I bought a Calibre Two Cubed hardtail MTB a year ago, and set it up for off-road touring, which I have not done for 25 years plus, and then only 3 days. I did a few routes in the hills around Tomintoul last summer. Completely different to road cycling – very slow (OK I know I’ll get banter that I’m always slow so now I’ll be an arthritic snail) but it combines walking (some rough tracks mean a lot of pushing) with cycling miles from anywhere with no traffic, great views and fresh air.
At the entrance to Glenlivet Bike Trails:
In 5 hours on one trip I managed just 30 miles and climbed 2,500 ft but such fun. Some on easily rideable tracks:
But also deep vegetation – as here, when the forestry track ran out. It was a struggle to get down there, and I fell off a couple of times. This looking to the Cromdales and my cottage. Great place for mountain biking as miles of tracks accessible from the front door.
I’m now trying a gravel bike – I’ve bought a used Breezer Radar Cafe which is a US design. I’ve modified it for gravel touring by adding a Brooks saddle, rear rack and front fork bottle cages for tools etc. It had the modern 1×10 transmission with 42 rear and 38 front. Very reliable and lighter than the alternatives but not low enough for the steeper hills. So I changed it to a twin crankset of 38/24 which is very low.
Which one to ride ? An exhaustive test programme was necessary. So I err…rode each up my track and chose the Breezer.
Whilst it does not have front suspension it has a steel frame which should have more give than the aluminum frame of the Calibre. I’m also running the tyres on low pressures to give a bit more comfort.
Either way loaded up it’s a heavy beast.
So now the trip….
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