It’s been a long time since I last did a big chunk of South Downs Way and when Earle rang me up a few weeks back to tell me about a charity event he is helping out with and the fact he needs to ride it first it didn’t take too much to twist my arm.
We were looking to do the section from Queen Elizabeth country park to Devils Dyke, just over 40 miles, with the tooing and froing at either end about 50 in total. A decent ride then and all the excuse I needed to distract JP and then run out the shop with the Scott Scale 29 Pro (again!). It’s no secret that I love this bike, I fell in love with it in the Alps last year and with the exception of last years Whyte 19 it’s probably the demo bike I’ve ridden the most.
So I turned up at Worthing station at the wholly unreasonable time of 06:45 and Myself, Earle, Chris and Malcolm squeezed into the train and headed to Petersfield. Unbeknown to me the BHF were running the SDW randonee the same day, so there were a lot of riders out.
Conditions weren’t great, but it was warm, despite the drizzle. The unfortunate souls who had started at Winchester had a 25 mile headstart on us, and the misfortune of heavy rain and a whole lot of mud! We had a good tailwind and the miles ticked away like clockwork.
All my earlier comments about the Scott still stand, it’s a joy to ride. On the train I flipped the stem and got the handlebars into a more ‘trail bike’ position, rather than the racey position JP usually has it set up with. With the revised position my negative comments about having tired shoulders are sorted. I know it’s a cliche, but it rode itself! It’s the freshest I’ve ever felt after such a long ride and now I am even entertaining the thought of having a crack at the whole thing again….. (If I can nick the bike again of course!)
Downhill it really is a revelation, the bigger wheels smooth the trail out and give you extra grip as well. I was descending like a loony on it! On the descent before the A29 I went way too quick and when I realised I wasn’t going to make the corner I had to take a quick diversion through a gap in the hedge!!
I guess the one change I would make would be larger disc rotors, it would be nice to have a bit more power.
Anyway, don’t take my word for it, it’s a demo bike so get over to Quest Adventure and give it a whirl……
There’s more and more choice of 29′ers and most brands will have some in their 2012 ranges. I can’t wait to see what the next crop will ride with. Something with a longer fork and even more ‘trail’ geometry will be all it takes for me to make the switch…
Hummerlicious
1 comment
Big wheels on my wagon….. » Sussex-MTB says:
August 5, 2011 at 8:22 pm (UTC 0)
[...] you in no doubt what it’s intended use is. At nearly £2.5K it’s a bit more than the Scott I have enjoyed riding so much. But for a bike of that price there is so much own brand kit on it I [...]