Epic news, NEW BIKE!

Well, it had to happen eventually... I was originally looking at a Charge Cooker 3 or 4 but no one had one in stock to try and I ain't buying a bike I haven't tested! I knew Whyte had a reputation for being pretty epic and a colleague at work has a Whyte hybrid which is pretty sweet so when I saw this Whyte 19 steel at £700 off, I booked a test ride.

Because my bike is classic early nineties and this one is 2012, they felt radically different - the wide riser bars felt especially strange but I'm sure I'll get used to it. The brakes are going to be a real novelty, proper power and no worrying about the rims wearing out which has been a real concern on my Dave Yates. The suspension is also a novelty, 120mm of travel instead of one inch on a good day so I'm looking forward to plusher rides in the future and given the parlous state of Britain's roads this is going to be SUCH a luxury.

The frame itself is Reynolds 631 with a Shimano STX groupset, Hope hubs, Avid Elixir 5 brakes and a Fox 32 F120 RL Evolution fork. I'm going to ditch the Shimano chain and fit a Sram 1071 and switch out the tyres for my Travel Contacts (of course!) but overall I'm extremely pleased so far!

Quick update, here it is with the Conti's on:

160 miles later: I've put the Charge saddle and chunky Clark grips on, found the optimal pressure and damping settings for the fork, got the seat height nailed and set the stem height and trimmed the steerer.

 On yesterday's 35 mile ride, the bike actually felt like it was 'mine', not just a new bike so here's to many more miles on it!