![]() ![]() With a few pounds of weight on the front of the bike, the bike handled great, I’d even say it leveled out the twitchiness of the handling. Shredward’s house, he took the neutrino for a spin and likewise gave his seal of approval after a brief cruise.įor the rafting trip I had brought a few bags to pack the bike out a Revelate Designs pronghorn to carry the raft, a Porcelain Rocket DSLR slinger for my camera, and a Roadrunner Bags Autopilot for my second lens. On the way to the train station I stopped at Mr. The next day I had to head back down the hustle and bustle of the city and prep for the packrafting trip. My butt was a little sore from the saddle that was a little narrow for my sit bones, but the bike had handled carriage roads, pavement, steep hills, and even some pretty rough double track no problem, a quintessential multi-surface ride to test the bike. ![]() After a lovely cruise, shorter than the original mileage but nonetheless included a chance encounter with JP Weigle and more miles than I’d normally ride in a day. As I chased Benedict around the countryside, I constantly found myself looking down to be surprised that I was riding 20” wheels. The old carriage roads were a pleasure and after letting a little air out of the rock hard BMX tires, everything was much smoother, but far from supplé. After a brief tour of his childhood home, we rolled out to meet Jen and Troy at some country road intersection. On the train, Bené sent me a map of a 60-something mile ride, which upon my arrival at 2 in the afternoon felt more than wishful thinking. Having heard fabled stories of the “soft times” in Nutmeg Country I just had to go. Ronnie Romance was at his childhood home just a few hour train ride away in Connecticut. The small wheels made last-minute corrections while navigating backed-up up traffic a total breeze, while I don’t miss riding in traffic often, I do relish the moments I get to split lanes through a crowded road, and the Neutrino made this a total blast.Īfter just a day or so in NYC I was already feeling the need to bug-out, and it so happened that Mr. The bike felt incredibly zippy and after a few blocks I had adjusted little amount of “twitchiness” of the smaller wheels, but not long after that, I’d have to remind myself that I was riding a minivelo and not a larger wheeled bike. ![]() After a little futzing and futzing, I was on my way and I made it just a few blocks before I was flagged down by an interested cyclist who had seen some teaser photos online. Clint from Velo Orange had shipped an extra Cigne stem which helped get the bars appropriately high for my lanky frame. After drooling over my 2008 track bike dreams hanging all over the walls, I finally got my eyes on the Neutrino. I picked up the bike at the infamous King Kog in Brooklyn. I dropped Velo Orange a line and they were more than happy to ship the bike up to NYC to meet me for the trip. I figured Minivelos have always been touted as the perfect urban bike for getting through the cramped spaces of the dense city, so what better accouterment to an urban packrafting trip than the ultimate urban bicycle. I had scheduled a shoot in NYC with Alpacka raft to go urban bikerafting in New York’s East River. When Velo Orange dropped photos of their new bike, I was drooling, my mind racing with ideas. Minivelos have been around for quite some time, but they have almost always had rim brakes which limited their tire clearance and thusly my interest. In my mind’s eye, I saw a 20” minivelo with a massive triangle floating on 3”-4” tires, maybe even a Ritchey Breakaway style seatpost break if I was truly dreaming. If you have ever had to box up your 29+ or other fat-tired bike for international travel in a small box, under 50 pounds, then you understand how annoying and stressful that can be. I, along with a few other eccentrics, have been dreaming of the idea of a small wheeled bikepacking rig for years. ![]() Velo Orange Neutrino-21 (Photo by Benedict Wheeler) Velo Orange Neutrino-20 (Photo by Benedict Wheeler) Velo Orange Neutrino-19 (Photo by Benedict Wheeler) Velo Orange Neutrino-18 (Photo by Benedict Wheeler) ![]()
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