If you follow my blog you might have noticed that the beautiful black Genesis Croix de Fers have gone. Christine and I have both splashed out big time, upgraded and are now in possession of a pair of Reilly Gradient titanium bikes.
The Croix de Fers were beautiful but for some reason, they weren't that comfortable. No matter what we did, the bikes always felt a bit long. This was a big issue for Christine in particular as her bike gave her back pains. Fitted with Schwalbe Marathon plus tyres, which we use when we're touring, they were also heavy, a problem for us because we have to cart the bikes up and down several flights of stairs to our flat.
Despite these shortcomings we were fond of our bikes. The Croix de Fers have taken us across France twice and it felt disloyal even to think about getting something else. Still the longer we put it off the less use we were going to make of any replacements (we are getting pretty ancient). I then met Mark Reilly, a Brighton based bike designer with 25 years experience and within minutes had placed an order for his latest bike, the Gradient.
The Croix de Fers were beautiful but for some reason, they weren't that comfortable. No matter what we did, the bikes always felt a bit long. This was a big issue for Christine in particular as her bike gave her back pains. Fitted with Schwalbe Marathon plus tyres, which we use when we're touring, they were also heavy, a problem for us because we have to cart the bikes up and down several flights of stairs to our flat.
Despite these shortcomings we were fond of our bikes. The Croix de Fers have taken us across France twice and it felt disloyal even to think about getting something else. Still the longer we put it off the less use we were going to make of any replacements (we are getting pretty ancient). I then met Mark Reilly, a Brighton based bike designer with 25 years experience and within minutes had placed an order for his latest bike, the Gradient.
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| Out with the old |
