I’ve talked previously about the bike I’ve built up for GBDuro, but how does it ride?
From the first few pedal strokes, I knew the Warbird was something special. Any time that a bike makes you grin from ear to ear, you are already onto a winner. There are so many performance metrics by which we can measure how ‘good’ a bike is, but I think the amount of enjoyment riding it brings you, and the freedom it gives you to pedal to new places, are often the most important.
Before embarking on a big adventure, I headed out into the back lanes and gravel trails closer to home. The first thing I noticed was how smooth and fast it felt on the road. Given that I hadn’t ridden a gravel bike for a while, and I was on slightly wider (45mm) tyres than I’m used to, I thought it might be a little sluggish on the road. I was very happy to be proven wrong, with the Warbird picking up speed with ease, and rolling beautifully over the tarmac.
Onto the rough stuff, and I was blown away by the ride quality of this bike all over again. Taking every twist and turn, or quick change of line, in its stride. Every bit of off-road I encountered and thought ‘it’s 50/50 whether this is rideable’ I found myself able to roll over it with relative ease. I would love to say this was all down to my own skill, but I was definitely given a big helping hand by the bike. I haven’t miraculously got better at bike handling, and yet I was riding over terrain I would have previously had to push over, and I felt comfortable and confident doing it.
Fast and responsive, stable and planted. This bike manages to perfectly tread the line between a comfortable ride that enables you to tackle a huge variety of terrain with confidence and control, and a fun, agile ride that performs fantastically well on a quick blast over smoother trails or tarmac.
Molly Weaver