Boreas V. TCR
Two road bikes- the TCR and Boreas and I did think that the two bikes were very similar. They aren't. The TCR is the new bike and I am still enamoured with the new bike thing. But it does have its faults. It climbs hills superbly. However- It is a bit frisky- even with the change of wheels to the Ultregras. It also does not seem to have the acceleration of Boreas. Noticed this yesterday when I took Boreas out for the first time in about a month. Thanks to a strong headwind/sidewind- depending on the road route-I was not keeping a true enough line to miss all the potholes and manhole covers. Boreas took them with ease and although it is an aluminium frame- Road shock was not bad. With the TCR- with the original wheels that are Mavic Aksiums- The bike was not staying fully on the road and being thrown about. Changing the wheels to the Ultegras improved things a lot but it still felt as though I was getting front wheel bounce and loss of steering at times.
Yesterdays ride on Boreas made me realise why I will be riding this bike so much. It is so stable that I want to push it a bit more than I normally would. It corners superbly and On the fast downhills on a wet road- I have every confidence. There is one problem though- That TCR does climb well. Makes Boreas seem like it has glue under the wheels at times.
Still got some experimentation to go through but So Far it looks as though I have a fast bike- and a climber. Seems odd that I can feel that the two bikes are adapting to a particular use- but Time this week to set the ride position up the same on the two. TCR has the bars about 1" higher and this may have an effect on feel. Bottom bracket on both bikes still feel tight so Will have to try and sort those out aswell.
I have always said that I hate new bikes- all that fitting to do- all the running in of the bearings and the final adjustments that seem to take ages to do. But both these bikes are now sorted, and without any of the problems I have experienced before. All I have to do is get the rider sorted and Hopefully the bikes will do that for me.
As an Aside- I don't often put the Heart Monitor on but it is now set up on Boreas to use the speedo function. I Ride at a comfort level and I am afraid I have been riding too comfortable for a couple of months. My Riding pace has dropped from 135/140 back to 125/130- if I pushed it. That one ride yesterday and within 30 minutes I had got back to my old pace. So Back to using the heart monitor to get a Good ride in- but with a better workout.
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How long was I in the army? Five foot seven.
Spike Milligan