Ridley X-Night Telenet-Fidea, my gravel ride

[jpritchet74]

I bought this frameset 8-9 years ago from The Pro's Closet, they had a bunch of them at the time - all former Team frames. I believe these are from the 2013 cyclocross season.

Here's one guy from that team...


Here's a cool short video of Bart Wellen's bike:
https://www.globalcyclingnetwork.com...yclocross-bike

My daughter rode this bike when I bought it, and then my son used it for a few years. It's too small for him now though. Living in Boise finally has me in a place with dirt / gravel roads to ride, and after 6 months of being here, I finally got onto them. Finances are really tight right now, so I couldn't buy anything to get this bike on the road, so I had to raid the cabinet and I had these old clincher Challenge Grifo tires (33mm). My first ride yesterday was AMAZING, just so much fun. The roads were wet, but in great condition. Very smooth, and while some sections were firm, others had a this top layer of sand and that, well, felt like riding thru sand. It was an adventure, and I can't wait to get back out there.

I extended my planned riding time by about 45 min because I was having so much fun - just like I usually do when I ride the mountain bike. That never happens when I ride the road bike.

I had this listed for sale here 7 months ago - I am thrilled it didn't sell.

My only complaint was that braking was nearly non-existent. Using Euro-X brakes with generic pads. I will get some SwissStop blue pads on soon, which should help. I am wondering if I should swap the brakes to Avid Ultimate Shorty.