SIMON’S ELVES FALATH EVO
Starting the week off with some real -world rider feedback from Simon now that he has given the Evo a bit of shake down.
“The most comfortable bike I owned is my gravel bike which I have ridden across Europe on, so my target was to make my Falath Evo, a hard-nosed powerful ridged aero bike, more comfortable than my gravel bike, the challenge was set.
First issue the frame. The sizing chart put me at a 46cm frame, but that would be too low on the bars, so I decided to buck the trend and size up to a 49cm. I am only just resting on the top tube as my legs and feet and relatively long compared to my torso, so the 49cm worked perfectly for me with a decent amount of seat post showing. Where the top tube is slightly shorter, this allowed me to reduce the reach to the bars. I opted for a 380/100 bars as it gave me a reach that was about 30mm shorter than my current road bike, and I used 40mm of spacer to bring the bike into a better bar height for me.
For my height (167cm), I opted a 165mm pedal arm as it reduces your hip angle whilst increasing your seat height slightly, with the intention of reducing the hip strain that I have been experiencing. Moving to the saddle, I took a chance on the Elves OSSE 3D saddle and what a result. My gravel bike had the most comfortable saddle I had found, but the OSSE is an absolute revolution. It is rare that you do not even notice your saddle when you ride but with the OSSE, I completely forgot about my posterior.
Finally, the Evo is a rigid and powerful machine and thus, you would think it would have a harsh ride…I opted to go for max width tyres and fitted Continental GP5000 tyres in a 32x700c running 75psi. And what a revelation. We all know the UK roads leave a lot to be desired, but it was like riding a magic carpet, so smooth, faster than using 25c tyres, and the handling was insanely responsive. Fast sprints, hill climbing, long distance, the Evo delivered above and beyond.
Did I achieve my achieve my target? You bet I did. Finally, an aero bike that I know I will be able to ride distance with comfort!”