{"id":47296,"date":"2025-11-09T11:02:52","date_gmt":"2025-11-09T11:02:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.alananna.co.uk\/blog\/?p=47296"},"modified":"2025-11-09T11:02:57","modified_gmt":"2025-11-09T11:02:57","slug":"new-bike-day-is-it-better","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.alananna.co.uk\/blog\/2025\/11\/new-bike-day-is-it-better\/","title":{"rendered":"New Bike Day – Is it Better?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It\u2019s been years since I had a new bike, but having started doing some night rides lately, I thought it was time to rectify that situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019d been joining the night riders on my Whyte 901<\/strong>, which was fine. As a trail-oriented hardtail it was probably the perfect machine for the sort of rides we were doing \u2014 but it was a little dated. Then I snapped the chain on it before one of the rides, so it was out of action and needed some TLC. The brakes could do with bleeding, and the headset never seems to tighten up properly. I should get it fixed, but instead I took my Scott Scale instead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Scott Scale<\/strong> is a beautiful bike, but it\u2019s quite an aggressive, race-oriented XC machine and not ideal for the trails around here. It\u2019s a rocket up the hills \u2014 even with my old decrepit body powering it along \u2014 but it did feel a bit twitchy on the descents. The smaller wheels, lack of rear suspension, short-travel forks, absence of a dropper post, and steep, upright geometry all made my lack of descending skills all the more noticeable. Not helped by the fact that the brakes need bleeding on this one too, so I didn\u2019t have 100% confidence in them!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My old Commencal Meta 5.5<\/strong> full-suspension bike wasn\u2019t working either. Having sat for years, the brakes need attention and the freehub seems to have seized. It\u2019s also showing its age now \u2014 those 26\u201d wheels look tiny these days \u2014 and it\u2019s quite heavy compared to modern bikes. So, despite all its nice upgrades, it probably wasn\u2019t worth spending money to get it running again.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Cue the need for a seventh bike! As I mentioned recently, I let AI convince me that it was needed as well<\/a>. It\u2019s now arrived, and I\u2019ve been out on it twice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The small size seems fine \u2014 it\u2019s quite compact, but I like that. It rides well. The lockout makes it climb efficiently, and in full-suspension mode it feels plush and compliant. I\u2019m liking the idea of the wireless shifters, though I haven\u2019t quite got them set up right yet \u2014 I keep hitting the wrong lever whichever way I have them positioned! The dropper post is nice to have too. It should make descending easier, but I don\u2019t feel as though I have as much control when the saddle\u2019s out of the way. I think I\u2019ve got so used to not having one that I rely on the saddle for extra stability even when standing. I\u2019ll get used to it though \u2014 it\u2019s already proved useful on a few little drops where I can let the bike move around beneath me more freely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Performance<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

After an easy night ride on Thursday, I took the new bike to Nant-yr-Arian on Saturday. It was a nice day, so I parked at Pendam and did the same exact route I\u2019ve done twice in recent weeks. Basically it\u2019s the Pendam Trail from the base of Hippity Hop, but I do the top section twice so I can ride both the red and blue trails down High as a Kite<\/em> and The Italian Job<\/em>. I finish off with a second loop around Llyn Blaenmelindwr.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Run 1<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

A few weeks ago, I rode the same route on my Whyte 901 to make sure it was running OK. I took it easy and didn\u2019t put in too much effort \u2014 it took me 1 hour 24 minutes, at an average speed of 8.1 mph. Not great, but it felt easy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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