cow-spooking

Here's Jay on his Titanium Habanero:


Here's Polly on his blinged-out Turner:


Here I am on the Tingle:


Last Sunday was the inaugural dirt ride of the Mary-fied Tingle. And the ride report can be best summed up in the Good News/Bad News way:

Good News: Mary rocks. Great leverage on the climbs (though I did bail out of one thanks to picking the wrong line. Seems like Mother Nature has her way of moving things around...what was the best line two weeks ago has shifted from the extreme right to the extreme left). I love the added hand positions, particularly on the brake "hoods" for cruising on the flats. More than once I was able to save the bike from going sideways in the mud with simple flick of the wrist and some body english. It's also great in downhill runs. Wheelie-ing needs a slightly different technique from regular flat or riser bars, as I think it needs more arm (biceps and triceps), rather than shoulder action.


Bad News: the fork makes the bike sluggish. I guess combining it with the Mary wasn't a good idea. Thanks to its weight, it moves the bike's weight bias to the front. More than once I had to muscle the Tingle through sweeping turns. It does seem a bit more forgiving than the Alu fork, but front end deflection is a bit too much. I found myself using more steering input to keep the bike on course in rocky sections.

Verdict: Mary definitely stays, and the steel fork goes. The LBS slapped the Alu fork back on, and one of the wrenches hefted the steel fork, and said, it doesn't feel like cromoly, but of lower grade steel, since it's really hefty. Will compare the ride once again this weekend, but I think the lighter front end, and more responsive geometry is better.

The steel fork was an experiment anyway. Will probably turn it into an ornament or object d'art hehehe