They ride really nice. I had a pair of Salsa Cromotos on my last rigid modern bike and they feel pretty similar actually.
The one thing I will be changing is the bars. They're much narrower than the Thomsons and I really noticed it.
I had a go at one of the steepest hills on my regular route in something like the gearing I'd use for singlespeed. I got up it (just!) but it was bloody hard.
That was where I really noticed the bars the most though
First ride out today as a single speed!
It had always been my plan to go down this route for the winter months.
The trails I ride are usualy half submerged through the winter, and this kills any kind of moving parts.
I had a rigid 1x9 Rock Lobster that I used through last winter, but this was sold once the eaton was born.
I bought the single speed bits from Superstar. There were a few teathing problems this morning, and there were a few chain slips at the start of the ride, but overall I loved how it rode.
I had to push the last bit of a couple of steep hills, but I think that was mainly down to my fitness levels.
Looks pretty filthy again ! Are the tyres still going well ? I am well pleased with them on mine, rode it in some horrendous shite the week before last and they coped very well.
Will have to have a winter meet some time in the new year I think
Thanks James.
The tyres are doing great. A bit sketchy on some of the really slimey stuff, when hitting at speed, but only a dedicated mud tyre would handle that better.
The chain ferry is out of action at the moment, so I couldn't ride my usual trails to get an idea on how the ss will perform
I've never been 100% happy with the frame finish on this. The polished metal looked great, but even clear powder-coat couldn't adhere to it properly.
I already had multiple chips, and these were beginning to rust.
With the Sandbanks ferry being out of action for 6 weeks, which hugely limits my riding, I decided this was a good time to do something about this.
I had 2 retro frames that needed sand-blasting, so I decided to bite the bullet, strip the eaton and get it blasted too.
When I dropped the frame off, I mentioned to the guy that I was going to get the frame clear powder-coated again and he told me that they had a seperate company who could do this for me.
I left the whole lot with him 2 weeks ago, and collected yesterday.
I was going to go for blasted/coated to start with on this frame, and I now wish I'd stuck with this idea.
I think it looks even better than the polished finish, and the powder now has a nice porous surface to bind too.