As all went well at work on Tuesday -- and there's thunderstorm season with good weather mostly on workdays and during working hours -- I decided to grab some hours for riding my Bike for fitness. Meaning, low assistance and possibly a lot of pedalling. My smart route plan assumed I would be riding with tailwind in the open space and the return would have included the forest (as there is almost no wind in the woods).
Swapping the Specialized stem in my Vado SL for Redshift ShockStop completely disorganized my handlebar space. I rode to InPost parcel locker to collect a nice dual Garmin/GoPro mount. After some work under scorching sun (although it is not Baltimore MD, 29 C makes you sweat, too), my handlebars became neat again. I could ride again!
I cannot express how happy I am to have my Vado SL equipped with dual Redshift ShockStop suspension (suspension stem and seatpost) now. Since I used to own a premium FS e-MTB, I can tell you the impressions from riding both systems over similar terrain were -- comfort-wise -- very similar to each other. (True full suspension is only better because it ensures full traction in any terrain; the suspension stem & seatpost don't contribute to that).
In the bottom photo above, I was just thinking I would hit the "Palmiry Connecting Road", or the dreadful "cobblestone or sand/mud -- choose one" segment soon. And then I recollected I could take an MTB-grade trail for a detour. Which I did.
At the summit of the "Tiger Hill", Kampinos National Park.
I truly regret I didn't take a photo at the bottom of the climb. When I saw it, I thought "Nooo! You'll never going to make that on Vado SL!" The hill actually is a tall overgrown sand dune, with a lot of sand and tree-roots on the incline. I bravely pushed the "S" button to get into 180% assistance, 240 W Turbo mode, rapidly downshifted to the granny gear and attacked the hill. Suddenly, I spotted a single-track, made by hundreds of MTBers riding that part before, so I followed that trail. It was a miraculous ride. I felt I would stop somewhere on the incline, and was about to stand on the pedals but no: I just grabbed the bar-ends, pushed on the pedals very hard, and magically found myself at the summit. Now I can understand why many people prefer Turbo Levo SL to the full power Turbo Levo: the former is lightweight and so natural to ride!
I was approaching the place seen in the photo above very slowly: The summit was already conquered. Suddenly, I heard a loud CRACK! and my Bike stopped immediately (I didn't fall, fortunately). Got off the bike and found a stick between the front tyre and the fender. After removing the piece, the front wheel was emitting very unpleasant noise when I walked the bike. "What gets?" It was the front fender, slightly bent and rubbing the tyre. I could fix it easily with my hand. I continued my ride, and that was not very easy! All in all, that was an MTB trail
(Anyone who plans riding trails on Vado SL: choose the fenderless, or non-EQ version of the bike; add MTB removable fenders).
At the KPN Didactic Trail.
It was insane to get off-road after all those torrential rainfalls we had recently. The Didactic Trail leads through a morass. The walkways as seen in the photo were OK (although I had to carry The Bike onto each walkway and jump from the end of it). The issue was the walking paths were muddy and full of deep puddles not to be avoided. While riding through one of such puddles, the bike motor got covered with water (no worries, it is waterproof!) and my shoes got full of rainwater!
Now, my Bike needs washing!
On the MTB trail.
I'm extremely happy with Redshift ShockStop products. I returned home smiling, and without typical post-ride aches (arms, neck, or lower back).