Took the 18 Bikes demo Transition Bandit out for a five-hour test ride in amusingly bleak conditions yesterday. And I was, well, underwhelmed really. I didn't particularly like the tall Marzocchi fork on the demo bike and I didn't really trust the tyres - maybe more because I didn't know them than anything else and the bike fitted nicely, handled well and was, erm, 'capable' on the downhills, but it wasn't £1400 worth of my money 'good'.
Maybe I was expecting too much - the Bandit is, after all, the current 'Jesus bike'. Or maybe I'm not a good enough rider to appreciate its abilities fully. Or maybe it just doesn't suit my style. Or perhaps I've gradually become a hardtail rider thanks to how shockingly good my Ragley is. Probably just a mix of all of those. Oh, and a dislike of pedal strikes on rocky stuff.
I felt almost guilty at telling the guys at 18 all this. They're nice people and very considerately suggested lots of alternative options I might try, but I got the impression that normally people ride the demo then reach into their wallets, pull out a credit card and do the deal.
So that's okay then. I can just put some non-studded tyres back on Rags, stop worrying that I'm missing out on something brilliant, and just ride the wheels off the bloody thing. N + None. Where None is more time spent riding than buying and building.
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