Members' bikes

[LEE]

Done

That looks good Lee.  Is that the only pic you have?

LOL but, pot, kettle ? 

I have been rumbled 
[/quote]

As is the way with me and Grub, why post just one photo when you have several?

I'll start a review thread for the Fratello shortly but for now, here are the photos of it's first lunchtime-loop, the first of many.

I rode it first on Monday, the day after a hilly 200km ride.  I was sore and knackered and the Condor felt like a cast-iron bedstead.  Today I felt recovered and as a result the Condor felt bloody superb.  Very smooth, very slick, neutral handling and extremely comfy (another B17 Champion).

I also think it looks gorgeous in grey.







I also consider myself very lucky to be able to ride around here in my lunch hour.

[GruB]

That does look very very nice.  Very nice. 

[Sergeant Pluck]

I agree: very very nice, LEE  Have many good miles on it. 

[dasmoth]

I also consider myself very lucky to be able to ride around here in my lunch hour.

I know those roads pretty well, and have to agree!  Makes me want to take a bike next time I visit my parents...

And yes, the gray Fratello is stunning.  But you already knew that  .

[mr endon]

One thing I hate on close clearance Audax bikes are brakes of limited drop crimping the perfect arc of the guards. You seem to have got away with it on that there Fratello, so which brakes are they?

[GruB]

Seconded.  Mine only do it very slightly but it is still annoying.

[Sergeant Pluck]

One thing I hate on close clearance Audax bikes are brakes of limited drop crimping the perfect arc of the guards

Agreed. I do like the way LEE has those guards fitted: tidy.

[Fixedwheelnut]

Done

That looks good Lee.  Is that the only pic you have?

LOL but, pot, kettle ? 

I have been rumbled 

As is the way with me and Grub, why post just one photo when you have several?

I'll start a review thread for the Fratello shortly but for now, here are the photos of it's first lunchtime-loop, the first of many.

I rode it first on Monday, the day after a hilly 200km ride.  I was sore and knackered and the Condor felt like a cast-iron bedstead.  Today I felt recovered and as a result the Condor felt bloody superb.  Very smooth, very slick, neutral handling and extremely comfy (another B17 Champion).

I also think it looks gorgeous in grey.







I also consider myself very lucky to be able to ride around here in my lunch hour.
[/quote]

 I know who to call on when I want that Test Valley bit of my 600km Audax route checked 
Nice bike too

[LEE]

One thing I hate on close clearance Audax bikes are brakes of limited drop crimping the perfect arc of the guards. You seem to have got away with it on that there Fratello, so which brakes are they?

Thanks all for nice comments.

The brakes are Condor branded but I suspect they are Shimano 105.

Forks are Deda Black Rain (take 28mm with guards) which means they must be deep-drop.

Tyres are 25mm Conti Ultra Skins.

Guards were indeed a nice fit, a little too close initially.  They tended to buzz the tyre walls over bumpy surfaces, so what you are looking at are slightly adjusted guards.  Previsouly it was hard to tell it had guards at all.

A few years ago I saw a battleship-grey LeMond road bike with banding. I thought it was stunning.  I think that bike has been in my subconcious ever since, only to come to the surface when I walked into the Condor showroom (not a place to go innocently browsing if you are holding a credit card) and saw another grey bike with banding.

Let me just warn you again though.  Never go browsing in Condor with a credit card or any form of ID that may allow you to place a deposit on anything.

They are one of the few bike shops I've ever seen that actually has really desirable stuff at every turn.

Oh look, a rack of Jackets...GORE...RAPHA...ASSOS. Must resist..must resist... Must wait for Bike items in LIDL...Must wait for Bike items in LIDL

And never go downstairs to the bike showroom.  That would be asking for trouble.  I did and before I knew it I was sat on their bike-fitting jig.

I had my credit card with me as well.

[LEE]

I know who to call on when I want that Test Valley bit of my 600km Audax route checked 
Nice bike too

Feel free to ask.  Would be happy to help and looking for any excuse to ride local roads

[Greenbank]

The brakes are Condor branded but I suspect they are Shimano 105.

My Condor branded brakes on the Tempo (2.5 years old now) are Tektro.

[Rhys W]

I'd have guessed they'd be deep drop anyway, no?

[LEE]

I'd have guessed they'd be deep drop anyway, no?

My Ribble came with very similar Deda BlackStorm forks which take shallow-drop. 

[Fixedwheelnut]

I know who to call on when I want that Test Valley bit of my 600km Audax route checked 
Nice bike too

Feel free to ask.  Would be happy to help and looking for any excuse to ride local roads

  I shall pm my e-mail too you and then send you a copy of the route sheet once I re write it for next year.
 Cheers
 Steve

[eck]

A couple of rubbish foties of my (IMHO) rather tasty new bike, just finished building it this afternoon.




Pedals - thanks to Grub; Rear Mech - thanks to valkyrie; Saddle - clubmate Terry  
I already had the wheels, Campag Proton, and tyres, Krylion of course, eh Grub?
The new stuff is mostly Campag Centaur, BB and Chainset are Stronglight Speedlight, Bars and Stem are Deda Zero 100.

Do I need to apologise for the total absence of Brooks, Carradice and Shimano?  

[Andrij]

Do I need to apologise for the total absence of Brooks, Carradice and Shimano?  

You forgot to mention mudguards and rack. 
 
BTW, nice bike. 

[alan]

Do I need to apologise for the total absence of Brooks, Carradice and Shimano?  

You forgot to mention mudguards and rack. 
 
BTW, nice bike. 

& sandals: do have a beard?

[GruB]

How ironic I provide you with the tools to stay ahead of me   

[nic]

A couple of rubbish foties of my (IMHO) rather tasty new bike, just finished building it this afternoon.

Very nice Eck.

That's one long stem. Do you mind if I ask you what size is the bike and how tall you are?

I am only asking becase I am considering getting a longer stem as I reckon it's on the short side and I'd like to improve my position on my bike.

 

[eck]

That's one long stem. Do you mind if I ask you what size is the bike and how tall you are?

I am only asking becase I am considering getting a longer stem as I reckon it's on the short side and I'd like to improve my position on my bike.

Aye, it is long. 14cm!
I got it after trying out a couple of shorter stems, but a 14cm give me exactly the same reach as I have on my other bikes. The Kuota has a quite a short top tube, only 51cm. My other bikes are about 53cm top tube, with stems ranging from 11 to 12.5cm.

I'm only about 5'7" on a good day. All my bikes are similar in size: I have them at 70cm from BB to top of saddle and 56cm from tip of saddle to bars. I know I tend to favour a longer reach and a lower bars than most, but I've been comfortable with that set-up for many years. I've tried shorter reaches and higher bars, but it's never felt right.

I've not had the Kuota out on a proper ride yet, but first impressions are that it fits perfectly and it feels amazingly responsive. 

[fin]

very nice eck.  well worth sending mrs eck out to work    
guess she'll be continuing to work so you can justify its existence and prove its road worthiness.

pity the c**p weather and c**pier road conditions are almost upon us, I hope you don't have to wait until spring-time.

[gene hunt]

Does it ride ok with a long stem like that.

[eck]

Does it ride ok with a long stem like that.

Like I said earlier:

... but first impressions are that it fits perfectly and it feels amazingly responsive.

So yes, so far so fantastic. It's not dramatically longer than other stems I'm used to. Maybe you'd notice a difference in handling if you went from a shorter 9 or 10cm stem to a long one but, no, I can't say I've noticed any problems, so far!

[eck]

pity the c**p weather and c**pier road conditions are almost upon us, I hope you don't have to wait until spring-time.

No worries, fin, I've got Alli to hang it above the mantlepiece so we can both just sit and admire it until next spring. 

[oncemore]

Halfords/Carrera so obviously a bit chav for these parts, but hey full carbon, DA/Ultegra drive, quite nice kit AND 550 quids with maybe 100 miles on the clock ain't bad in my modest book. Ebay IS your friend!