At the top of the mountain, Jake and Nate were discussing something interesting.
Depending on the type of rider you are, but also depending on the type of rider you are aesthetically, will determine the bike you buy, because most of us can only buy one bike so we want that one bike we have, to do everything, do it well, and look good doing it.
Shoot day 2: Shift
We had the morning, that was all. It was important we made the most out of it. Gina picked somewhere that looked nice and plotted the route to it. The route, uphill immediately. Not just any hill, the Col du Joux Plane. 10.26km. 6.7% avg gradient, with some serious steep sections dotted in. So much so that Nate abandoned mid-climb, got in the van with Gina for a few hairpins, posed for some photos further up and then continued climbing when Jake and Iona caught up. Jake was not happy. It was quite funny.
The other road bike in our range, the Forge, is perfect for the Alps and mountains surrounding Morzine, it’s lightweight, it’s stiff, it’s nimble, it looks the part, it’s comfy to ride because of the geometry we designed.
The Shift is also lightweight, nimble, looks the part, it’s unbearably quick and responsive, and if you’ve got the right fit, is the comfiest aero bike you could possibly ride. But that’s not what Jake was saying. Jake rides a Shift year round, in all conditions, for every ride. Whether it’s a race, a commute, or like where we were at the time, climbing mountains.
We preach about Shift being a race bike; for the racers, it’s #MadetoRace #MadetoWin. And it is. We engineered it for drivetrain efficiency, not necessarily just to be aero. The Shift 2.0 runs a T47E BB shell, which means it is threaded, it’s wide and puts the bearings further apart. The layup around the BB is toray carbon M40J fibre. M40J is a high modulus grade, so it resists bending a lot more than the standard grade does. A wider bearing stance, a stiffer junction, and a fibre chosen specifically to hold means that more of what you put in, is what goes to the wheel. Because what you need on a 10km climb from dead 0 is your effort staying with the bike, and not being lost.
So the Shift can climb. It’s not just an aero crit bike. It’s a proper road race bike. Perfect for the British Road Race Series. It’s also just a proper bike. Perfect for your everyday bike, whether you’re sprinting through the streets of London, or tackling the Alps. And it looks good doing it.
Gina got the team to do some sprints at the top of this mountain, with scenic views as a backdrop, it was breathtaking. What could be more breathtaking ? The descent. We stuck a chest mounted GoPro onto Jake and sent him on his way. He met a guy 1/4 of the way down, who was pushing it. Definitely a local. Jake still had an afternoon of triathlon expo so played it safe. Still, the scenes of the descent are over on our Instagram.
Just one more journal entry left from our time over in France. The On&On Adventure. French off-road adventure.
