In case the size of the frame wasn’t a giveaway, this one ain’t mine.

Looking for a bike that can handle the mean city streets and luas tracks of Dublin, this was bought “sight unseen”, purely based on lust – and is there anything wrong with lusting after a beautiful Italian?

Obviously, yes. One can get into a lot of trouble and heartache when following the heart and not the head; and on paper (i.e., a geometry chart), this one is just a little bit more aggressive than what she’s used to, with a lower stack height, though interestingly it does have a marginally shorter reach than her current road bike (LIV Langma) setup. The bars are a lot wider, and slightly flared, too.

That 1×11 drivetrain was another unknown. Welcome to the world of “gravel bikes”.

First impressions — which is all we have, as it hasn’t been around long — are that not only is this bike gorgeous, this bike is FUN! The paint is incredible, the cream/ivory tone is underrated, with big blocks of vibrant colours. Not having to consider shifting the front derailleur is a good thing. The wider bars take getting used to, and it understandably isn’t fast like a road bike; but the bigger tyres eat up the bumps. The stock Tektro discs are noisy, so that might be the first major upgrade.

For now, flashy new Fizik bar tape, Garmin mount, and fluro-yellow bottle cages are on, along with a top tube bag from 76projects. Pros/cons on that bag: great idea, but terrible execution. The Cinelli Zydeco provides mounts to keep any bag off the frame, saving the paint from scratches, which is why this bag seems ideal; however, the 76projects bag is not easy to install, requiring a lot of work and some additional hardware (countersunk M5 mounting bolts) which is not included.

Where will we go from here? Canal paths, maybe up the Dublin mountains a little… who knows. I’m in the process of converting my 26″ Klein mtb to be more “road-and-gravel-friendly”, so it won’t be such a chore keeping up with her on the roads. Motivation in the winter is hard to come by, and this can only help get us out there.