Well, my decision on which bike was made for me. Couldn't afford the Steel Niner, my LBS said they tried to order more Renegades and Jamis is completely sold out and there was only one Ridley CR2 left according to the Performance website.
I had been leaning towards the Ridley based on the comments on this forum, but don't think any of those bikes would have been a bad choice. Got the 30% points, and for some reason the bike was less in the store than ordering it on the internet, so my decision was really made for me, call it fate.
It should be in around Thursday. Can't wait. Pictures at 11.
Yeah...I tried to get a new Renegade too about a month ago. There was 5 on Friday. When I tried to have one ordered on Monday...gone. I did get lucky and Jamis had one last Renegade in my size but it was a 2015 demo bike. A little beat up but almost 50% off and at least it saves me the pain of putting the first scratch/chip in the paint. I don't think you made a bad choice going with the Ridley though. They are some nice bikes for sure.
Congrats! I rode my X-Trail for Gran Fondo Ellensburg this past weekend and throughout the ride I just kept thinking how much I love this bike. It is perfect for rides that mix pavement and gravel. Loving it. I hope you do too.
First impressions. This is a fun bike. The geometry is much more forgiving than my Wilier Cento Uno and very comfortable for long days in the saddle. Very responsive and easy to handle. The frame soaks up the rough terrain and I didn't feel beat up after riding. I was surprised at the speed I could maintain when on the smoother gravel sections. That being said, I reminded myself on more than one occasion that I got this bike to explore, relax and enjoy nature and not a max output road training ride. Speaking of which, I did go on a road ride that night and noticed immediately the geometry difference between the bikes, not a good or bad thing, but back to back rides really exposed the slight changes in angles and the huge impact they have over fit.
I ran the tires at 30 lbs., but will be converting to tubeless and lowering the pressure a little more. About the tires, the stock tires are okay on the smaller gravel, but when I got into some sections that had larger (up to golf ball size) I wished I had a larger volume tire for better handling. I was concerned about the Alex 1.9 wheels, but had not issues and they rolled better than I was expecting. The gearing was right on as well, really like the 11 speed cassette and the many choices I had to get the right ratio. The 50/36 chain ring is a great combo for this type of riding. The thru-axle is very solid and provides solid stability. I do need to figure out how to secure it in the back of my truck, my set up is for quick release. Minor issue, but I missed that one. I've always had hydro disc brakes on my mountain bikes and loved how you could lock down the wheels, the pads need some break in time, but can't imagine this bike without them.
This bike is definitely a keeper and would recommend it. Too bad they are sold out, but it's apparent why after riding. Thanks for all the reviews and comments on this forum for directing me to such a good purchase and fit. Forgot to mention, I'm 5' 6" and got the XS.
I recently took delivery of an X-Trail C20. My "allroad" rides consist primarily of pavement with a few miles of dirt mixed in, so my foremost consideration in the choice was a bike that would feel good on the road. The X-Trail does, in fact, it feels quite similar to my Cervelo RS. As far as off-pavement goes, I'm not qualified to render a judgement on how it compares to other bikes in this category. All I can say is as a guy who is used to a cushy FS mtb, it's taking some getting used to. No complaints about the bike, it's just a matter of learning the limitations of the breed. Those Shimano hydraulics are so good I can't imagine taking a bike like this off road with anything else.
But...there are two problems with the bike, and my dealer is waiting to hear back from Ridley about them. 1) This is a big one- there is very little (0.050-0.075 mm, measured with a feeler gauge. Yes, that is a 0 directly to the right of the decimal) clearance between the CL rotor lock ring and the inside of the fork blade. I tried it with 3 different CL hubs. With a 6-bolt hub, clearance improves to about 1 mm. Unfortunately for me, both my wheelsets are CL. I don't know if my fork is an isolated case or if an entire production run is similarly afflicted. If you're going to run CL hub on the front of your X-trail, make sure you check it. 2) This is an annoyance- Ridley swapped the Cirrus seat for the cheaper Stratos version.
Stuff happens. AFAIC this is an opportunity for Ridley customer support to shine or stink. My dealer is on the case. Stay tuned.
