21 Months Later... English content inside!

[tepextate]

Awesome bike! I'm also working with Rob right now for a bike, but going rim brake.

Out of curiosity, what bike bag do you travel with?

[robt57]

Rode my Glish today...


That purple is baller for sure, big flake!

[d_douglas]

Originally Posted by Kyle h

And lots others this trip. Col de la Croix, Col de Mosses, Furka, Nuefenen, Gotthard passes as well as a bunch more!

Awesome! Gorgeous bike. I rode the Gotthard and Furka Passes too - those were epic (for me, anyways!)

[Kyle h]

Originally Posted by tepextate

Awesome bike! I'm also working with Rob right now for a bike, but going rim brake.

Out of curiosity, what bike bag do you travel with?

I used an Evoc bag, pretty basic but worked well and no damage.

[jpritchet74]

Originally Posted by Kyle h

550mi and 68,000' of elevation gain later and it's fair to say this bike is everything I had hoped it would be. I had Rob model the geo similarly to the SL6 Tarmac I had and absolutely loved but with some slight tweaks to better suit me. It climbs so nicely, and the descending is dreamy but admittedly I wasn't pushing the limits on it just yet. While staging for a photo I got distracted talking to another cyclist when the wind caught the bike and blew it over, leaving a small scratch on the TT, but I guess that just means I'm free to ride the hell out of it now...

I have no idea how I hadn't seen this build before, but ohhhhh man - it's FANTASTIC!!!!!

[Kyle h]

Just got back from a 10-day trip to Colombia and this bike continues to impress. Swapped the rear 25c GP5000 S TR for a 28c Schwalbe Pro One and will swap the front over in the Spring but really impressed with this bikes capabilities.

Untitled by Kyle Hitz, on Flickr
Untitled by Kyle Hitz, on Flickr
Untitled by Kyle Hitz, on Flickr

[vespasianus]

Originally Posted by Kyle h

Just got back from a 10-day trip to Colombia and this bike continues to impress. Swapped the rear 25c GP5000 S TR for a 28c Schwalbe Pro One and will swap the front over in the Spring but really impressed with this bikes capabilities.

Untitled by Kyle Hitz, on Flickr
Untitled by Kyle Hitz, on Flickr
Untitled by Kyle Hitz, on Flickr

Wow, just stunning. Switzerland and Columbia? That bike is taking you places!

[flying]

Originally Posted by Kyle h

Just got back from a 10-day trip to Colombia

Nice!
I see so many nice shots of Colombia cycling on IG. Looks great with beautiful countryside

Although I also see many have a bodyguard on a motorcycle ride with them
How was your trip safety wise?

That aside what a beautiful bike! Congrats

[Kyle h]

Originally Posted by flying

Nice!
I see so many nice shots of Colombia cycling on IG. Looks great with beautiful countryside

Although I also see many have a bodyguard on a motorcycle ride with them
How was your trip safety wise?

That aside what a beautiful bike! Congrats

I would say very safe but we also didn’t do much nightlife stuff nor were we in any real big cities. We stayed in Mariquita, Santa Rosa, and Manizales. Like any city there are places I wouldn’t go solo or at night but all in all I never felt unsafe. We had a group of 10, 4 of which were Colombian and another 2 which were fluent in Spanish. English is non-existent there so you really need to be fluent in Spanish or have an interpreter. That being said it’s so cheap. We got massages almost daily for less than $20/hr from Nelson Rodriguez, a TdF stage winning former pro… Hotels were $20-50/night including breakfast. I would say there is a lot of traffic but traffic is generally very patient and generally I felt safer on the roads there than I did at home by the end of the trip. I will likely go back again next winter.

[flying]

Originally Posted by Kyle h

I would say very safe but we also didn’t do much nightlife stuff nor were we in any real big cities. We stayed in Mariquita, Santa Rosa, and Manizales. Like any city there are places I wouldn’t go solo or at night but all in all I never felt unsafe. We had a group of 10, 4 of which were Colombian and another 2 which were fluent in Spanish. English is non-existent there so you really need to be fluent in Spanish or have an interpreter. That being said it’s so cheap. We got massages almost daily for less than $20/hr from Nelson Rodriguez, a TdF stage winning former pro… Hotels were $20-50/night including breakfast. I would say there is a lot of traffic but traffic is generally very patient and generally I felt safer on the roads there than I did at home by the end of the trip. I will likely go back again next winter.

That sounds great! Prices sound really nice!

The few I follow I believe all live near Bogata or Medellin
One was Oscar Seville former TDF rider. He was knocked down on a morning training ride beaten & his bike taken a year or so ago.
The others I follow all have as I said someone accompany them on early 5am rides.

[Kyle h]

Originally Posted by flying

That sounds great! Prices sound really nice!

The few I follow I believe all live near Bogata or Medellin
One was Oscar Seville former TDF rider. He was knocked down on a morning training ride beaten & his bike taken a year or so ago.
The others I follow all have as I said someone accompany them on early 5am rides.

Interesting. Not the vibe I got at all but like I said we were a bit in the country vs big city. I will say everyone we talked to and met was very excited to see American tourists. Their country is generally very poorly portrayed and they were eager to show us that’s not what it’s like at all.

[flying]

Originally Posted by Kyle h

Interesting. Not the vibe I got at all but like I said we were a bit in the country vs big city. I will say everyone we talked to and met was very excited to see American tourists. Their country is generally very poorly portrayed and they were eager to show us that’s not what it’s like at all.

Thanks I would like to visit myself
Everything I have seen of it looks great to me.

This is another couple I have followed for years... nice folks & great riders.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_c3...SNORMALSTUDIOS

[jpritchet74]

Originally Posted by Kyle h

Interesting. Not the vibe I got at all but like I said we were a bit in the country vs big city. I will say everyone we talked to and met was very excited to see American tourists. Their country is generally very poorly portrayed and they were eager to show us that’s not what it’s like at all.

Bike pics look amazing!

I really want to hear more about the trip too regarding how you planned the arrangements & found routes to ride. Did you use one of the cycling tourist companies to set it up? How did you arrange to get massages from that guy?

Caley Fretz had an amazing article on CT a few years ago about cycling in Colombia and I have been interested ever since.

[Kyle h]

Pictures incoming but somehow the WeightWeenie bug bit. On a quest to get sub 15# with pedals, cages, garmin mounts and pump; bike was 15# 10oz when I started. Added Darimo bars (-100g), a quarq Dub crankset with CarbonTi rings (-150g) and a DA cassette (-100g). Of course I couldn’t stand the black/silver quarq arms so after a bit of wet sanding I got them down to the UD carbon, have one more finishing pass to do and then I’ll hit them with some polishing compound and replace the sanded extractor ring. Will match nicely with the UD post and bars.

[dubrat]

Such a rad bike