As a first outing for my new race bike it would be hard to beat a high heartrate thrash around the flowing trails of Porridgepot Hill in the sunshine with my mates. We started by previewing the course for May's Southern XC Championships. The course had a couple of good steep hills to attack, the rest was a beautifull, rhythmic singletrack blast which just challenges you to ride as fast as you can! After a fortnight without rain the conditions couldn't have been more perfect for properly testing my new bike to the max!
I was up late burning the midnight oil in the shed the night before, building up my new Yeti ARC Carbon frameset. 9am the following morning we set off on a 3hr ride around some of the best trails I have ridden.
Immediately it was obvious that this bike begs to be ridden hard. The stiffness at the rear is electrifying, press on the pedals and the bike surges forward. In dusty bermed corners the back wheel tracks exactly where you want it, providing a very accurate, point and shoot style of ride.
In comparison my 2011 S-Works provides a very compliant ride but in corners it can feel a bit wooly.
3 hours later and I was still enjoying throwing the bike into every flick, curve and technical decent. The directness hadn't become harsh or tiring, perhaps the Syntace HiFlex seatpost helped, but there were no comfort issues here. It is early days, but as we rolled back into the carpark I reflected on one of the most enjoyable days cycling, on the best bike I have had the pleasure to ride.
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