Quit Complaining

Well this title could be aimed at numerous people: the Wiggins fans who wanted him on the podium even though he did an amazing ride at the Tour anyway, Alberto Contador for moaning about Lance and his team during the Tour, but I guess it could also be aimed at myself!

To explain, last night I went for a ride with Joe and Dan, it was quite nice and it didn't rain on us which is never a bad thing. On the way back we stopped at the clubhouse for a chat, then to see what it was like, Dan wanted a go on my bike for a few minutes since we have the same pedals.

Fine I thought, how bad can his brakeless contraption be? Quite shocking in fact is the answer. The hoods are strangely low on the bars which was weird for starters. The transmission was what got me though: You pedalled and the frame is so sloppy that you hardly moved forwards. This is the last time I complain about power transfer on my own bike, it's a world better than the Carrera. The handling is pretty poor too, the steel forks make going round corners an arduous task. They don't feel terribly planted on the road and cornering feels rather dangerous compared to my precise carbon forks and taught alloy frame. The bike holds its speed reasonably well, mostly due to its vast weight and how much inertia it must have once it gets rolling. The only positive thing I can say about this bike is that due to its sloppy handling and power transfer, and huge saddle, it is rather comfortable. Well it must be, the bike practically folds itself in two when you go over a bump!

Now I have compared my delapidated bike with Danny's, I have a new frame of reference for all bikes I test in the future. "How does it compare to a £320 Carrera Virtuoso from Halfrauds?" (deliberate mis-spelling of course)