Took the Ti Crown Jewel out for its first ride this weekend. I didn’t have any shoes, but ordered some Mavic Avenge Maxis that arrived last week so no more excuses! Put some paint protection on to protect against cable rub and then scooted out. I love the detail on this bike, Independent Fabrication have gifted it with some really nice touches.
After the initial shock of riding a road bike again after such a long spell off a bike with 23mm rubber, two things became apparent. It rides well and fits very nicely. I might shift the saddle back a little, but I’d like to get some more mileage in on it first. No sore shoulders from the ride which is a good sign.
The shakedown fulfilled it’s purpose. Loose headset, bars not clamped tightly enough in the stem and a slightly sticky free hub. The latter is no so easy to fix, but only manifests at standstill when trying to back pedal. It’s the side effect of buying a second hand wheel set and having had the same problem on a pair of Crossmax, I’m not relishing trying to banish it.
R O T H A R . C O M 