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BIKE GUY: BIKE GUY ROLLS AN ICON
Bill Humphreys
August 4, 2009
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(Photo: Tom Bombria)
The bike arrived just two days before my long planned Raleigh Boys
Reunionnnn and I was psyched to say the least when I took this demo model
Icon out of the box.
If you have read any of my previous
reports from last years OutDoor Expo in Providence, RI and the other
reviews of the Specialized Roubaix’s from Wheat Ridge Cyclery and Napa
Cyclery you know my reviews are just a little different than Marcel
Wust or Frankie Andreau’s.
Not so much with the high tech
terminology, is one of my strong points, but I will throw in a few
details so the modern day reader/rider can get some idea of what I am
talking about. Other than those brief sojourns into the world of carbon
fiber mentioned above, the Bike Guy has been riding nothing but Ti on
the road for the last 10 years and Litespeed Ti at that.
 (Photo: Tom Bombria)
This
Icon is a size large demo bike right off the trailer but in good shape
and easy to assemble with some nice eye candy Reynolds Assault wheels
with Michelin Pro Race Service Course tires and an Ultegra SL Group.
The
first test was the old bathroom scale combined weight test against my
current 2004 Litespeed Ultimate with DA group and wheel set. The Icon
was lighter by just the weight of my Ultegra pedals and I am sure
Marcel would agree with the accuracy of this time proven test.
This
Icon model is the affordable version of the Archon which was the
surprise winner of the Best Bike in Show award at the Cologne Germany
show last year and it has an incredibly quick feel to it as I take it
down my dirt driveway to the neighborhood streets for a quick spin
before darkness.
Right away I am thinking how can this be
quicker or feel more responsive than my Ultimate, which has shorter
wheelbase, and rear stays? I don’t want to get too tech here but I
actually got out a tape measure and found that the Icon is a one-inch
longer in overall length and a 1/2 inch longer in the rear stay length.
Getting carried away with my tape measure I also found the bottom
bracket of the Icon to be approximately 1/4 inch lower than that of the
Ultimate, which was never a problem in scraping a pedal in turns. I say
approximately because I did not have on my white lab coat at the time
and I know somewhere that Leonard Zinn was feeling a twitching in his
left earlobe.
The seat tube on the Ultimate is cut out to move
the rear wheel under the rider for quicker acceleration but now I am
getting out of my area of expertise because I’ve won maybe two sprints
in my 39 years on the bike, not exactly the fastest twitch guy on your
local group ride and then there was that classic show of speed in the
Tour of Ireland back in 1973 when I totally blew a chance for a stage
win. But I digress.
What I found, and hopefully this is the
end of this jargon, is that the Bi-planner chain stays are different on
each side thanks to Brad’s research and this bike does nothing but go
straight ahead no matter how hard you lean it over and stomp on the
pedals going up hill or for a town line sprint.
One thing I know
from my days, as a Litespeed Rep is that Brad DeVaney is a genius when
it comes to geometry designs and tube shaping to handle the stresses
involved in making a bike fast. If this guy ever decides to design a
(God Forbid) carbon fiber frame then I will be the first in line and
the rest of the industry will be instantly obsolete.
The
Reynolds Assault Wheels definitely contribute to the stiffness and
acceleration and at first I did notice the ride was not quite as smooth
as the Ultimate which has carbon fiber rear stays, but I got over this
in a couple of days and never felt like the Icon was beating me up on 3
and 4 hour rides by any stretch.
Never a great climber, actually
“good” would be questioned by my Reunionnnn Team, I had managed to drop 20
pounds since January 1st and have been able to sit in with my junior
team on their long easier days, which makes a big difference in how
well I can feel the performance of a bike under different situations
like descending, turning, and pace line work.
As my Raleigh Boys
Team took a lap on the road course at Fitchburg between the men’s and
women’s pro races I had good legs yes, but also knowing I had a great
climbing bike with no wasted movement was a confidence builder as these
old farts began to put the hammer down on the climb.
The Easton
EA 90 SL fork made descending at 50 mph with some crosswind that much
more stable even with the Assault Wheels catching the wind and moving
things sideways at times.
During some serious pace line work on
bumpy rolling roads with six of my Raleigh Boys the bike performed
better than I did if you get my drift here. One of the reason’s I
dropped 20 pounds was for this very moment when once again these old
guys would square off once for old times sake just to see who was still
fit. I soon recognized that this was it and I wished I had lost another
5 pounds and had imbibed less the night before as the tempo increased
and my heart rate got pegged at 168 to 172 and stayed there for way too
long on this pace line from the past. We were all way too fit for guys
over 60 and it hurt just like it did 30 years ago and I was glad to
have the latest from Litespeed under me as there was no slacking off
and no pointing out the bumps as we all turned back the clock for
something that is very hard to explain but incredibly fun to joke about
over dinner and drinks in the evening once every 10 years.
 (Photo: Tom Bombria)
My
annual ride my age birthday ride this year was almost broken up in to a
two day event but by bribing some local masters and juniors with water
sports (juniors) and cold beverages (masters), I was able to assemble a
solid group that could escort me in good tempo for the duration of this
65 mile “Medicare” ride. (See, group shot) This would be my last
serious ride on the Icon and I needed every bit of its lightness,
quickness, to get through this ride in style as the boys cut me no
slack as we finished up in 3 hours 12 minutes, and Oh Yeah! I won the
sprint!
The Icon has been a pleasure to ride for this cowboy of
many years on the bike. It performs to the level of any carbon fiber
bike out there on a comparative model level and it will last a
lifetime, no dings, chips, rust or fatigue to worry about. |
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