Pinnacle Pyrolite
Price: £950 evanscycles.com
Frame: 6061-T6 alloy
Gears: Shimano Sora R3000 x 18
Brakes: Tektro Spyre mechanical disc
Weight: 11.2kg
It began with a fall. I’ve come off before, of course, many times, and I’ve always been lucky. The worst I’ve suffered has been a couple of cracked ribs, though I did once smash my helmet into pieces like an eggshell. But I’ve always been able to hop back on my bike. The innocuous fall I had last summer wasn’t too bad. All I broke was my front light. I was descending and snatched at the brakes. The rear wheel locked up, wobbled, and over I went. I was shaken but fine, and I rode home afterwards. So why has the event got so out of hand, playing in my mind in an endless “what if” loop? It’s got to the point that I’ve now got a terminal case of the yips.
My anxiety about riding in the wet and going downhill, in fact my worry about riding anywhere, is now threatening to spoil my love of the sport. Whereas before, sitting on two wheels was an everyday joy – a magical balancing trick that we can all do – I’ve now succumbed to “the fear”, terrified that at any moment I am going to wipe out. And that’s without adding in the general sense of panic about careless car drivers smashing into me.
Part of the problem is that my regular ride is a bog-standard road bike with old-school calliper brakes which offer as much traction in the wet as trying to grab a well-greased eel. And the tyres themselves are so narrow they make Donald Trump appear broad-minded. It seems to me it’s all about a loss of control (and that’s probably true for most aspects of life at the moment).
Fortunately, on a bike, that’s something that is easy to fix. A new breed of adventure cycles, which the Americans also call gravel bikes, are both “strong and stable” (thank you Mrs May), and suitable for the roughest of roads. A great example is the new Pyrolite from Pinnacle. The name sounds a bit like a risk-averse fire starter, but Pinnacle is the inhouse brand for Evans Cycles, and its bikes are created by British designers in Britain – so the UK’s awful roads and weather are definitely high on their checklist.
To start with they’ve stripped off those skinny road tyres that can’t just cope with our degraded tarmac, let alone when it’s wet, dark and you are loaded down with your M&S takeaway en route for the sofa at the end of the day. Instead, much juicier and wider 650B tyres have been fitted, and these will bounce over most things a rotten road will throw at you. One good tip is to let some of the pressure out if you decide to go off-road and you’ll find tougher trails become even smoother sailing. The triple-butted alloy frame is robust and rugged, yet surprisingly light at just over 11kg. The larger proportions of the bike lend it a sense of comfort. Rather than sitting bunched and hunched, this one lets you stretch out. It comes with drop handlebars which look the part, but it might be worth asking your bike shop to swap them for more usable flat bars. Disk brakes also add proper stopping power, essential on a glossy road.
This is a bike that has an air of confidence about it. All I need now is to get my own confidence back.
Cool kit
Durable, snazzy, knitted… There’s nothing woolly about how these bike shoes perform. Empire E70 knit cycling shoe, £200, giro.com
Email Martin at martin.love@observer.co.uk or follow him on Twitter @MartinLove166
