Carbon Fiber Quality   I just received my bike today and the quality of the fork is surprisingly good. It is rigid and extremely light! It is just as rigid and light as the carbon fork on the specialized allez.

Posted 06.10.10

2 Year Review

I bought this bike in 2010 and have been riding it consistently for two summers now. Overall I have done about 2000 miles on this bike. I have only had a single flat tire in that time. I ride in the streets of New York; only one flat over that amount of miles is impressive. The tires still have a good level of grip. Things that have gone wrong: 1. The grip tape was applied horribly from the initial build of the cycle. It has since been retaped. The handlebar ends of the bike have been replaced as well. They fell off after one summer. 2. The frame set bolt on the front brakes consistently loosens. I will try using lock-tite on it the next time it loosens 3. All of the white portions of the bike are now extremely dirty. The saddle has also begun to tear on the bottom. This is horrendous. The seat is very comfortable though and offers good support. 4. The drivetrain: Still fairly stable. Not the best drivetrain i have used. It definitely takes a lot of tuning to get the gearing right. The rear derailieur is fantastic. Shifts amazingly well and required a minimal amount of tuning. The front derailure has terrible limiting screws and the cable tensioner is a pain. Overall the bike still rides amazingly well for a cycle of this price. Amazing commuter and training bike.

Posted 07.16.12

Great Begginer Cycle

I received this bike from Giantnerd about a week ago. The packaging and handling of the bike was excellent. As such, all of the parts were in tact and nothing was damaged upon arrival. Assembly was simple, as only the wheels and handlebars needed to be attached to the frame. The drive-train, however, needed to be tuned to reach all of the gears. This took some time, but was not an entirely painful experience. First Reactions: The bike is fairly light (25 pounds w/o pedals) and most of the weight is concentrated on the rear end, as would be expected. The front end is amazingly light, but surprisingly rigid. The fit and finish of the cycle is amazing. The paint and graphics are classy and smooth. The one main downfall is the handlebars. They are painted in a matte black powder paint that does not suit the bike at all. They are also a fairly weak set of handlebars as they flex slightly during powerful accelerations. Also, the grip tape on my particular cycle was not applied properly so it began unraveling off of the bike as soon as i got it out of the box. These are easily (and cheaply) fixable problems. Ride Experience/Impressions: I have ridden many more expensive cycles; most recent of which was the Specialized Allez sport. In comparison , both bikes perform fairly similar. Granted the allez was finer tuned and slightly lighter, but overall the ride experience was almost the same. The Imola rides very well for a bike of this price point. It offers a smooth ride and a fast drive-train. One of the main issues I found with this cycle were with the shifters. They are indecisive at times and a bit of a hit or miss when shifting. Some extra tuning might resolve this issue but it is one of the low points to an otherwise brilliant machine. upshifting on the rear cogs is brilliant. Smooth transitions are met with amazing power to the wheels. The gear ratios on the bike are also very well calculated. They allow for speedy in the saddle climbs, as well as powerful sprints on a high grade. In the past 100 miles with this bike I have ridden across many types of pavement. Living in New York City requires that you deal with countless potholes, serpentine bike lanes and ridiculous amounts of traffic. In all of these conditions the bike shines. I have hit several potholes in my initial rides and have no flats, bent rims or even the slightest damage to the fork. The Bike seems to be rock solid. Overall, I give this bike my unequivocal stamp of approval. It is a great machine with a few noticeable flaws, but with a ride that will entertain even an enthusiast.

Posted 06.18.10

2 Year Review

I bought this bike in 2010 and have been riding it consistently for two summers now. Overall I have done about 2000 miles on this bike. I have only had a single flat tire in that time. I ride in the streets of New York; only one flat over that amount of miles is impressive. The tires still have a good level of grip. Things that have gone wrong: 1. The grip tape was applied horribly from the initial build of the cycle. It has since been retaped. The handlebar ends of the bike have been replaced as well. They fell off after one summer. 2. The frame set bolt on the front brakes consistently loosens. I will try using lock-tite on it the next time it loosens 3. All of the white portions of the bike are now extremely dirty. The saddle has also begun to tear on the bottom. This is horrendous. The seat is very comfortable though and offers good support. 4. The drivetrain: Still fairly stable. Not the best drivetrain i have used. It definitely takes a lot of tuning to get the gearing right. The rear derailieur is fantastic. Shifts amazingly well and required a minimal amount of tuning. The front derailure has terrible limiting screws and the cable tensioner is a pain. Overall the bike still rides amazingly well for a cycle of this price. Amazing commuter and training bike.

Posted 07.16.12

Great Begginer Cycle

I received this bike from Giantnerd about a week ago. The packaging and handling of the bike was excellent. As such, all of the parts were in tact and nothing was damaged upon arrival. Assembly was simple, as only the wheels and handlebars needed to be attached to the frame. The drive-train, however, needed to be tuned to reach all of the gears. This took some time, but was not an entirely painful experience. First Reactions: The bike is fairly light (25 pounds w/o pedals) and most of the weight is concentrated on the rear end, as would be expected. The front end is amazingly light, but surprisingly rigid. The fit and finish of the cycle is amazing. The paint and graphics are classy and smooth. The one main downfall is the handlebars. They are painted in a matte black powder paint that does not suit the bike at all. They are also a fairly weak set of handlebars as they flex slightly during powerful accelerations. Also, the grip tape on my particular cycle was not applied properly so it began unraveling off of the bike as soon as i got it out of the box. These are easily (and cheaply) fixable problems. Ride Experience/Impressions: I have ridden many more expensive cycles; most recent of which was the Specialized Allez sport. In comparison , both bikes perform fairly similar. Granted the allez was finer tuned and slightly lighter, but overall the ride experience was almost the same. The Imola rides very well for a bike of this price point. It offers a smooth ride and a fast drive-train. One of the main issues I found with this cycle were with the shifters. They are indecisive at times and a bit of a hit or miss when shifting. Some extra tuning might resolve this issue but it is one of the low points to an otherwise brilliant machine. upshifting on the rear cogs is brilliant. Smooth transitions are met with amazing power to the wheels. The gear ratios on the bike are also very well calculated. They allow for speedy in the saddle climbs, as well as powerful sprints on a high grade. In the past 100 miles with this bike I have ridden across many types of pavement. Living in New York City requires that you deal with countless potholes, serpentine bike lanes and ridiculous amounts of traffic. In all of these conditions the bike shines. I have hit several potholes in my initial rides and have no flats, bent rims or even the slightest damage to the fork. The Bike seems to be rock solid. Overall, I give this bike my unequivocal stamp of approval. It is a great machine with a few noticeable flaws, but with a ride that will entertain even an enthusiast.

Posted 06.18.10

Carbon Fiber Quality   I just received my bike today and the quality of the fork is surprisingly good. It is rigid and extremely light! It is just as rigid and light as the carbon fork on the specialized allez.

Posted 06.10.10