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Urban cool

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Clever Mike (left) and Studio 74 (right)

 

Been a little while since our last blog, so here’s a quick one about this years most popular bikes.

The Saracen Urban range has something for everyone who is looking for a hybrid – and for the most part, around here, a hybrid is a good choice of bike for either commuting or leisure.

These hybrids have more of a mountain bike style geometry to them, so they are more relaxed and upright than a road bike, and offer more agility and control for sharper corners, whilst the larger wheel size still means they are quicker than a smaller wheeled mountain bike.

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Studio 74, fitted out with rack, mudguards and secure D – lock for a customer

The Saracen Urban Studio 74 is the most popular of the range, and for good reason. It sits  second from the top in the Urban series at a reasonable price of £539. It features 3 x 9 Shimano gears in a wide range capable of making even Baths hills seem easy (or at least tackle-able for the new to cycling), hydraulic disc brakes, a lightweight alloy (rigid) fork and good quality tyres from the off. As with all the Urban series it can be fitted with full mudguards and a rack, so really is a good choice for a commuter.

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Clever Mike

Our own personal town bikes are the Clever Mike – the top end of the series. For £899 you get an 8 speed Shimano Alfine hub, so a bit of a luxury, but a handy low maintenance one! You also get Shimano hydraulic disc brakes, hardy kevlar tyres and high quality over sized handle bars.

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The top two models have been popular, but so have the lower end models – here’s a quick summary of each:

The Urban Esc has been our hire bike of choice for three years now . At £299 they are lightweight and come with good quality components including Shimano 3 x 7 easy shifting triggers and strong double walled wheels.

Next in the range is the Myth, which for £369 features an extra gear, lighter alloy fork and a suspension seatpost. At this price point there is also the Urban Cross 1, essentially the same bike but with a suspension fork.

For £459 and £539 there are two more Urban Cross bikes – the 2 and 3 respectively. These two have the added advantage of hydraulic disc brakes, whilst the 3 features 3 x 9 gears along with extra Shimano components.

Prices may vary depending on offers and availability

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Lapierrre Zesty AM 327

The Zesty is without a doubt Lapierre’s flagship model, certainly the most successful.  We’ve got a 327 AM in the shop in medium for sizing up, other sizes and models are available to order in should the medium or model not suit.  Stock with the supplier is building, but slowly, and with Lapierre entering the US market this year scarcity might be the name of the game. So if you have you eye on a particular model and size bag it early!!

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Its quite a different frame from all previous incarnations of the Zesty – more swooping tube shapes than the previous angular and straight tubing, although that was lovely as well.  It all looks pretty strong in the right places, but overall bike weights are not any higher. Even considering that the frames, tyres, rims etc have to be ever so slightly bigger to accommodate the bigger 27.5 wheelsize that a pretty nice thing.

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Lapierre never seem to skimp on their components like some big brand names (Road bikes included).  So the AM 327 has faultless shifting thanks to Shimano SLX  and amazing braking from the Formula RX brakes.  You even get an XT ‘clutch mech’ for rear shifting duties.  The clutch mech is a revelation. I’ve been using one for 12 months and it means your chain never comes off the front rings or clangs on the bike frame – amazing!

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Regarding wheelsize, I think its probably a storm in a tea cup. I’ve read various experts say that with a big volume tyre on 26″ wheels you can replicate the sizing of a 27.5 wheel. So its not so radical as a 29er wheel size and if you’re thinking of a new bike but don’t want a complete surprise in changed ride character than a 27.5 appears to be fine.  I’ll update this when I’ve actually had a chance to ride one for some time!

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There’s plenty mud clearance on rear of the frame and the Fox forks have loads of room to run a front fender bender or similar under the fork.  The rear brake calliper is also tucked inside the rear chainstay giving improved crash protection! This model is a lovely colour, coordinated grips, SDG Duster saddle and red anodized cable holders compliment the look. This model should appeal even in a couple of years. The next model in the range the AM427 is mostly yellow with some black and is less easy on the eye! After that you get into the £3000 plus carbon and alloy and full carbon models which are all lovely.

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We’ve got this bike (plus all others) in our festive sale, so its £2299 is now with 15% off £1954. Or you can have a voucher for 20% of the value for £460 to spend in the shop on accessories etc. Not a bad deal!

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Lapierre Sensium 300 customer feedback

Earlier this year Paul Coupe, who makes some rather high end audio equipment (http://referencefidelitycomponents.co.uk/) bought a Lapierre Sensium 300 from us, and was kind enough to send us a his thoughts about it after a few rides.

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We had this up briefly before on the old site, but thought I’d get it back.

He wrote,

“Thanks for your time and patience yesterday when I popped down to buy the Lapierre.  Couldn’t take it out yesterday but went out this evening for a 20 mile spin and I have to say it was a fabulous ride…better than the higher up model, the 500 and surprisingly by some margin.  The elastomer frame insert on the 500 I reckon softens the response too much. The 300 rode much better.  Big gap between ratios which takes some getting used to and the SRAM gear change mis-changed several times which was very annoying, plus brakes not much cop until bedded in (nearly ran across a roundabout at 30mph after coming down a hill!).  Fabulous climber.  That SRAM compact gear train is just the ticket for hilly terrain and the San Marino saddle is great.  I’ll be changing the seat post for the Ritchley Carbon model but other than that, that Sensium I reckon is the nearest I’ve ridden to a full works bike in ride quality…very racey but comfortable…superb.  You’re onto a good thing with those Lapierres”.

and later,

“For this area (and Bath) the 300 is the pick of the whole range I reckon.  You get an awful lot of bike”.

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It was great to hear that he had gotten on so well with the bike right from the word go!

Even better to find out that Lapierre had continued with the Sensium range, although the polymer insert frames have now been replaced in favor of the ones without, and Shimano has been used for all models.

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A testimonial

A testimonial sent from one of our customers:

 

‘I would thoroughly recommend Tom at Green Park Bike Station. If I need some advice, a bike service or to pick up some kit for my bike he’s always extremely helpful and takes the time to answer my questions. Tom serviced my bike for JOGLE recently and I didn’t have a problem with it for the whole 982 miles’

 

-Mark Hambleton

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Field testing in Wales – Becci

Becci’s reviews:

 

Madison Flo ladies tops

A new top for this year from Madison, these act as an alternative for the Flux top, and have come on a fair few leaps and bounds.

The Flo top is a lightly fitted jersey, with more breathable panels under the arms and on the back. It also has a small side pocket for keys/ bars etc. and has a glasses wipe on the inside. It comes in three colours- black, coral and aqua.

Overall I found it to be a really nice top to wear, despite the high temperatures combined with the backpack and protective arm/ leg pads it never felt too hot, especially with the 1/4 zip to keep extra air flow when climbing. The glasses wipe was also handy for taking off mud and sweat!

I had my doubts about coral, but it turned out to be a bright, fresh colour!

 

Madison Bamboo liner shorts

First, ignore the price Madison’s clothing site has listed them as, they are £19.99.

Bamboo has antibacterial properties, so makes for a great combo when combined with wicking materials for helping to keep smells at bay. This seemed particularly useful on such a hot weekend, where sweat was definitely a factor.

 

I really really enjoyed wearing these, and actually wished that I’d had them to wear over the four days instead of just for two (I had the standard Madison liner for the other two days)

 

The liner that Madison include in many of their shorts is actually already of a good quality, I’ve used on several rides with no problems. Where the Bamboo liner steps forward is that it’s actually shorter in length down the leg, so a tad cooler, and doesn’t use rubber grips on the legs, which makes it much less noticeable when wearing.

The material is softer, and the waist band is wider, so again just makes it less noticeable when moving.

The pad seems fairly bulky when walking around, but actually on the bike fits perfectly, and certainly helped to prevent saddle soreness over the four days of riding.

 

Lapierre Zesty 314

My new bike. It’s had quite a few test runs around Bath now, as a bit of off road practice before going away, so it was great to get out on some “proper” big trails.

I was surprised at how easily the bike climbs – on technical sections the rear suspension is actually really handy for extra grip, whilst on fire road sections of climb it still feels stiff enough to get some good power down.

Of course going down is the important bit, and this bike sure gives a huge amount of confidence through even the trickiest of areas! The 150 mm travel at the front and 140 mm at the back are more then enough to happily get over even the bumpiest of descents, a great confidence booster for someone like me!

 

Lapierre Zesty 314 with Hope/ Stans wheels

 

Hope/ Stans Arch rims wheel set with Continental tubeless tyres

An upgrade to the wheelset that came with the bike (Mavic Crossrides) the Hope/ Stans wheelset come out as lighter, and with the tubeless capability. The Hope hubs are also the Pink version, which looks pretty cool too!

 

These were hand built in the shop by Tom!

 

The wheels themselves felt really nice, just that bit smoother and easier to turn, whilst they have the benefit of being sealed cartridge bearings (for extra weather protection) that are more readily available than replacement Mavic parts.

 

It was also really interesting to try tubeless out myself for the first time. Having gotten a pinch puncture the other day from the lower pressure combined with a big drop we hoped it would be less of a faff to get it set up before heading to Wales. The system seemed to work really well – happily ran the tyres at a lower pressure then I would with a tube, and had no issues at all, whilst benefiting from loads of grip.

 

The tyres themselves were a Continental Mountain king (black chili, folding, UST 2.2) on the front and a X king (black chili, folding, UST 2.2) on the rear, which was basically the combination I had on my previous Zesty and got on well with. Again they both seemed to perform well – I had been a bit unsure about the 2.2 as opposed to a 2.4 on the front, but I think being able to run at the lower pressure meant it actually rode fine overall.

 

Pink Hope Pro Evo 2 hubs with Stans not tubes Arch rims
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Lapierre Sensium

We’ve been through a few Sensiums now, both of the 300 and 200, and all have gone to happy new homes!

This years Sensium features a brand new carbon frame with beautiful shaping to absorb and soften the vibrations of the road so you feel comfortable mile after mile. However, comfort does not mean sluggish – it takes aspects of the Xelius (the pure bred race frame), so could actually be used for racing too!

In the shop they’ve had lots of attention, with their eye catching colours, carbon smoothness and great value spec! They look particularly nice in the flesh, so if you fancy seeing either the 200 or 300 in 52cm come down and have a look.

 

Sensium 300
Sensium 200

 

We even briefly saw the ladies 200, which was in such high demand it's now not available until next year!

Road.cc took a Sensium for an extended test ride for over a month and really loved the ride, read more about their experience on it here. Cycling Plus tested the 300 version as pictured above, read their write up here. The 200 is also reviewed here.

 

 

 

 

 

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Jambusting June with the council

Recently the Bath and North East Somerset Council bought a pool bike to share for commuting to and from work, here’s a quick word from them:

 

“Bath & North East Somerset Council is launching its first staff pool bike scheme as part of Jambusting June. As well as new technology power assisted electric bikes, we were keen to supply a high quality bike that our staff can be confident offers  both reliability and performance. Having access to local cycle dealers  was crucial in getting the best advice, equipment and maintenance package.”

 

They chose a Saracen 2012 Clever Mike (apparently Cockney rhyming slang for bike). Being equipped with an Alfine 8 Speed hub gear it makes even tough Bath hills a breeze, and lets the rider change gear whilst stationery – handy for stopping at lights. The disc brakes also mean that it’s very low maintenance, so always ready for the next user.

We’ve had lots of positive feedback, being told that it’s lovely to ride, and has attracted some admiring looks.

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Summer holiday

Just a note to say we will be closed for a long weekend over the second weekend of July.

 

Days will go as follows:

Thursday 4th July OPEN as normal 9:30 to 17:30

Friday 5th July CLOSED

Saturday 6th July CLOSED

Sunday 7th July CLOSED

Monday 8th July CLOSED

Tuesday 9th July OPEN as normal 9:30 to 17:30

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Bike Bath road hire

So we are part way in to the Bike Bath weekend now – yesterday the Midsummer Madness mountain bike ride kicked things off with a great, challenging 11 mile  route around the south of Bath and today the first three sportive rides took place.

 

We hired out the three road bikes we have for hire halfway through the week to a group of Americans, who after some practice rides during the week, then took on the 60 mile route today.

 

All three had a great time – they found the route to be well marked and easy to follow and the food stops to be well stocked with tasty food.

 

They were also all grateful for the mudguard equipped road bikes, as the rain through the night and morning left the roads muddy and wet!