theletterk wrote:some review / updates with the bike.
Thanks very much for the much needed update!!!
theletterk wrote:It is definitely not a climber's climber bike
What do you mean by climbers bike? I never really understood what reviewers mean by something being a climbers bike other than it being light.
theletterk wrote:Descending is also fun with this bike. Stable and no twitchiness at all.
Would you say its better than the XR2? On a certain level, you'd expect it to perform on a fairly similar level because the geometries are almost identical bar the 5 mm cut in the head-tube/stack. Who knows, maybe thats enough to radically alter how the bike handles.
One beef I have with my XR2 is that overall its not a particularity stable bike. You feel a little precariously perched up rolling along. There's no strong sense of being planted firmly on the ground. When it comes to descending, the bike is by no means skittish, but it doesnt feel intuitive to corner on. There's none of that 'my bike is on rails' feel to it. Its by no means a poor or scary descender, but its defiantly not good (relative to other bikes Ive ridden).
theletterk wrote:One thing that is totally different from the XR2 is how well countervail works [...] I felt very little vibration on the saddle. it was very muted over rough roads and just floats along the small bumps/holes etc. I like how it feels. this damn thing works!
Its fantastic to hear that it does work. Comfort is a dimension I've only just begun to appreciate. Some bikes just beat you up an leave you feeling wrecked after 3-4 hours in the saddle (e.g. the XR2 with Shamal Mille). Whereas a bit of vibration absorption along the way can be the difference between feeling like shit the next day and having a bit more energy left to burn.
How do you find the comfort through the forks in the cockpit? One reviewer noted a big disparity between the sensations felt at the seat vs. HB. The XR2 has that characteristic to some extent. Though I only find you notice it on real rough chip n' seal roads. Specifically, the high frequency vibration will make your hands tingle and itch! it sucks!
theletterk wrote:Bianchi has done a good job in maintaining the same ride quality from the XR2 and transferred it to the XR4.
overall - a good improvement over the XR2.
Thats great to hear! I think the XR2 is far from perfect in any one dimension, but as a complete package, its still probably the best bike Ive owned. Throw in the big boost to comfort you mention, and it sounds like a contender for being one of the best framesets on the market.
not a climber's climber bike meaning the weight..hahaha....this bike is definitely nowhere near 6kg. rough guess would be 6.8? I like to think that a climber's climbing bike would be appx 6kg and below. I enjoy it a lot BUT not as much as my Z5 during the climb simply due to the weight diff (my parlee is 5.5). I am not a strong rider so any weight reduction helps a lot!
