There is much to say about this bike. I finally have it sorted out and dialed-in, but truth be told you get what you pay for. I was able to pick this up for a song, and now I know why. The Bad:
- Seatpost bolt would not tighten, Req'd washer to allow it to tighten down. I broke 3 bolts.
- The stock Vittoria Randonneur 28mm tires. They are horrible. Went through 3 different new sets of tires until I discovered Clement, Including Schwalbe Mondials, Specialized Nimbus, Conti Tour Ride, etc...
- The Carbon fork flexes way too much when cornering, causing brakes to rub really bad.
- The front fork and wheel uses quick release, not stabilizing the disk very well.
- The BB5 Disk Brakes completely suck. They rub, had to be replaced with shimano on front and a Techtro on the back. Would have been better to have the BB7 road mech disk setup instead.
- Fenders look nice, but fender bolts were too big and rub on tires. (Even reversed direction, but sorted out now really nice even on Clement Explore USH 35's.
- The Triple. This is a double-edged blessing. With the 74 mm BCD of the small chain ring, I was able to build a climbing setup with an aftermarket 26 tooth ring instead of the 30 tooth ring to get myself under the 1:1 rotation ration between pedal wheel. A 1:1 ratio is really difficult on long gravel climbs.
- Stock Saddle Horrible.
- Frame geometry not as aggressive as I would have liked, but really comfy.
- Slower than average.
- I bought this the week the Surly straggler came out, and missed the opportunity.
The Good.
Still working on this. It's hard to get over all the extra work I had to put into this bike. It is almost perfect now except the carbon fork scares the hell out of me.
I have that same bike, I'm with you almost in everything, but the front fork of my bike has been nice so far. I've changed wheels, saddle, groupset (sram 1x), brakes (bb7), seatpost. Best bike I've ever owned. Check your front hub, the stock wheels are rubbish and an excessive slack could cause your brake issue.
ReplyDeleteWhat wheelset did you buy? I*ve have had the Bossanova now for 8 years and its time to replace the wheels (whitch I havent ever been really happy about).
Delete2022 and I still ride my Bosanova daily. Never had any issues with fork flex/brake rub fortunately. The stock tires were garbage - ditched them the week I bought the bike but I've been amazingly happy with it. The biggest surprise was that the stock saddle is actually comfortable for me (and I'm super picky, usually needing to try multiple ones with any new bike until I find the right fit.) I didn't expect to like this bike so much.
ReplyDelete