…and is still fairing quite well. In fact I’m quietly impressed.
There’s not a great deal to add from my previous post to be completely honest – the BB drop I mentioned before has made me more aware of what other brands run, and I still stick to my guns that 70-75mm is what most of them tend towards. Adjusting this frame to bring it into line would drop the seat tube down 5-10mm which could reduce the saddle-to-bar drop for some.
I also mentioned some downhill twitch before, but on today’s ride particularly I purposefully pointed it downhill to see what the feedback was like – it was pretty solid to be fair, so that inkling I had was probably just a glitch (or was actually me twitching, as suspected).
The only other point I’ve noted is that the front end does seem quite solid. By this I mean that it’s been a while since I had tingly hands, but the transference of energy from the road seems to be quite direct on this bike. Perhaps a carbon steerer on the Kinesis fork would dampen this a bit, as well as helping to drop some weight.
My only other comment is that for a bike named ‘Gran Fondo’, the geometry isn’t really all that Gran Fondo-y. 17.5cm is still quite a short head tube for a 57cm frame – that’s the same as many a race bike!
I’m being a fussy bugger though and really just trying to find stuff to talk about. It is a good bike, and as mentioned before, is perfectly capable of challenging, matching and even exceeding Ti frames of a much higher calibre or pedigree. Sure, it’s no Baum – but if you’re considering a Litespeed, Enigma or Lynskey then add this to your list for comparison, and perhaps save yourself a few quid to put towards a better wheelset. If you do, you won’t regret it.
Very pleasantly surprised covers it quite nicely – and it doesn’t look too shabby either.
Tags:GF_Ti,kinesis,review,sportive bike,sportive geometry,ti,Titanium
3 thoughts on “Kinesis GF_Ti Approaches 500km…”
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Hi,
I was really interested in this but start to think it’s not that light and not that comfortable. The frame weighs 1.6kg according to their website which with a 525g fork is in steel territory? Add in a 31.6mm seat post, ‘direct’ front end to quote you, toe overlap for some without guards and I’m not so keen.
AdsH
I’m yet to weigh mine, but based on the weight of my Pegoretti with roughly the same kit minus mudguards (7.9kg) I don’t expect it to weight much more than 8.5kg even with the ‘guards on. Not light per se, but hardly heavy either.
The ‘direct’ front end is easily softened with a carbon bar – it’s not so bad that I need padding under my bar tape for example. It’s just noticeable against other bikes I’ve ridden lately (which I have run carbon bars on, incidentally).
And toe overlap? Really? That just isn’t something to get worried about – I get that on my Baum FFS! Unless you’re doing lots of very slow speed, tight turns it just IS NOT an issue.
Ultimately it’s a very good bike and incredible value for it’s quality and performance, so you’d be wrong to dismiss it based on weight and toe overlap.
For what it’s worth, the fit on this is my biggest issue – I thought I’d be able to get it close enough to my Baum, but I’m back up to 40mm of spacers and it’s still not high enough (my shoulder pain has returned as a consequence). It’ll see me through this winter, but will then make way for something that I expect to take delivery of in March. Anyone who’s keen and fits on a 57cm Kinesis (and isn’t overly reliant on it’s winter bike capabilities immediately) would do well to wait until the Spring when I’ll be selling this as a complete bike (as seen above, but probably with different [newer] wheels) for around £1800…
Wonder how it compares to the Enigma Etape? Test rode one of those y’day and had to restrain myself from handing over the money immediately. Really comfortable, allows more than 23s with guards but probably not quite so quick.