Romancing the Piolet

Ultra Romance, a gentleman and a scholar.  

With valentines day around the corner, Benedict aka Ultra Romance has been wooing our Piolet frame whilst traveling across the desert.  Check out his review on Instagram!

after a month of desert rolling on the @velo_orange #piolet I'm ready to reflect, reexamine, and review:::::: I did this last trip on 29er @velocityusa duallies wrapped in 2.3 Rock Razors. I would have ran the 27.5+ set up that this frame is also optimized for, but mine didn't have a dynamo hub. Other build notes include 11-42 X 34 friction gearing, and WTB RM-2 dirt drops with custom clockwork stem. This frame replaces the LHT in what you want from a non fancy touring bike. All the braze ons and more braze ons, down tube routing, disc, multiple wheel sizes, cool design, steel, and wikked neutral handling. It's an easy bike that worked equally well with the tyres pumped up touring on the pavement-dirt-low pressure loaded single track. 🌀🌀🌀-trak::: That's where this set up really played an eloquent sax solo. Loaded with 5 days of food and 4-5 liters of water/urine at a time, we bounced over baby head boulder grave yards, and slithered through pristine twisty Sonoran 1-trak without even a hangnail. I was wishing at times for those 27.5x3" tyres I had at home, as that would have been the optimum all round set up, so don't skimp on that. The 29er is essentially dëd, IMO, but it was nice to give my original duallies a proper swan song. And if yer into freshly dëd tech, rumor has it this frame can also clear a 29x3! My only complaints would be getting the bars up higher without a custom stem. It's too low and PRO for a dirt drop tourer. You could get em up high enough, but if yer using more than 30 mm of stack washers, the 💅🏽 authorities will be notified. Also, a mid seat stay braze on would have alleviated my need for the P-clamps. A bike with so many smart braze ons, but no rear mid mount? for the price, I don't think you can find a more thoroughly thought out and aesthetically pleasing production touring bike. This bike with a 700x45 set and a 27.5x3" set would be the last touring bike you'd ever buy:::: if yer not into lugs that is.... 💅🏽💅🏽💅🏽

A photo posted by Bené Turbo Romance (@ultraromance) on Feb 9, 2016 at 4:22pm PST