New bike day, and thanks to 4 individuals…

[Zebra]

Bought a Giant Revolt, my 1st new bike in over 35 years, IIRC! (though have had a good few 2nd hand bikes in that time!)

Got good advice from  @ChrisF on why the Revolt over the Avalanche, as well as the very capable Titan….

And yes, I wanted 2x…

@Buff confirmed he, too, was very happy with his Revolt, which was reassuring.

I got good service from GECO cycles, and his ADVERTISED price was so good, that it beat most all other shops nationally - admittedly this is the 2022/2023 model year spec, but this new bike was advertised on BikeHub at R25k all in, as compared to R29,995 nationally, for same 2023 model.

(to be clear, i was not bargaining on price, his price was simply 18-odd percent better than nationally advertised ‘discounted’ price).

He double-wrapped the bars for me, since i have large hands AND the bar felt somewhat ‘skinny’ on the test ride.

(he - @Geco Cycles Fred Koleske, owner - also kindly bought the bike to my work premises 2 days ago, for a quick test ride/look over, pre-purchase, this was HIS suggestion, and a nice touch!)

Being a S.Suburbs resident, had never even HEARD of Geco; a cool store, with some beautiful, vintage Battaglin’s displayed around the store! Nice.

Then directly with new bike to Irma, of Irmfit, for my 1st ever bike fit, she was VERY thorough, very professional, and i felt i got something out of her discussion even before i climbed on the bike - as ChrisF said, i would spend over 30 mins just giving history, and getting advice, BEFORE climbing on the bike! many on here recommended her; was money well spent).

(in between all of this, ChrisF and i had a mini-breakfast catch up, nice!).

Onwards, and upwards

Chris

Edited Saturday at 06:56 AM by Zebra
Clarification

[Mike Dewing]

Congratulations.! That’s awesome.! 😃

[RobynE 🚵‍♀️]

Massive congrats @Zebra! Happy New Bike Day! 

I don’t see myself getting a new bike for a very long time (affordability plus I thankfully LOVE my current bikes) so I can see your excitement! 

[Thomo]

Any additions to cycling equipment is always nice ... but a new bike must be right at the top.!

Enjoy.!

[ChrisF]

Congrats Chris 👍

[RickyM]

Congrats on the new ride 👏 

[betaboy]

Congrats, sweet ride… hope it brings a lot of miles with smiles Boet.👍🏻🤛🏻

[Zebra]

Did a quick ride, HB - Fish Hoek circle - HB, bike performed very well indeed, needs a bit of gear adjustment, but ride was ‘buttery smooth’, and i actually think that the minor cleat-reposition that Irma suggested made a difference.

Ignore the ‘aero’ bottle set-up; that is temporary, whilst i design a frame-fit bag for the triangle, I have already made a template, bike will be used for some touring, thus the frame-fit bag requirement. Had to remove both bottle cages for the template, so ‘out back’ they went! (from my tri-bike in my late 20’s…!)

Very affordable, and a brilliant feel - am happy with it!
Chris

Edited 18 hours ago by Zebra
Spelling.

[Rowl]

34 minutes ago, Zebra said:

Did a quick ride, HB - Fish Hoek circle - HB, bike performed very well indeed, needs a bit of gear adjustment, but ride was ‘buttery smooth’, and i actually think that the minor cleat-reposition that Irma suggested made a difference.

Ignore the ‘aero’ bottle set-up; that is temporary, whilst i design a frame-fit bag for the triangle, I have already made a template, bike will be used for some touring, thus the frame-fit bag requirement. Had to remove both bottle cages for the template, so ‘out back’ they went! (from my tri-bike in my late 20’s…!)

Very affordable, and a brilliant fell- am happy with it!
Chris

Lekker man, lekker!

[NC_lurker]

32 minutes ago, Zebra said:

Did a quick ride, HB - Fish Hoek circle - HB, bike performed very well indeed, needs a bit of gear adjustment, but ride was ‘buttery smooth’, and i actually think that the minor cleat-reposition that Irma suggested made a difference.

Congrats on the new bike.

Thought it was you going up Chappies on the Hout bay side as I was going down, seems it was. 👍🏼

[BuffsVintageBikes]

Congrats on the new bike Chris, I certainly hope it gives you as much enjoyment as my Revolt has given me over the past 4 years. I compare the Revolt to a Hilux, not really the best at anything but does everything really well 🤙

I bought a really affordable Rockbros frame bag 2 or 3 years ago and it has served me well on my tours. I do however realize that you have great contacts for custom bags and that's always the best route when possible 👍

The only thing that has disappointed me with my Revolt was the standard rims that came on the bike. After my Cape Cross tour, the rear rim had cracked around all the nipples. The spokes fortunately never pulled out of the rim but the cracks were visible. I then bought another secondhand set in very good condition here on BH and the same thing happened to the rear rim on that set.
I then bought a 3rd set here on BH but of the more modern Revolt rims which are slightly wider and more curved than the earlier editions. So far they have held up so I'm hoping your new model has the new & improved rims as well 👍 
I should add that the combined weight of myself and my setup is around 100kgs so those rims should have held up.

Here's my touring setup on my Revolt.