It was time to really test the Bird of Prey on dirt and in a more aggressive urban sense.
Just a few mountain bike rides on it. Hopefully another few before it gets road tires for getting to work. Enough time for a general fit and gearing. 36t gear and 10-50 gearing to keep it punchy in the dirt.
The bike rides well on enough on trail. The gearing works excellent given the bike’s sharp power transfer. The problem, of course, are the flat mount calipers which are simply not capable of real mtb downhill use. I definitely pushed them over the limit on a ride the other night. They overheated, they faded. The calipers were very hot to the touch after a long, serious single-track descent. I know that mountain bike grade flat mount calipers are on the way, the question is when will we see them?
For road, I’ll regear to 38 or 40 teeth on the chainring and maybe another 10mm on the stem. I left a little room for this on the chain. It depends on how I’m feeling as I’m very out of shape currently. I just want to chill.
It’s pretty good for what it is and that it has a geometry that can still use drop bars properly. There really is so much more that it could be from a flat bar perspective. Still narrow gauge, still rigid, just an optimized front end. About 50mm longer. The work continues.
The problem for street use, of course, is what will fit on Golden Gate Transit bus bike racks and trays…. Mass transit is a major factor in my commute.
