Bring On The Heat

No seriously, I'm tired of these cold rainy April days.  But that's not what this is about.

First Impressions of the Habanero Cross Bike

I got my Habanero back in December on got it assembled on just about the last day of road cycling until spring.  After a 10 mile test ride it sat idle for 3 months.  I debated about leaving the fenders off for a while to see how light and quick it could be but ultimately decided that this is the rain bike and I'm going to want them on there.

Speaking of fenders, I ended up with Handsome Cycles Mud Butlers which were a nice compromise of price form and function.  So far I like them for the most part.  The front part of the front fender wags in the wind a little and the bolts that hold the stays tend to loosen up every few rides.  I'm not sure if they are actually loosening or if the leather washers are compressing.  I see Loctite in their future.  Otherwise, they are very quiet and keep my butt dry.

Handsome they are!

I've been riding this bike exclusively since fatbike season ended and I am impressed.  Most importantly, the fit is very well.  I debated for a long time about frame size since I normally ride a 58cm to 60cm extra large frame.  Mark at Habenero has a measurement system that he uses and assured me that a 57cm would work.  Spot on!  I've found this bike to be comfortable in the drops, on the hoods and on the bar top.  I could probably tinker with saddle and bar position a little more but I really don't need to.

I'm always at a loss to describe ride quality.  The subtle things things that make a bike feel "right" are hard enough to determine for yourself, never-mind explain to somebody else.  I've had bikes that have felt dead (Surly Cross Check), noodlly(2010 Scott  CR1 Comp), tight and peppy (2011 Scott CR1 Pro), stable and aggressive (Felt 4X then F2X) and plenty that have just been in the good to average range.  I'd say that this bike falls into the stable, fun and comfortable category.  It is not quite as quick feeling as my carbon frames but far from lifeless.  I've been having such a good time on it that I haven't really had the urge to pull out my other road bikes yet this year.  The roads around here are more pothole than tar and this bike has been sailing over them with confidence.

I'm still not a fan of the Tecktro Mini-V brakes. Although the stopping power seems adequate I it takes a lot of lever travel before they engage or else they rub when the brakes are off.  I prefer a tight brake lever with as little travel as possible and these are the opposite, mushy.  Also the only why to get the wheel out is to back off the in-line adjusters enough to pop the noodle out of the brake.  The barrel adjusters end up being the quick release mechanism and the cable needs to be adjusted for pad wear anyway.  I had some cheap cantis on my previous cross bike that worked great.  I may go back to those.

The latest Shimano Ultegra mechanical groupset is flawless. I've got the Di2 on another bike and I really don't miss it here.  No batteries required.  I'm at a loss as to how Dura-Ace could be worth the extra price.  You could pay over $1000 more for something that is functionally equivalent and weighs a whopping 200g less.  That's ridiculous.  My guess is that 105 is almost as good but the weight/cost difference made Ultegra the clear choice for me.

As built with 28C gatorskin tires, self sealing tubes, a spare tube in a seat pack and fenders it weighs in at 23lbs.  Not in the 19 range of my road bike but a far cry from the 31lb cross check with the same wheels and tires.  Once the weather warms up and changing tires doesn't equal numb hands and hypothermia, I am excited to try some sportier tires both in terms of rolling resistance and weight.  I'm thinking Michelin Pro4 Endurance.  I'm thinking with some quicker tires that it will be a blast to take it on some fast  group rides just for the looks alone.  This bike doesn't look like it can roll with bit big boys but it can.

Spicy

The bottom line: I like it!  Riding the rain bike is no longer punishment and I'm still going for it when the sun is shining!

Biking and Hiking in Punta Cana

After our last biking excursion in Puerta Plata I was looking for a similar type of excursion.  Well, it turns out that Maximo is the best! The trip I found didn't come close to the personal level of service and trails that we got in Cabarete.  That said, it wasn't bad.

I learned this move from the models doing a photo shoot for Coco Bongo

The tour did come with hotel pickup and not one but 2 personal guides.  One to guide us around and another to follow around for support and to take pictures. 

Wilkin, our guide, in front.

The ride itself was on e-bikes which I normally would call cheating but since the bike I had was way too small and didn't shift the e-assist was just fine.  For the first mile my wife's bike was stuck in low gear and even though she had e-assist she was topping out at about 10MPH with a cadence of 130 or so.  She was grumpy. Once that got sorted she was fine.  Unfortunately my bike had shut itself off when we stopped to fix hers before the biggest hill.  I figured that it had just crapped the bed and Wilkin was ahead so I just peddled.  It's all good.  I needed to work off the weeks drinks anyway.

Grinding a 50+lb "e"-bike up a hill in high gear.

We did the 30KM ride which consisted of mostly quiet and very bumpy dirt roads.  We visited sites like a coco farm, the only cenote around Punta Cana and Marco Beach.

A really good way to get out of the resorts!

The coco farm was interesting but a little brief.   It also included a tour of the owners house.  Getting out and around by bike with a personal guide was a lot better than piling onto one of the tour buses with all the other tourists.

They took all the pictures in the funnest spots.

 

The cenote was sad.  We have been spoiled by the clear blue pools in Puerta Plata and other places in Mexico.  This one was well visited by both tourists and locals and was grungy and full of bottles.  We decided not to swim.

The view coming into the beach.

The bikes were bad enough that by the end of 30K I was ready to be done.  Normally a 18 mile ride on mostly roads would be considered short but this one was a little punishing on these bikes.  Did I mention that it was too small. And the grips were like rocks.  Marco beach is beautiful.

Ready to rock

Reading over my review it sounds a little negative.  The service from Jose and Wilkin was great.  and they provided drinks and snacks.  If you are looking for something different I would recommend it.  In fact, we liked the personal guide so much that we bought a hike from them a few days later.

Relive 'ver el campo en bicicleta'

The hike started in a little village named "Happy View" then continued over some light trails through the valley.  We passed mango, avocado, coco, coffee, pineapple and oranges to name a few.   I'll just to the rest in pictures.

It is a pretty happy view.

Near the start

Crossed a river

Wild Pineapples

The owner of Culebike, Jose

That's all I've got to say about that.