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a long day in the saddle
flann o'brien was probably right. in the third policeman the irish author postulated that spending many an hour in the saddle could but result in an exchange of atoms, the rider becoming part bike, and the velocipede taking on certain human characteristics. though i studied both physics and chemistry at school, i must admit that i may have been absent on the days when this interchangeability of molecules and atoms was discussed in depth. however, i see no logical or scientific reason as to why such an hypothesis should not be true.
the part that perhaps bears closer scrutiny is the timescale over which this transition is supposed to take place. the implication by mr o'brien is that a substantial number of years would be required. the back garden of washingmachinepost cottage overlooks a series of large white buildings owned by bowmore distillery and filled to the roof with casks of uisge beatha, some of which stay in there for a long time. for all the tannins and other stuff about which i know very little, to leach from the wood into what will eventually become single malt whisky, takes an age, something that the marketing departments of islay's eight distilleries have not been slow to exploit.
however, i may just have conclusive proof that the molecule exchange under discussion takes place a darned sight faster than that. my initial review of the aszure team issue gave credence to a degree of stiffness that was particularly noticeable on the first few kilometres, something that i, as a soggy towel of a rider, found just a smidgeon disconcerting. the purpose of a review, however, is not necessarily to find the ideal bicycle for self, but to investigate the machines offered for public perusal, therefore a modicum of stiffness is not necessarily detrimental, depending on what it is you expect the bicyle to do.
this is a classics bicycle through and through, an assumption or description for which i make no apology. the only straight(ish) road sections on islay were well trammeled, and trammeled with relative ease, it must be said, but it comes into its own the minute you throw some singletrack crappy roads under the front wheel. it goes without saying that we have hundreds of those. this is precisely where that stiffness ought to have scared me to death, yet over a two month period, the aszure became one of my best friends ever. and the only possible explanation has to be hidden in the realm of sub-atomic physics.
the aszure was rained upon, windblasted from front and rear, ridden over what rapha would refer to as gravŽ, subjected to the inner sanctum of many a pothole and encouraged to avoid herds of cattle and flocks of sheep. sometimes the latter were a tad closer than intended. it is customary to scrub any review bike before it goes back in the box, at which point any depreciation to frame and components would surely make itself known. this is, in essence, the reason why it's a nice option to review a bicycle over an extended period of time. ok, it's not the several years that come with ownership, but there have to be limits. however, your own mileage may vary depending on how you treat your bicycle(s).
what can be gleaned from longer than usual in the saddle is almost exactly what cannot be ascertained from a brief test-ride; experience. with the cost of cycling not diminishing to any appreciable degree, and the upper price limit now comfortably into five figures, test bikes at the dealers are a trend that should be encouraged. not many folks would buy a car without driving it first, and some of todays shiny carbon costs an appreciable amount more. however, due to the variance in carbon layup and component integration, it's possible that any first ride may turn out to be less impressive than the shine would purport. to an extent, that's exactly what the first two weeks of riding the aszure promised.
i don't mind saying that, on the basis of those initial two weeks, i probably wouldn't have been persuaded to part with my £2,600, but at this particular point in time, i am wondering how i'm going to get through the weekends without it. my classifying the aszure as a classics machine became something of a self-fulfilling prophecy. with a pair of vittoria open pave cg tyres having arrived from italy, the michelin pro race rested in the bikeshed, and the fun began again; my notion of fun encompassing throwing the white and yellow frame into anything and everything with abandon. it turns out you can push the team issue a lot harder than you'd think (or at least harder than i thought; remember the soggy towels).
i'd be the first to admit that my skinny personality is unlikely to trouble many a bottom bracket, particularly the substantially engineered edifice between the aszure's ultegra cranks, but no amount of straining each and every limb seemed able to disturb the bicycle molecules that remained intact under the clearcoat. as one who greatly favours the legacy of john boultbee brooks on my cycles, the minimally padded prologo proved a worthy choice; posterior complaints seemed only louder after an evening sat on a drum stool for a few hours, but i think that's an occupational hazard.
it seems somethng of a redundant statement at this stage of the review to rhetorically ask if i think the aszure team issue worthy of your plastic or bank balance. i think i have made my own feelings on the subject manifest. but should there be any trace of doubt, at the price, i'd buy one in a heartbeat.
the aszure team issue as tested with shimano ultegra retails at £2,600. in my original review i suggested that the bicycle was crying out for a campagnolo groupset (no idea why), and ian philips at aszure was kind enough to send costs for owning just such italiana. veloce: £2150; centaur: £2300; athena: £2400 and chorus £2850. that might just be the ideal way to go cycling.
posted thursday 16 june 2011
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