1 out of 1 cyclists found the following review helpful:
| Rating: |  | Saturday, March 22, 2008 |
Robert (Brian) a Roadie from Napanee, On Canada writes:
A WONDERFUL BIKE TO RIDE,VERY EASY ON THE AGEING MIDDLE AGE BODY. CLIMBS SMOOTH AND STEADY IN A STRAIGHT PATH AT EXTERMELY SLOW SPEEDS (4.5KM/HR ON 20% GRADES.
Product Used For: 1 Month
Product Strengths:Rock solid spinning on a 20% grades at 4 miles per hour. Smooth and GENTLE ride on flats at 40 km/hr. It is so.... nice to be riding a steel touring frame again. aluminum frames ride hard and break your body down as the day wears on. Put a Brooks B-17 saddle on, SKS 45 fenders and Tubus racks (Cosmo & Nova), all items fit like fine gloves. This bike was well thought out and designed for trans-continental tours or the weekend trip to the local camp grounds. I was very surprised at the ride with the 700 mm tires inflated at 85 lbs. The effort to propel the bike is only very slightly more than my light weight day bike I use on century rides. I will use this bike on club rides as well as my camping tours, the ride is that smooth. DON"T Worry about the 4 lb frame weight diet for two days if it concerns you. The frame and components are bomb proof and that's what you want on a loaded touring bike.
Product Weaknesses:I changed out the 26 tooth granny for a 24 tooth ($15.00 extra), if your going to have a granny have the best that will fit the bike. The fender seat stay mount is horizontal- if it was vertical you would not need the fender clamp- a little cleaner looking. Have Jensen leave the fork head tube 20 mm longer then the 40 mm spacer length, if you are going still be riding in middle age you will appreciate this extra back relief on longer days. You can always cut the tube shorter at your after playing with the stem height, can't stretch a cut tube though.
My Bike:SKS 45 (SILVER) FENDER, TUBUS RACKS(NOVA&COSMO), WATER BOTTLES X3, COMPUTER, CLIPLESS/PLATFORM PEDALS,BROOKS B-17 SADDLE.
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18 out of 19 cyclists found the following review helpful:
| Rating: | | Friday, January 18, 2008 |
Joe a Weekend Warrior from Rockville, Md United States writes:
This is a really nice general purpose (or touring) bike. I put fenders on mine and, combined with the grooved/treaded tires it came with (Continental Contact) I can ride safely and comfortably on wet pavement. Also, it shifts gears beautifully. The bar end shifters really function well (and/or the guys at Jenson really adjusted everything well before shipping the bike to me!). The one for the rear derailleur can be set to be either indexed or not. I use it indexed b/c it works so perfectly.
Product Used For: 1 Month
Product Strengths:This bike is geared like a mountain bike which is partially why I bought it. The top end gears are sufficiently high as long as your not racing (which this bike is not intended for.) So, with the low gearing, if you're out on an extended ride and you're "feeling it" (tired), and you're faced with a substantial climb, you have the option of sticking it in a low gear and spinning instead of standing.
Product Weaknesses:One little glitch is, the cable for the front derailluer might interfere with the water bottle cage on the underside of the down tube (if you choose to put one there). It depends on which cage you use. I had to do a lot of filing at the base part of my water bottle cage so the front derailleur cable wouldn't interfere with it. I was a little surprised with the Surly guys for routing this cable so close to these water bottle bosses.
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27 out of 29 cyclists found the following review helpful:
| Rating: | | Thursday, October 18, 2007 |
Karl a Roadie from Portland, Or Us writes:
So far so good. I've been primarily using it to commute to work, which equates to ~100 mile per week and it is very comfortable. Adding the front lowrider rack and panniers which got the backpack off of me helped the comfort level and it is very stable when operated in this fashion.
Product Used For: 1 Month
Product Strengths:As advertised, it's a work horse of a bike. The complete option is impossible to beat component wise, great value for the price. Added a Brooks saddle with matching handlebar tape and it's a great looking beast if I do say so myself.
Product Weaknesses:The only thing I can think of is lack of color choice and availability. I almost gave up on it after 2 months of hunting, and I got pretty lucky to get it when I did. Some have waited (and many still are) much longer then I. Though I guess this might be better then flooding the market.
My Bike:well, it is a bike, so this section is NA.
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