This post is part of our longterm Bombproof Bike Project

In the last week I’ve managed to put over 50 miles on the Bombproof bike. Of those, only ten miles were done on paved roads. My initial idea was to take it on my commute a few days before putting it through the singletrack paces, but of course I skipped that part and took it straight to the trails.

Some initial impressions…

• I’m really looking forward to a suspension fork and bigger tires. The combo of rigid steel fork and 1.95 Kenda Karma tires is giving me a pretty good beating on this rocky, rooty east coast. Even with letting a good bit of air out of the tires I feel like I’m getting bounced around pretty hard.
• The Titec Hellbent saddle is a bit of worry for me. More because I have a habit of bending the rails on saddles than anything else and I can tell I’m putting it and the seatpost through the paces pretty well.
• The Surly Instigator frame feels like a rocket. When we first decided to do this bombproof project and I signed on to ride it for a year I was a bit worried that I wouldn’t feel right on the bike. Especially since I’m coming off a year of riding only 29ers and 69ers. But I have been pleasantly surprised. The bike feels extremely quick and I feel extremely fluid through tight turns at high speeds. A few times I have washed out before I thought I should have but again, it’s probably the combination of coming off big wheels and riding 1.95 tires. Once I get the WTB Stouts on I’ll be able to give a better take on this.
• The 24 speed shimano drivetrain is doing fantastic. It only took one ride to get it dialed in and it’s been shifting really well since. Under load the front shifting is currently pretty finicky however the rear shifting performs fine. I’m gonna continue to tweak everything to make sure it’s perfect.

Stuff I’m looking for in the near future… How long the ryhnolite rims can go before they need trued, how the performance changes with a new fork and new tires, how well the drivetrain stays tuned, how the Candy pedals hold up over time, etc.

Stay tuned…