# Excalibur first ride report



## rellimreeb (Jul 29, 2007)

Took a 45 mile ride today on my new Ridley. 
In comparison to my retired Roubaix (9 speed triple)

Ride
The bike has an excellent road feel. I feel very connected to the road, but I didn't notice any increased harshness. I took one of my usual loops which has all kinds of different surfaces. I'm not sure the zertz inserts are all they're cracked up to be after today. The bar tape and saddle (easton synthetic and Fizik Arione) did an excellent job of muting the high frequency stuff.

Handling
There is something to that massive lower bearing on the headtube. The frame is very stiff and stable on descents. It handles very, very well. I had two 40 mph descents, and I felt noticeably more at ease at high speeds. It climbed well too, I guess that's because of the shorter seatstays (vs. my Roubaix). 

Components
I love the Campy Chorus group. I have been a long time Shimano rider and I can tell this is going to be a happy marriage. 
Fizik Arione saddle - I'm very impressed. I wasn't sure about this saddle since it doesn't have a cutout for my plumbing, but it was very comfortable. I was expecting to have some pain since my ass has been sitting on a Specialized Avatar saddle for the last couple of years, but the Fizik was comforable right out of the box. 
I did miss from a fit standpoint w/ the seatpost. When I was dialing in the setup, I had to slide the saddle to near the end of the rails, so I think I'm going to replace w/ a setback post. 


All in All, I'm very happy with it.


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