It was one of those rare moments we have this time of year here. 99% of the snow has been melted off, leaving dirt behind in the woods. Typically, this means traveling in the woods is not recommended as the temperatures are above freezing, but not really warm enough to dry things out.
Such is not the case today. As I type its 16°f. When I rode this afternoon, temps were in the low 20°'s. With last nights single digits, I was guaranteed a nice frozen trail to ride! So I slaved away at work, eagerly anticipating my first date with the Swift.
I wasn't disappointed.
The bike handles very well. Steering is easy, almost effortless. Changing direction happens quickly, but not so fast that you can't recover from any mistakes. There really is a remarkably light touch to flipping the bike through the trees. Nice! Sam did a really fantastic job in coming up with the geometry on this bike. I know he did some voodoo with the front end trail figures. Stuff that I really haven't been able to wrap my head around quite yet. What ever he did, it works. And well.
Climbing was another revelation. A while back, I owned a bike that many considered a benchmark for how it rode. Specifically, how it climbed. I could never get on with that bike. It left my stable pretty fast. This bike though. Night and day difference. Scampers right up climbs easy as pie. Standing and hammering suits it well. Positioning on the bike is spot on with a flat bar and short, flat stem. Seated climbing was much the same, but I didn't really get to test that part today.
Listening to: Iron + Wine//Boy With a Coin
8 comments:
Wow, Marty, that's an amazingly beautiful ride... Congratulations! Glad to see you're getting out and getting some saddle time too!
Cheers,
MG
Thanks MG. Felt really good to have the tires on dirt.
Dirt? Someday. I'm falling a bit behind in my miles. Hope to make it up soon.
Marty, we have to find a day to ride together in '09. I'd even come down there after work sometime, camp and ride in the early morning sometime. That way you can do all the fatherly and business owner things you need to do.
Oh...Nice bike. I like the red touches.
Ditto on the red touches! What is that saddle? Is it the SST reincarnate?
Gnat - you know it! We'll find a way to get together and ride again this year. There's lots of good choices 'round these parts.
Nate - The saddle is a WTB Silverado. I don't think they do the red any longer due to staining issues. Too bad.
Marty, what hardware did you did you put on the swift. K
Hardware?
Thomson post/stem
Salsa Bar
Cane Creek 100 headset - new fav!
Surly Mr. Whirly cranks/Race Face BB
Paul brakelevers/Avid BB7's
Paul/real/Salsa wheels
Conti Mtn King 2.4's
WTB Silverado.
ESI Chunky grips - new fav #2.
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