What kind of bike does a self-proclaimed through-and-through roadie ride when tackling off road terrain? We grabbed an afternoon with HUNT Senior Development Engineer, Paddy Brown to check out his bike ahead of his gravel racing debut at Dirty Reiver.
Words by Paddy Brown
This mash up of road and mtb tech into what I think is a fantastic bike, was built to be able to make use of some of the very rough and flinty bridleway around the Southdowns way. A mountain bike is something that I, a through and through roadie, has never felt comfortable on, no saddle to bar drop is not a way to live. And, who needs more than 40 whole centimetres of bar!
I have been able to escape the busy roads to get longer, less intense sessions done in the evening off road, which has been a really welcome change of pace. It's made training this year fresh again after 12 years of racing, while keeping my fit and position reasonably similar. The big tyres meaning I can ride comfortably on even really quite rough terrain and still hit the numbers that I need to.
Actually enjoying riding in the dust and dirt has lead me to sign up to some races, with this being the set up for Dirty Reiver this weekend, with a few local ultra races to follow such as the Sussex myster tour and possibly some UCI races if the legs hold up through the road racing season.
