Love/Hate mini review

I promised I'd say a bit more about the new singlespeed. I can't claim to be much of an expert, I ride a singlespeed most of the time, and over the last few years the singlespeed has been an On One Inbred. I haven't thrown my leg over many different bikes (I believe that's how most reviews are done these days), so I can't be big on comparisons. But here goes...

First impressions. It looks cool and I like the slightly retro baby blue paint and gothic decals. Nice clean steel lines, fairly skinny tubes and an uncluttered look give it that efficient and purposeful singlespeed aura. The lack of cable guides might be a problem if I ever get round to gearing it, I'm not sure how Dialled Bikes expect you to do that (it is meant to be a geared/singlespeed after all). I probably won't ever stoop to this though, so no problem for me. The EBB looks a little chunky and perhaps a bit ugly, but if it works, I'm happy.

The first ride was a night ride from Hayfield in the Peak with our Peakmidweek bunch. It was to be a Christmas 'do' so we had a short ride and long pub-stop planned.

The lively and sharp handling seemed to translate into a reasonably planted and solid feel when climbing. That was a relief, I was concerned that the front end would lift too easy, but no worries there. The frame feels stiffer than the Inbred, maybe the big EBB shell is partly responsible for that, but still has a nice steel twang when really stomping on the pedals.

Descending was where I hit problems. I suggested a nice rocky and steep descent to the pub, a cheeky trail that none of the others had done. The Inbred was a bit 'point and shoot' on these sort of descents and loved to crash its way through rock gardens. The steeper head angle on the L/H needed more concentration and I wasn't 'dialled' into this sort of riding. I took a bad line and was off, rolling around in the heather giggling like a big kid. After this, I lost my mojo and everything went tits up. I was glad to get to the pub.

I came away from that ride thinking I had made a mistake choosing the L/H. The clear light of day, and a bit of a hangover, made me realise that steep technical nightriding is not the way to test out a new bike.

I got to know the bike over the next couple of rides, and my aging synapses gradually relearnt how to handle a ride like this. The handling has now gone from 'ooh-er it's a bit twitchy' to an instinctive 'I think about where I want to go - and I'm there!' The involving nature of the ride has livened up some of my trails and it certainly is a bit more capable than the old Inbred on the nadgery stuff (think steep step downs, trialsy rock gardens and tight singletrack). And despite the budget tubes on it, it still has a nice steel feel. Yes, Im happy.