First ride…

Saturday morning rolled around and darn if I didn’t have a number of errands to get to get done before I could work on my Hunq. Finally, getting home a bit before noon I got started…
In the years since I got my Quickbeam the packing skills at RBW haven’t lessened a bit. The bike was superbly packed….very, very safe and stable.
I should mention that because I had the bike built for me, all I really had to do was hook up the brakes, put in the stem, tighten the handlebars in a reasonable position (amazingly I got it really comfortable on the first try), put on the front fender and rack, add a saddle (Brooks B-17 Select), screw on some pedals (the new Gripsters – great pedals really), and ride off.
Of course life is never quite that simple, but in this case it was darn close to it. I even managed to build the bike without scratching it. The first beausage arrived the next evening…sigh. The trickiest part of the whole process came early when I realized that I really did have to remove all the foam from the carton, some glued on, before I could get the bike out…it’s that well packed. I do save the blocks for using with my Bike Friday NWT when I travel, so it was a worthwhile effort all in all.
Once everything was put together I went for my first tentative ride. Normally I just go around the block than go back upstairs to make adjustments. No need. I rode off thinking I’d go around the block and kept going for a tour of the city and our waterfront (one of my favorite rides).
I hate to say this (at least where she can hear me) but when I first got my Quickbeam I thought it was the best bike I’d ever ridden. Up to that point I was right. The Hunq is even better (or maybe it’s because it’s new, eh?).
The Alba bars were a gamble for me. I’d ridden a Hunq at RBW back in May and hadn’t completely cared for them, but since they were part of the build kit I figured I could swap later. Nope, I love ’em. Yes, this bike is comfortable.
I stopped to make some images here and there…a wee bit of bike porn…and continued around the city. I also stopped for an iced coffee because isn’t that really what a weekend is about? Riding and leisure. You just can’t do better.
I did manage to find a few patches of rougher stuff to ride on, a gravel filled alley, a cut across a park on a crushed coral path, a bit of grass, and the Hunq handled it all very nicely. The Alba bars gave me lots of control and the geometry of it all kept me comfortable. More wow.
I really like the bar end shifters as I mostly forget they are there and don’t shift too much. 🙂
Then it was home as I’ve had to clean up and go out with a friend for dinner and birthday celebration. All in all I think put in about 10 miles on my first ride and a good one it was.
Here’s the complete set of images so far (same as previous post really)…