A friend and I just returned a few days ago from a 10 day trip to the province of Granada, riding identical white Transalps.
We took the Galicia ship from Portsmouth to Bilbao, a very relaxing 2 night mini-cruise which delivered us to Bilbao before 0900 allowing a full day's ride.....albeit a very wet one. Throughout Spain we took some fantastic roads (often the ones marked with a green border on Michelin maps)
The second day led us to the altiplano de Granada where we visited a friend, and subsequently we rode a number of local dirt and gravel trails, on which the Transalps performed well (once we dialled down the Traction Control which was slowing the bikes on gravel climbs).
This is not a trip report, but rather a short eulogy for what a great bike the Transalp was for the 2,000 or so kilometres:
-great torque (surprisingly) at slow trail speeds, and manic when you get above 5k rpm (which we rarely did)
-tons of speed for the twisties, especially in Sports mode
-despite the 21" front wheel it cornered so well, and some of the rougher mountain roads felt more comfortable having a big front wheel
-comfortable seating position (I added a Touratec wind deflector to mine) and reasonable wind protection
-very economical, (on one section of 50 kms I even averaged 88.8 mpg although I must admit that was downhill
I just slung an Ortlieb bag on the back seat, to complement my top box, whereas Nick had Givi panniers.
Both of us were very glad of the heated grips, as Spain was surprisingly cool and our second last day, like our first, saw torrential rain most of the day.
The much discussed drawbacks of tubed tyres and no cruise control did not prove to be a problem for us. And whilst the suspension has been described as soft, it wasn't a problem for either of us on the off-road sections or the road touring.
As we sat on the boat returning to Portsmouth we reflected on what a great, low cost all round bike the Transalp is; a jack of all trades (if master of none). PS It's also comfortable 2-up
THE END
A Granada trail
Storm approaching rapidly in the Bardenas Reales
Beauty parade.
We took the Galicia ship from Portsmouth to Bilbao, a very relaxing 2 night mini-cruise which delivered us to Bilbao before 0900 allowing a full day's ride.....albeit a very wet one. Throughout Spain we took some fantastic roads (often the ones marked with a green border on Michelin maps)
The second day led us to the altiplano de Granada where we visited a friend, and subsequently we rode a number of local dirt and gravel trails, on which the Transalps performed well (once we dialled down the Traction Control which was slowing the bikes on gravel climbs).
This is not a trip report, but rather a short eulogy for what a great bike the Transalp was for the 2,000 or so kilometres:
-great torque (surprisingly) at slow trail speeds, and manic when you get above 5k rpm (which we rarely did)
-tons of speed for the twisties, especially in Sports mode
-despite the 21" front wheel it cornered so well, and some of the rougher mountain roads felt more comfortable having a big front wheel
-comfortable seating position (I added a Touratec wind deflector to mine) and reasonable wind protection
-very economical, (on one section of 50 kms I even averaged 88.8 mpg although I must admit that was downhill
I just slung an Ortlieb bag on the back seat, to complement my top box, whereas Nick had Givi panniers.
Both of us were very glad of the heated grips, as Spain was surprisingly cool and our second last day, like our first, saw torrential rain most of the day.
The much discussed drawbacks of tubed tyres and no cruise control did not prove to be a problem for us. And whilst the suspension has been described as soft, it wasn't a problem for either of us on the off-road sections or the road touring.
As we sat on the boat returning to Portsmouth we reflected on what a great, low cost all round bike the Transalp is; a jack of all trades (if master of none). PS It's also comfortable 2-up
THE END
A Granada trail
Storm approaching rapidly in the Bardenas Reales
Beauty parade.
