Originally Posted by lunacycle

I ended up getting the Ridley Excalibur. It was definitely the right choice.

The bike arrived Monday afternoon. I dialed in the fit, and rode it to work this morning. I was grinning ear to ear the whole way in.

Holy, effin' crap! What a difference from my Motobecane. I mean, the Motobecane had a fairly neutral ride quality, and provided a stable, reliable and inoffensive riding experience. But, My God! The Excalibur occupies a whole other plain of existence!

The ride is sooooooooo smooth. It's like a Barco-lounger strapped to a cloud that's filled with butter and rolled in chocolate. It "reinterprets" road irregularities, by seemingly attenuating the impulse forces, so the stimuli is still there, but the shock is gone. In other words, I can feel every bump in the road, but in a good way.

The cornering stability is just sublime -- like having a giant gyroscope on board. The bike feels really heavy and stable when cornering at speed, but yet it can be guided, almost effortlessly, with just a subtle shift of the body.

Wow! I am simply blown away by this bike!