Cross biking had always been something that interested me, but never made it any further than that until I was offered a year’s riding aboard one.
The back ground I come from has always been mountain biking into the middle of nowhere with the hope not to find anyone, but find some nice flowing single track instead, hence the cross bike being of interest rather than a road bike.
The first and lasting impression I got from riding the bike was how much distance could be covered along bridal ways at ease, and how it effortlessly glides along hard pack trails.
Over the last year the bike has seen a multitude of different types of rides, anything from a quick commute to work through the woods to going exploring into areas I have never been tempted to before due to heavier, slower bikes. The advantage of the cross bike is that it is such a versatile bike that really can turn its hand to anything, although I kept getting reminded that it was a rigid skinny tired cross bike when I tried mountain bike speeds down some rocky descents!!
The first few rides really enticed me into the whole cross scene, this had a lot to do with having hydraulic brakes which helped when things got a little too fast, but unfortunately they didn’t remain on the bike for too long due to an international recall because of a machining error in factory. This led to me using some avid BB7 brakes for about 8 months which in their own right do a good job at stopping, but compared to the hydraulic stoppers really did make me wind my neck in when it came to descending. Luckily they are back on the bike and I can get myself back up to speed ready for some winter slop to grace our trails.
For anyone who wants to get the miles in over winter, but doesn’t fancy playing with the traffic I couldn’t recommend the Giant TCX more.
Tom Markham
All Terrain Cycles Salts Mill
http://www.allterraincycles.co.uk/Store/Showroom
No comments:
Post a Comment