Christened the Fatty yesterday, did the same ride as I did last time on the Stooge.
Well.... what a machine! It's very nimble and agile, much more so than the Stooge, and offers absolutely immense grip/traction.
It just floats over the soft ground, sections of path that the Stooge sank in this thing just ploughed through!
It's a really nice ride out around Tolsta Head down to the beach, the views are spectacular looking across to the snowy mainland hills.
Found a way I could ride all the way down from the cliff top to the beach, I took a slightly different path last time which ended with a very precarious climb down with the bike!
This is the first time I've had a bike with a dropper post, having been a die-hard old fart with a "I've never needed one in 52 years so why would I need one now, I just get my arse off the back and lean on the saddle" attitude! Well, not only did I find it great to get the saddle out the way for descending, it's MUCH easier getting my leg-over! My hips (and knees) give me bother these days, so not to have to swing my leg so high over the saddle was a real bonus!
If you look closely at the bottom of the cliff you can see the bike, just to give a sense of scale!
Pedalled the full length of the beach through the water.... so much fun!
The last pic is from the opposite end of the beach looking back to the cliff.
Think I'll experiment with moving my cleats a little as by the end of the ride my right knee was a little nippy.
The only thing I could fault the bike for are the tyres, they felt 'bumpy' going along the sand because of the massive tread blocks. Bontrager do another tyre called the Barbegazi in the same 27.5 x 4.5 which seem to have more/smaller blocks down the centre which look like would make for a smoother ride, so I might try them if I can find any. And that Ergon saddle is not for me, I've persevered with it but it's time to go!
Was a lovely ride and a great way to try out a new bike.
Well.... what a machine! It's very nimble and agile, much more so than the Stooge, and offers absolutely immense grip/traction.
It just floats over the soft ground, sections of path that the Stooge sank in this thing just ploughed through!
It's a really nice ride out around Tolsta Head down to the beach, the views are spectacular looking across to the snowy mainland hills.
Found a way I could ride all the way down from the cliff top to the beach, I took a slightly different path last time which ended with a very precarious climb down with the bike!
This is the first time I've had a bike with a dropper post, having been a die-hard old fart with a "I've never needed one in 52 years so why would I need one now, I just get my arse off the back and lean on the saddle" attitude! Well, not only did I find it great to get the saddle out the way for descending, it's MUCH easier getting my leg-over! My hips (and knees) give me bother these days, so not to have to swing my leg so high over the saddle was a real bonus!
If you look closely at the bottom of the cliff you can see the bike, just to give a sense of scale!
Pedalled the full length of the beach through the water.... so much fun!
The last pic is from the opposite end of the beach looking back to the cliff.
Think I'll experiment with moving my cleats a little as by the end of the ride my right knee was a little nippy.
The only thing I could fault the bike for are the tyres, they felt 'bumpy' going along the sand because of the massive tread blocks. Bontrager do another tyre called the Barbegazi in the same 27.5 x 4.5 which seem to have more/smaller blocks down the centre which look like would make for a smoother ride, so I might try them if I can find any. And that Ergon saddle is not for me, I've persevered with it but it's time to go!
Was a lovely ride and a great way to try out a new bike.
he almost didn't come as when I asked each time on Saturday he just kept saying no he didn't feel like it. I even tried to convince him just before he went to bed as I was loading the Jack Taylor into the van as I had to leave by 6am to drive the couple of hours south to Inverness and get Brian on the way. No he wasn't coming, Ok can't be too hard but knew something wasn't right as he had been shielding again since Christmas due to Heather and he was just anxious about being out around people and also about leaving Heather on her own, though she really needed the time alone. Anyway as I was leaving at 6 am heading out the door with a coffee in my hand, van warming up he came out of his bedroom half asleep saying he had changed his mind and wanted to come. I said too late my boy as I had to leave and didn't have time to unpack, get him ready, then dig out the tandem and load it up. Said goodbye and left, well I only got about a mile down the road, rang Heather and said get him ready and I would be home in a minute to swap bikes etc but he needed his breakfast to eat in the van and I would make his sandwiches for lunch. I'm far too soft 
