Silvio 2.0 at the beach

[Doug Burton]

The Silvio turned out very nicely.

The guys at Highway 58 bike shop had all the little parts I needed (and forgot to bring with me).

https://www.facebook.com/pages/HWY-58-Bicycles/308102145894914

Took a 10-mile shakedown ride Wednesday and made some handlebar adjustments.

Thursday and Friday my wife and I rode 18 miles each day on a loop that included the bike path and the road that runs parallel to the beach. The path is covered in sections by trees, which makes for a very nice ride on a hot, sunny day. They are extending the path all the way to Salter Path this winter; that will make for a nice 30-mile round trip off the roadway next summer.

It occurred to me that that was the first riding I'd done since last August, almost a year. Constant international travel will do that for you. It was magnificent riding, temps around 86F, breeze off the ocean, and the high humidity actually cools you down when you're moving, so it was very pleasant, even at high noon.

This bike accelerates like it was shot out of a cannon, even with a motor like mine. A little "speed run" on a flat section netted 23mph and no real windage on my part. I'm very impressed.

My low-speed turning technique is improving - I just raise my head up off the headrest a little and it corners like a Quest. The headrest and seat work very well together, and the rear suspension absorbs inputs to the headrest so bumps don't really even register.

The disc brakes work well. They could stand a little more adjustment/tweaking, and BB7 road calipers would work better than these BB5's because of the ability to independently adjust the inner and outer pads, but all in all the groupset (Ultegra Triple/Brifters/DEORE RD/M252 hubs/Avid BB5 discs) works quite well. SRAM hydraulics would be an interesting innovation. The randonneurs (sp) should be quite pleased with this bike.

I like the discs at the beach because they handle sand and salt without scoring the wheel rims.

John done real good with this one. It's a honey.

 

[Romagjack]

Great report. Love to see a

Great report. Love to see a video of someone riding on this machine.

 

[Andrew 1973]

I'll volunteer!

I'll ride the bike and someone can video tape me doing so. So who is good with a camera?

 

[Kenneth Jessett]

I can't quite tell from the

I can't quite tell from the photo, but are the shifters operated from the handlebars as if on a standard bike?

Also, can anyone with experience with both the Silvio and the Vendetta say what the difference is between the two in terms of speed and ease of handling?

 

[Andrew 1973]

Hi Tiggertoo,
It is my

Hi Tiggertoo,

It is my experience that riding the Silvio, the shifters are operated as if you are riding in the drops. I ride with Campagnolo shifters which have the downshift button as opposed to the levers found on SRAM and Shimano (yes, I realise these are completley different systems in their own right) and I am able to easily reach the button with my thumb while maintaining my hand position on the bars.

From the photos, it may look awkward, but the design is that well thought-out that "brifters" and drop bars are perfect for this bike.

 

[Lief]

Dangggggg

That machine is really something.
Lovin' the disc brakes.