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I sold my mountain bike in 2006 mainly because, aside from a few major events each year, I wasn't getting the use out of it that I wanted here in Cornwall. I like big days out and cross-country epics of the flavour that only the Lakes, Peak, Dales and Scotland can really offer. Cornwall is a land of relatively unchallenging muddy singletrack and long road sections to link the trails together, so a cyclo cross machine was the perfect solution to getting my muddy-bottom fix away from the tarmac. The Surly frame weighs a ton (well, relative to my road bikes) being tough-as-old-boots steel, but it's very versatile, suitably retro for my taste and the natural steel flex makes it comfortable to ride for long days. It's a bit heavy for the local cyclocross racing league... but I have other plans of a titanium flavour for that (stay tuned to find out... around mid-2007 I reckon). This has put the fun back into the local off-road riding - skinny tyres, drop handlebars and rigid forks are terrific fun and I've surprised myself with just how challenging a terrain I can cope with on this thing. To keep costs down, and as stuff gets abused off-road anyway, most of the componentry is secondhand... it turned out rather unintentionally classy anyway so I'm pretty please with the end result. The best bargain was the RaceFace Cadence crankset, virtually brand new and with a retail value of £140, I picked it up for a measly £50. Good fun. Just in case you really care, because I don't, it's no lightweight at 23lbs! |
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