I finally finished my report and needed a reward for my hard work. Since I can proofread when it is dark, you can guess what my reward was. =) Yesterday I wrote all about Baby so it was time for the premiere ride.

Yes, no one puts Baby in a corner. Baby needs to see some mud and grass. =) But now I will stop joking and give a serious review of the Ridley X-Ride so anyone that googles it can come here.

The first thing I did was pick it up and run up stairs which was different because the tube is so much bigger than my Merida and the wires run over the top so it sat on my shoulder nicely. Starting to ride was no instant magic I have to say. The Ultegra 6700 gears shifted quick and precise but it did not feel all that different. Great, did I just waste a lot of money? This first stretch is actually a gradual uphill over to Sävecrossen things actually felt bad because of the hill.

Getting out into the grass felt okay and the tire spin on the wet hills had more to do with my tires than the bike. My problem was my riding style. I was riding it the same way as my Merida. Because on the way to Skatås for the real test, the magic started. On the grusväg of 8:an this bike is an animal. Wow! I could fly along effortlessly and corners were beautiful! Arriving at the Introcross area I took a couple laps and was inpressed! It was stable in the sand. It flew over bumps in the grass. Grass curves also seemed to be better.

I have an FSA Gossamer 50-34 because with the Merida I never had enough strength in a race situation to change up from the 34. The Ridley X-Ride is totally different. I did our whole lap (sand and all) on the 50 and rode all the way home on the 50 also. I have never ridden a bike that has felt this stable offroad. If my MTB felt like this, I would be so much better.

So just like Styby, I have to remember to point at the Ridley logo. Now Chris Cross is ready for action! We are Belgium is just what I have needed.