willem jongman wrote:I am sure it is a great bike. However, with short reach brakes that allow 28 mm tyres at best it is not really a tourer, not even a fast one.
Willem
Interesting and lively response to my post! I was just trying to point out that there are some very nice fast audax/light tourers around for the price stated, if the spec concentrated on a great bike rather than the gears and brakes alone. No one seems to be coming up with the actual spec bike as asked for in the first place.
Happy to accept criticism of wheels and tyres Willem, but the "not even fast" seems a bit unfair - seems pretty fast to me and cannot split the difference with the mid 90's Merlin I owned for a while, apart from the carbon forks are much more compliant and comfortable than the Japanese alloy forks the Merlin used. Both seem to move forward with amazing ease when I press the pedals. I had never known anything like it before I rode the Merlin - the September is just the same.
For me, the combination of this responsiveness, as MickF finds in his bike, added to the comfortable position which reminds me so much of my Galaxy, gives me the best of both worlds, something pretty hard to find. It does have rack mounts and 10kg is not a lot to carry, when I already weigh 90kg. I have a Roberts Roughstuff frame standing by for lugging full loads if needed.
Brian