The Wilier. Sitting as my second most successful bike - at least in terms of how many miles I've put on (the count which is now 20+). I love this bike. It's the most comfortable aero bike I've ridden and the handling still surprises me often (in a good way). There have been a few times on fast, familiar descents that I thought I got it wrong - only to look back and the ride data and see that I was just travelling several MPH faster than I ever had previously.
What I love:
- -It's fast
-It's comfortable
-Handling is outstanding
- -I wanted something I'd be happy to ride on "mellow" days
Enter the Dogma. My first ride on this, I actually got off the bike 3x to see if the back tire was flat as the rear end is so compliant. I'm only about 400 miles into this bike but I've enjoyed the heck out of it and enjoy the look of it more every day (bordering on obsession).
What I love:
- -It's super comfortable. Top 3 I've ridden.
-Handling is also great
-LOVE the traditional-ish geometry and level TT
- -I didn't mean to! I was shopping for wheels!
Since the Mosaic is just a guest/experiment, it's not getting built up properly. Instead, I'm using parts I've got around (group, wheels, bars) and ordered the basic missing pieces to get the bike assembled (like the Ritchey topper). For this bike to unseat the Dogma, it's going to need to beat it in handling and comfort. If it's able to do that, I'll actually do the build how I'd see it ideally (which also means sub 6kg!)
All of my riding over the next few weeks will be on the same saddle, wheels, tires and pressure. I'm going to start by spending a little time with the Mosaic to get acquainted and then I've got a few roads and sections of roads that I conside3r to be benchmarks for certain things. Such as:
- -A section of road between my town and one to the west. You're coming down a very smooth section of asphalt and as you start to head downhill and have to make a very sharp, off-camber turn - you can't quite see that the section of road that turns your bike into a jackhammer. It's not the most beat up road around (actually, it stands out because you just don't expect it by looking at it) but I almost always go over that thing wishing the bike was smoother
-One very technical 1.85 mile descent right by my house. It's wooded which means there are often wet spots, leaves, or gravel on the road. With any of these - you don't have a chance at taking the crown on this descent. There's enough tree canopy that Garmin often doesn't follow the road - which doesn't help things. I'm quite confident in my handling ability - and this is the only descent I can think of that I've honestly tried (and tried) to KOM and haven't been able to. Still sitting 4s off the top.
-One up and over. There's a small "mountain" range to the west of my that's got a nice 2.8 mile climb that's all over the place in pitch. Going down the back side of it is some quality broken pavement followed by another fast descent. I plan to hit this on all backs bike to back - over and back (as descending that 2.8 mile climb is one of my favorites)
