2016.07.02 devinci SPARTAN

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Since Jesse was going to be in town, obviously I needed to set up a bike ride. My go-to option was to ask to borrow one of the Gnarthaller bikes. But, as chance would have it, I found myself at Santiam bikes in Tigard to get a new bike for Simon's birthday. While there, they offered to let me demo a devinci Spartan - the bike I didn't get (yet).

The plan was to do Timberline to town, because Jesse has never done that. Not really a good test of the Spartan, so I also held out hope that we could also hit Sandy Ridge for some more challenging and familiar trails. But when we showed up for the 08:24 bus, there was a giant crowd of hopeful bikers. We opted for Plan B, and headed instead for a full ride at Sandy Ridge.

We decided on the big loop - Communication Breakdown, Quid Pro Flow through 338, Two Turntables, and bottom of Hide & Seek. The grind up was... grindy. The Spartan with its carbon frame weighs almost the same as my hydroformed aluminum Dixon, but it did feel a bit less eager to climb. But still perfectly acceptable. Then we came down.

Holy fucking fuck fuckers.

The raw speed of the enduro is mighty. I ripped what must be a personal best through Two Turntables with an ease that still has me giddily re-living flashbacks.

It's going to be a difficult, anxious wait until I've saved up what I need. I still need to demo a few other contenders, but the Spartan has a distinct frontrunner position in my heart and mind and soul.