There were 5,947 people in front of us at the start. |
There was a BMX phase where I whiled away afternoons riding shoddily built back yard half pipes and dirt tracks constructed between towering high tension power lines. Mountain biking's glory days were in full swing while I was growing up and I cut my cycling teeth on the single track of New England. While I had a road bike from an early age--an unqualified fan of road racing pouring over issues of Winning and tuning in to Tour broadcasts featuring John Tesh--my DeBernardi mostly collected dust as I found myself riding progressively better quality mountain bikes.
Living in the relative hotbed of cyclcocross that New England was and is, shouldering the bike at some point was inevitable. I started riding more on the road as a result, and a stint in Switzerland following college really stoked my interest in road riding, even offering me the opportunity to dabble in road racing. Lucky enough to spend a fair amount of time in Europe over the years, I've had the opportunity to chase the ghosts of the sport's legends riding in the Alps, Pyrenees, and the Ardennes. Somehow I've even managed to be lucky enough to have had the opportunity to ride with a number of today's stars and to have been mentored by one of their coaches as I learned to ride the boards at the Home Depot Center Velodrome. The bicycle has functioned as basic transportation for me as well as way of exploring and interacting with the communities I've lived in, including the South Sudanese village of Gumbo. I've even participated in Critical Mass in several different cities.
One of the ingredients of a great day out; perfect fall weather. |
I had a trip planned to San Francisco and when I realized that it would coincide with Levi Leipheimer's King Ridge Gran Fondo up the road in Santa Rosa, I immediately registered and convinced a friend of mine to do so as well. In only 1 year event participation had doubled; we were going to be riding with six-thousand other people.
Domestic airlines simply are not bike friendly. I was considering renting, figuring it would be less of a hassle, and in the end less expensive, when Look Cycle USA, a sponsor of Levi's Gran Fondo, offered to loan my friend John and I two of the their new 2011 Look 586 RSP bikes for the occasion. As a 595 owner, I've been quite curious about the 586 for some time and I didn't hesitate for a second before taking Look USA up on their offer. I was stoked to have an opportunity to put it through the paces in the cycling mecca of Sonoma County. I've had a sneaking suspicion that the 586 would turn out to be one of these underrated frames, unintentionally overshadowed in its company's product line-up by a more visible sibling.
Post-ride glamour shot of the 586 RSP loaner. |
The 2011 586 RSP
The rear triangle. |
The R in RSP. |
The downtube's unique lozenge-like shape. |
Contrary to what seems to be the case given what the vast majority of framebuilders put out, refined, high performance, slim lined framesets and monocoque construction are not mutually exclusive. Look has perfected a method of monocoque construction that employs a very highly pressurized mold to compress the carbon laid in, giving the resulting frameset strength and stiffness where needed, without having to overbuild any portion of frameset to achieve the desired rigidity levels. No beluga whale shaped framesets here.
Wide, but flat. Vertically compliant, with no lateral flex. |
Another look at those wide stays. |
The frame is finished off with the company's HSC 6 fork and their smart Head Fit 2 headset system that takes the guess work out of front adjustments.
The number of little details on this subtly, but impressively sculpted frameset, made quit an impression as did the 'no paint' gloss finish the test bike had. The bike drew a number of positive remarks from for its looks from the crowd.
The Ride Quality
The bikes we were issued were equipped with Shimano Dura-Ace drive trains, FSA cockpits, Fizik Arione saddles, Look Keo Blade pedals, and Zipp 101 wheelsets with Zipp tangente open tubulars.
When you start behind 5,947 other people, you're in for a long, long day if you can't make up a little bit of ground and give yourself some breathing room. Starting so far back it took us ages before we could turn a pedal in anger (thank you Phil Liggett), but once we were finally clipped into the Look Keo Blade pedals, the bike's pick-up was immediately apparent. Also immediately apparent was the precise, lively handling of the rig. The thing with riding with 5,999 other people is that you're dealing 5,999 people doing their own thing. The only behavior you can count on is your own. The 586 RSP is truly fleet of foot and the bike was very much up to the task of repeatedly having to dodge people falling over for no apparent reason whatsoever. Whatever the course threw at me, CalDot bots, potholes etc., the quick handling 586 RSP ably handled. Don't mistake quick handling for twitchy. This bike afforded a rock solid ride. The bike was not going anywhere you didn't want it to. When you wanted it to head in a specific direction it went there quickly and accurately like a TOW missle.
At a rest stop out on the coast. |
Winding our way out to the coast we hit some better pavement and really got to wind the bike up and keep it pinned for a long stretch. The fun really began though when we hit the coastline and this is where the 586 RSP's true colors revealed themselves.
The Pacific Coast Highway in Sonoma County is characterized by tight turns and punchy climbs. The 586 RSP's handling inspired confidence and I carved these turns like I've never carved a turn before--at pace and unwavering in my commitment to stay off the brakes and push the bike hard. When the folks at Look read this they'll laugh, never believing its possible (they've seen how embarrassingly pitiful I am at cornering at speed downhill first hand), but it's true. It was nearly an out of body experience, one of those moments of total control and pure pleasure on the bike, where you're in total control and feeling sharp, making all the right moves. I won't discount the contribution the Zipp 101s and Tangentes made to the equation, but it all starts and ends with the frame.
My friend John at the start before going on to say the 586 RSP was the best bike he's ever ridden. |
Summing It Up
I am eternally grateful to the crew at Look for the loaners, not only because they saved us a bundle, but more importantly because I truly believe my experience at the Gran Fondo would not have been the same had I participated on any other bicycle.
Performance and comfort are not mutually exclusive. It's a misconception of great proportions to think they are. To perform at a high level you need to feel fresh. The 586 RSP is chewed up everything in its path, potholes, CalDot bots, cattle guards, chip seal paving. Under normal conditions on my usual bikes these roads would have had me wasting energy gritting my teeth and squirming all over the bike to stay comfortable.
The 586 RSP kept me fresh and smiling throughout the day, gliding over the rough roads surface, tracking confidently, floating up the longer climbs effortlessly, and accelerating straight away when called to. The 586 RSP is a well rounded machine capable of handling anything you'd want to throw its way from rides for the sake of rides, to Gran Fondos, to road races, tackling alpine passes--even criteriums on some battered roads in an industrial park.
You get an awful lot more in return for your $2999.99 than just a frame, fork, headset, and seat post.
Tip of the cap to the folks at Bike Monkey, the production company behind the Gran Fondo. Logistics weren't simple and the Gran Fondo organizers did an impeccable job organizing the event, trucking potable water and loads of foodstuffs to remote rest stops on the course. It was a day on the bike to remember.
Brian