Took a day off from work today to
further test the Merlin Works 4.0 full suspension bike. I opted for a
long ride today, which would take me to the Sonian Forest. In that big
forest there are a few BigM loops I interconnect and I also do the Nero
Bloso loop. This yields me nearly 100K . The bike performed again very
well. I think it almost saved my life at one point because I was
overshooting a difficult downhill - I was there before I realized it,
this bike makes me go fast! - I hit the brakes but I couldn't stop the
bike, my speed was too high. So I just let it go, down the steps I
went, bike and all. With a hardtail I might have had a tough time
making this downhill, I would probably break my frame in half by the
second or third step. Or be broken myself more likely by the impact.
But this bike just took the steps, one by one, at an amazing speed. You
can rest assured that things like this are very good for the confidence
you have in a certain bike. A few kilometers earlier, along
one of the winding singletracks of the Nero route it suddenly developed
a creaking sound which I think comes from the XTR bracket. I'm pretty
sure it isn't the seatpost/saddle or rear suspension since it only
creaks rhythmically when I turn the pedals, and then only when I push
them hard. It's a joy on the singletracks, up and down, left and right, over roots, through puddles, I could keep the speed very high, a lot higher than with a hardtail. I had the feeling I was also faster than with the Seven Duo. I have been thoroughly testing that bike last year but the Merlin is more than a 1200 grams lighter than the Duo, which should make it more nimble by default . At one point I developed a flat, or more correctly , my rear tyre
was losing pressure. I had to inflate it twice but I made it home
without having to replace the inner tyre. Had a good long ride today and was very pleased again with the behaviour of this bike.
Ride Stats : 99.5K and 905 heightmeters in 4h31mins
7624/71600
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