OK, so this bike is hard going up hill. But I’m sure (I hope) that it’s just about getting my legs used to the new movements. I’m sure speed up hill will increase.
However, going down hill is another matter. It’s incredible. Not only is it fast, it holds the corners far too well. The long sweeping corner on the way home from work that scared the living daylights out of me even going 30km/h around on my road bike, can be done at almost 2 times that speed with no qualms what-so-ever. I was half way round the corner yesterday and happened to look at my speedo – 57km/h. I wasn’t even trying to push it. Kind of scary when you think of the possible carnage should I hit a patch of grit on the road.
Braking is also amazing. The disc brakes really pull the bike up very efficiently. It is hard sometimes to tell if the back wheel is locking when going downhill though. With wind in the ears you can’t hear it skidding.