike is so direct, so responsive and so light, it really is mind blowing. I can assure you if you like cycling and you have had a "normal" bike till now, try a speed bike or a road racer. If you feel that you can handle such a beast after a little familiarisation, then go for it, don't hesitate, as one sports manufacturer puts it, just do it.
My first hand on experiences...
At first I really had to get used to the responsiveness of the bike and it took me a bit to feel comfortable enough to test the limits of the bike. The other thing to get used to are the klick shoes. (More on that in a later article).
Then I had to become confident enough for an out of the saddle acceleration (I am not a mothertongue English speaker, so I had to check the correct word for standing on the pedals, or standing up on the bike, which is "honking" ;-). Funny, but honestly, having always had bikes weighing more then 12 kilos, honking on my new lightweight racer feels like learning that technique all over again.
And then the no-handed ride, yes I know, not allowed in many countries and a little risky. But it's great for the sense of balance and it is doing some good for my back. At low speeds, that is quite easy on my new racer, but boy was I in for a surprise at speeds of 35kmh or faster. The bike is so direct and nervous that taking the hands off the handle bar is not an option at those speeds. Once I forgot that mantra when coming to the end of a nice downhill, the bike suddenly began to vibrate and to sflutter. I promise I won't try that again. But then at those speeds one shouldn't try to do that anyway ;-)
Despite the bike being a road racer I use it every day, to get to work or to wherever I need to go. I use a backback and I have bought a good lock, necessary evils for a normal use of a bike in a city. All this adds to the weight, but I wouldn't want to miss the thrill, the unique experience of riding a race bike whenever I can.
And riding the new bike has been just great, a totally new experience. I felt that I was at the beginning of a new learning experience. The bike is so direct, so responsive and so light, it really is mind blowing. I can assure you if you like cycling and you have had a "normal" bike till now, try a speed bike or a road racer. If you feel that you can handle such a beast after a little familiarisation, then go for it, don't hesitate, as one sports manufacturer puts it, just do it.
My first hand on experiences...
At first I really had to get used to the responsiveness of the bike and it took me a bit to feel comfortable enough to test the limits of the bike. The other thing to get used to are the klick shoes. (More on that in a later article).
Then I had to become confident enough for an out of the saddle acceleration (I am not a mothertongue English speaker, so I had to check the correct word for standing on the pedals, or standing up on the bike, which is "honking" ;-). Funny, but honestly, having always had bikes weighing more then 12 kilos, honking on my new lightweight racer feels like learning that technique all over again.
And then the no-handed ride, yes I know, not allowed in many countries and a little risky. But it's great for the sense of balance and it is doing some good for my back. At low speeds, that is quite easy on my new racer, but boy was I in for a surprise at speeds of 35kmh or faster. The bike is so direct and nervous that taking the hands off the handle bar is not an option at those speeds. Once I forgot that mantra when coming to the end of a nice downhill, the bike suddenly began to vibrate and to sflutter. I promise I won't try that again. But then at those speeds one shouldn't try to do that anyway ;-)
Despite the bike being a road racer I use it every day, to get to work or to wherever I need to go. I use a backback and I have bought a good lock, necessary evils for a normal use of a bike in a city. All this adds to the weight, but I wouldn't want to miss the thrill, the unique experience of riding a race bike whenever I can.
Blogged with Flock
Tags: racebike, experience, no-hands, honking
You're very lucky - as you may remember, the roads in Oxford are so poor that anything less than a tough mountain-bike soon gets shaken to pieces!
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