Tom White writes:

I built this bike up just three days before the national espoire championship,
and immediately was taken back by the build quality and finish of the frame.
Straight away I noted the aluminium inserts in the rear brake drilling, for
me a bonus as carbon bikes I’ve used in the past with no inserts
have often looked tatty after just one season – as the lacquer has been pulled
off the frame around the brake.

I wasn’t sure I would be able to get used to it for the championship, but
on the first ride it was evident to me that this wasn’t going to be a problem. The position was perfect and felt better than the team bike I have been riding
all year in France. Onboard this bike I came 4th in the championship with only two short rides beforehand as preparation before the mammoth 170km.

Since then I have raced on it again at Crystal Palace and found the frame to
respond very positively to the tight tricky bends of the circuit. With full
gas up the climb it’s incredibly rigid with maximum power being
transferred to the back wheel. I’ve found in the past that some carbon
frames can transmit every vibration through the saddle, but whilst being rigid
the Kuota also has the ability to be comfortable. I tested this fully during the
South East series road race at Frant followed by a 60+ mile ride home, a total
of 6.5 hours in the saddle.

This is the first bike in a couple of years that has actually been mine, and
not just loaned by a team and since collecting it from Ciclos Uno I have been
in fear of that inevitable first scratch on such a beautiful machine.

I would like to say a big thank you to the UK distributor of Kuota at DHW Agencies
for his help.

Tom White hails from South London and came up through the ranks via VC Londres and rode
for the continental team Konica Minoltain in 2006.

Here’s some of his results from 2006

I would swap it for? – 1960’s VW split screen campervan