Components and Wheelset
Shimano Tiagra components (STI shifters/brake levers plus front/rear derailleur), FSA Gossamer 53/39 crankset, platform pedals and black anodized rear rack announce it as a leisure or commuter bike. The wheels though tell a different story?this bike was designed to go fast, and I mean really hustle! Shimano Capreo 24H hubs proclaim that Pacific Cycles gave this bike careful thought, since Capreo is the premier gruppo for small-wheeled bikes, with Alex R390 rims that inspire confidence with their sensible lacing pattern plus anodized finish with machined braking surface, completed by Primo Comet 20? 110psi tires. In brief, the wheels are really triathlon-worthy gems.
Dynamics
No matter how good the frame and components, a bike must be well suited to its intended functions, in this case, long leisurely rides and/or commuting a considerable distance (by this I mean more than a dozen miles each way). I can see myself using it for long leisurely or brisk rides (there are two other models: For The Trails and For The City?no prizes for guessing what they?re designed for), as I did when I joined three friends for a ride from Seattle?s Wallingford district to Golden Gardens Park by Puget Sound. Two friends were using Giant electric-assist bikes, and the third was riding a Merlin Ti Record (which is why I can safely say the For The Road?s frame color looks like titanium). Keeping up with one strong rider on the Merlin and two others with electric-assist presented an interesting prospect for me. Could this new bike keep up with one strong, fast and two tireless riders, especially in climbs? Yes, and yes again.
As a climber, this is a good rig?at 23 lbs it?s no featherweight but isn?t Porky Pig either and actually feels like a lighter bike. I must emphasize that the rear suspension did not absorb (and thereby waste) my pedal strokes when going uphill. Under very hard acceleration on flats, it does bob a little, but under moderate acceleration, you wouldn?t guess you had a rear suspension.
Front and Rear Suspension
This rear suspension makes a huge difference in ironing out washboard surfaces, and the occasional shallow pothole. Riding on small wheels with narrow 110psi tires, the suspension has really got to work, and when going over the numerous speed bumps at Golden Garden Park?s parking lot at about 10 to15mph, I experienced no teeth-rattling, hand-jarring impact at all. Going over Burlington Northern-Santa Fe Railway?s numerous railroad tracks throughout the ride also posed no problems, no discomfort. On my road bikes, even the very comfy Viner with steel frame, I have to grit my teeth and get off the saddle when I cross railroad lines.
The beachfront parking lot on that sunny Sunday afternoon was busy with families unloading stuff for beach barbeques and there were many kids running around, some meandering on bikes, and that made it necessary to ride with caution. Cars were also moving in or out of parking spots. That?s when I found out that maneuvering the For The Road was a snap. Easy to weave in and out of heavy traffic and easy to kerb-hop too. This bike?s low-speed balance and steering inspired confidence.
There is a particularly long and steep descent from the park?s NW 85th St/32nd Ave NW exit to Wallingford district that goes on for 30 blocks. It was thrilling because this bike was so stable?and I do mean very stable even compared to my Sampson Ciao! and Viner SL road racing rigs, both of which I can pedal hands-free on flat stretches or downhill. Years ago I?d learned never to go hands-free with a small-wheeled bike, and this applies to the For The Road too. Folders with their smaller wheels with smaller rotating mass (which means far less stable gyroscopic effect than larger 26? or 27? wheels) plus their odd fork geometries were never meant for hands-free riding. Yet in a 35+mph descent, this bike felt like a rig with 700c wheels. It inspired real confidence by tracking true, with good lateral stability. Little or not-so-little bumps were effectively ironed out?my hands were not punished with road buzz.
The front suspension is very much like many racing motorcycles? anti-dive front suspension. Several times during this hair-raising descent, I deliberately applied only the front brakes, gently at first, then incrementally much harder each subsequent time, to scrub away my ever-increasing speed. As I suspected and yet to my delight, I could feel the front suspension being compressed downward, absorbing the forward-thrust and downward-directed forces. Try to jam just the front brakes on a normal road bike at 35+ mph and you?d be literally kissing Mother Earth in the blink of an eye. That I didn?t get to smooch Mother Earth with an endo[ver] meant that this suspension is both for comfort and to some degree, for safety.
Please note that I would never, ever recommend anyone else to attempt to replicate this experiment, so these observations are simply to note that in some panic-stop situations, this bike may actually save you. But I should also note that in a long, long descent where you need to keep applying the brakes from time to time, you?d really have to monitor if the pads are gripping consistently. Road brake caliper pads can heat up fast so that braking force is considerably reduced with hot pads. This is why bikes for serious loaded touring use cantilever brakes, and mountain bikes use V-brakes with long brake pads. With these smaller, 20? wheels that rotate at higher rpms, the rims heat up far more quickly and so this is a phenomenon that really needs to be watched. This isn?t a problem at all once the cyclist is aware of it of course. Besides, nobody sensible would try to go for emergency braking at 35+mph. So brakes that don?t allow you to lock your wheels at high speed actually prevent you from smacking Mother Earth in a spectacular way that could make you and your local ER good friends for a while.
Drivetrain
The Shimano Tiagra shifters/levers provided a broad resting platform, but the prominent forward ridge of the hoods made them uncomfortable for my gloved hands, though that can be remedied by rotating the handlebars so that the levers rotate upwards a little more, to relieve pressure on the forward parts of my hands. Test riders should experiment with handlebar angle, and not dismiss the levers out of hand (I use Campagnolo Chorus and a previous generation Shimano Dura-Ace brakes levers on my road bikes, both of which I find very comfy). Shifting was predictable, though the pressure required to activate the shifters was higher than what I?m used to on Chorus levers. The gear ratio spread is more than adequate, the FSA Gossamer crank?s 53/39 chainrings coupled with a 9-26T freewheel?not super wide, but sufficient to make a reasonably fit cyclist pretty happy in all but the steepest of hills. The black anodized FSA Gossamer is a nice touch, it complements the grey frame, telling onlookers ?I?m not an ordinary bike but I won?t break the bank either?.
Strengths
An affordable exotic. Wickedly cool-looking and really comfy full suspension frame. A fast bike, very stable at high speeds. Quite maneuverable at low speeds, a must for commuters, especially in areas with many pedestrians. Can easily keep up with a standard road bike with triathlon-worthy wheels. Major components with reliable reputation. It has a rear rack! Can replace at least two kinds of bikes?it?s a multi-tasker, a jack-of-three-trades, master of all three. Did I mention it?s wicked-cool?
Weaknesses
Frame has one size only, with a longish top tube. I?m 5?10? and yet I was riding in the stretched-out racing position with my hands on brake hoods. This is my usual riding position and so is comfortable for me, but if you?re much shorter, you?re out of luck. Velo-brand saddle has to go, but that?s true of virtually all saddles in this bike?s price range. Platform pedals are functional but that?s about it; many owners would probably replace them for clipless ones. Front suspension squeaks, but to be fair, I rode an early model. For the serious commuter, it might be tricky to add fenders.
Conclusion
I have six bicycles already yet I?m contemplating the benefits of owning a For The Road. Why is that? Because it can do things that no standard commuter, or standard road bike, or standard folding bike can do. This bike is a multi-tasker?most others are single-taskers?it?s that simple. It?s a fast and predictably stable road bike, with a rack for commuting needs, with full suspension for comfort, plus it can fold. In theory, it can replace: my seven-speed commuter with rear rack; my full-suspension folder; plus my training road bike. How many bikes can claim to do all these jobs?! You?re really getting three bikes for the price of one. A jack-of-three-trades and master of all three. Why else would Pacific Cycles bother to enter the already saturated road bike market if they didn?t have something radically as well as practically and usefully different?
I love bikes as useful and relatively cheap transports (compared to cars and trucks), and I appreciate it when a company actually takes the trouble to figure out how people use their bikes, instead of making cookie-cutter products and assuming that half of all cyclists are Lance-wannabes; and that the other half are Uncle Buck look-alikes riding to the local bait shop with a fishing pole over one shoulder. The reality is, many of us are a little bit of both. Maybe it was the particularly beautiful Sunday, but riding that bike made a great impression on me. Don?t forget the cool factor, which is okay since it?s practical too?couples and individuals came up to me at Fremont?s Sunday outdoor market and also in front of the Folding Bikes West store to ask me what I was riding. I heard ?cool bike? more than once in less than two hours. If you?re a shy biker, here?s your mobile ice-breaker. I?m not sure how widely it?s available currently, but it has real potential, as each of the three models can do the job of at least two different bikes, and do them very well, with no real downside. For me, that?s more than enough to consider them carefully. After coming home from work or errands with my folding bike or commuter bike, I usually have to switch to a road bike for a long recreational ride with a friend who rides a fast road bike. With this bike, my folding bike is my commuter bike, is my leisure bike, is my fast road bike?
review by B.L. Goh
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