I’ve been commuting to work now for over a year, cycling up to 31 miles a day, four days a week. Up until last week I had been riding a Giant Defy 3, which is perfectly adequate for my commute and very pleasing to ride. However, I was over the moon when asked to test ride the Blue RC8 as supplied by London’s Mosquito Bikes store.
Having never ridden a full carbon-fibre bike I knew this was going to be some experience and one that would influence my next bike purchase. My initial worry was taking this amazing bit of kit home through the chaos of the London rush hour with its massive potholes and red-misted drivers, finding myself in danger of becoming an over-cautious cyclist.
However, after 10 minutes on the Blue RC8, which has a frame weighing 1080g (just had to mention that), I felt more than comfortable with the setup and found the handling great for weaving through the rush hour traffic. The latter part of my commute takes me through the capital’s largest park, Richmond Park, and every day this bike made me want to go for an extra lap or two, not caring about the wrath of my wife for being late for dinner. The RC8 really makes you want to cycle more!
The RC8 also got a lot of attention while at traffic lights. Nobody would believe the number of commuters I would see out of the corner of my eye looking at the RC8 then at their bike then back to the RC8 and then sighing. These past few days, because of the bike and the massive interest from enthusiastic commuters, I think I’ve got to know more of them than in the last eight months. It is, however, still a weird feeling when they start asking if they can use their mobiles to photograph it.
As far as actually testing the bike goes, the SRAM RED brakes are super sensitive and the bike rides with great suppleness, which is ideal for my journey. It’s a pity that I haven’t had a chance to take the RC8 out for a long slog over the weekend; I may try twisting Richard’s arm [Oh, alright – ed.]. The lightness and stiffness of the bike naturally make acceleration spot on. This bike really has opened my eyes and quite possibly my cheque book when it comes to my next bike purchase.
In my opinion the RC8 doesn’t scream class and performance, it oozes it. It may not have the super-flash paint job that you may come to expect for the amount it costs but it has everything and more to make you want to cycle on without caring about a cold dinner.
Blue RC8 complete bike as shown £4199; frame, fork and headset £1349.
