Aspero Ekar

[ducati2]

I have ridden a Factor 02 for the last couple of years and thought I would try an experiment with a replacement bike this year. A bike with primarily road duties and disc brakes, fat tires, tubeless, and mechanical 1x. Built with Ekar, Shamal wheels, and Black Inc seat post and bar/stem.

- Disc brakes? This not made a difference to me one way or another.
- Fat tires? This has been a win. The roads in and around Seattle are bad and getting worse. A bit of extra width and volume have made my rides more comfortable. Currently Gravel King + slicks with a 38mm width.
- Tubeless? A win so far. At least six punctures that have healed themselves. Let’s see how this pans out over time.
- 1x? I would classify this a win for the kind of riding I do. I ride alone and leave the house for my rides. Plenty of gear range to handle rides with 100’ of hills every mile and high enough gearing to let me spin along at a 20+ mph pace. There is extra gearing that would let me ride much faster if only I had the legs. I suppose I could ride with most fast group rises in town and would only spin out going down hill, which is something I don’t care to do anyway. Currently a 40 tooth front chain ring and 9-42 cassette. I haven’t experienced any issues with cadence and gearing jumps.

I have been riding for 40 years and about 500k kilometers. This experiment has been a fun change of pace.

[Zackus]

Beautiful Bike!

just earlier today I was looking and thinking about the next bike being focused around Ekar.

You'll have to let us know 6 months from now if you ride your factor more, or this.

I also agree that disc brakes don't change things as much as a stiff road bike that can handle wide tires. The wide tires really make the ride comfortable, and you no longer have to worry about tiny cracks in the ground. The speed penalty is minimal.

[charliedid]

Nice!

[ducati2]

Thanks! I am an anomaly here in that the bike has always been just a tool to push air through my lungs, blood through my veins, and thoughts through my brain. And to allow me to eat heaps of good food. Don’t get me wrong, I have always owned a nice bike beginning with a C-Record equipped Pinarello Gavia from so many years ago. That said, this has been a fun experiment that is largely about the bike.

[JohnIV]

Awesome build. I really like that purple color and the Campy wheel lacing on that frame