The first bike I had lined up to ride was through the excellent AW Cycles in Reading, who have been putting in the time and effort to give me recommendations and to get in a demo bike for me to ride properly over a day. I turned up at the shop shortly after it opened to pick up the Kona Process 134 DL and headed out first of all onto the local trails.
This was my first time riding a 650b wheeled bike and my first time for a while on a 140mm travel full suspension rig and it was interesting. Straight away I could feel the bigger wheels, making me fairly sure I wouldn't want to go even bigger to 29”, and the reach felt shorter than I was used to. Quickly I pointed it downhill and the grins started as the bike firmly and precisely let me take the direct line and go faster with more fun than my usual hardtail. This would continue for the ride and as I adjusted to climbing and keeping the front wheel down it was hard to see much that I didn't like about the ride. I cleared climbs that I deliberately tested myself on and, while the bike felt perhaps a little heavier than my hardtail, the extra rear wheel grip made a difference, and it never seemed to struggle.
It was time for some trail centre action to test the other side of my usual riding and I loaded the car back up and headed to Swinley.
Here the bike was a bit of overkill for the conditions but absolutely loads of fun. The suspension left me less battered and then more able to keep going longer, even if the time on the bike was tiring by the end. The bigger wheels, longer forks and short stem made the steering less precise than I'm used to in the tight singletrack, but not so much as to cause a problem and the minute the trail went down and over jumps it opened up new lines and faster choices. I'm no jumper but the bike couldn't wait to leave the ground and I found doubles dropping below me rather than being pumped. The bike flattered my ability hugely as I found lines I would never ride on a hardtail, or would slow down for, just disappearing past my wheels. It did nothing to lessen my feeling that people who have only ever ridden full suspension are missing some big skills.
Even as I got tired I found myself getting surprisingly lairy and loose into berms and jumps and just having a whole load of fun.
Sunday was time for another test ride. This time far less extensive and less of an opportunity to work out the details of the bike over real riding, as it came in the form of half an hour's local riding on a Norco Sight Carbon 7 1.5 from Evans Cycles. Straight out of the shop this bike was lighter and longer than the Kona which initially felt more natural, as it climbed well. The carbon frame clearly made the weight difference. The Norco felt like a big day bike, more stable and perhaps less fun. With a longer reach and more weight over the front it also managed to feel a bit less nimble and chuckable. There were also little annoyances like the dropper-post cable snagging the back wheel when the seat was dropped out of the way. There is some thinking to do and another bike to test next weekend before the decisions are made.
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