Re:
Well, I didn't manage to get out at the weekend, but I took full advantage of the clocks going forward & the resulting lighter evenings and took the Kili out for a quick shake down ride last night.
It was a bit stop & start as I fine tuned the gears & adjusted saddle height etc, but ny initial thoughts are...
It's quick! It's bloody quick. It certainly lives up to its name. The ride is lovely and light and the frame feels responsive, whippy even. I guess that is down to the light tubeset, I've never ridden an Ultrastrong/Ultralight frame before. I'd be interested to hear what others think of these tubes. The USE forks work about as well as can be expected for a boutique early '90's elastomer fork. They're quite flexy, but it doesn't really seem to be a big issue when it comes to ride feel. They don't weigh much which certainly works in their favour. The front end feels light and surprisingly accurate considering how the fork legs flex (fore & aft) under braking.
I would guess that, ride wise, it feels as fast as my old Orange E4, which is saying a lot. But it has more 'feel'. I have also realised that I get on better with a slightly larger frame, even though I'm 'only' 5'10". a 19" definitely suits me better than a 17".
It's obviously designed to be a race bike, light, responsive & stretched out. It feels like it just wants to go FASTER and it's going to be really at home on nice twisty single track I think.
Recon I've found a new favourite ride.
