Been a long time since the Bad Boy was road ready and thought i should do a quick update on how it's been performing as the commuting bike.

Avid Disc Brakes

I had some technical issues almost immediately with the front brake which required a replacement part being sent from Cannondale, this kept it off the road for a few weeks (partly my fault as I was using the Lefty as my commuter and didn't exactly rush to drop off to the bike shop for the repair to be done).  The brakes are still not great so I have made the decision to replace them with HOPE X2 like I did with my Lefty around Christmas. They have been great and are also much lighter so it's a no brainer.

Axiom Rack.

Before the brake fault I did manage to try the Axiom Rack. I used it twice to carry contents of parcels sent to the office back to the house. I completely filled both panniers on one of the journeys and the rack/bike had no issues at all. Overall very pleased with the rack. Having said that, i now have the rack off as a rule and don't really use it - but i know it is there for when i do.

Shimano Alfine Hub

I was intially impressed with the hub gears, gear changes are smooth and easy, maintenance is also great (i.e. none) but there is one drawback that i can no longer live with - the weight of it!  The hub is very heavy, too heavy. Since last month I have been riding it in a simulated single speed mode, that is to say, I have left it in gear number 4 and not changed it. I found this absolutely liberating and made the descision to get the bike converted to singlespeed permanently. My commute is fairly flat with a few hills, particularity on the way home but i can handle these with no problems even with the heavy Alfine hub dragging me down, so when this is removed it should be even easier - and a fairly fast ride too.

at the moment, I can't wait for the bike to be converted, just waiting for the new back wheel to be built and the brakes to arrive.

I'll do a quick update with some pics when i get the bike back from the shop.

Been a bit lazy on the updates so thought i would update the blog with progress after one month of use.

After a week of trying to adjust the saddle height and stem, I got it professionally fitted like i have done with my other bikes and this made all the difference, the ride was perfect from then on.

The rack paid for itself on the school run and also was invaluable for carrying a delivery i recived at the office back home. Having said that it is still a bit ugly and is not ideal for taking on and off every other day.

I had problems with the brakes rubbing initially but fixed that easily, the front brake was never perfect but after 2 weeks or so it just stopped working at all. The fluid drained from it and I couldn't even get it to mount properly after i had a little inspection. I took the bike to the bike shop last week and it turns out that there was a fault in the brake build  on the production line! so a new front brake required.

So im now back on the MTB for commuting while waiting for the repair to the brakes.

...speaking of which, i am going to have the HOPE X2 disc brakes fitted to the MTB this week and put the config back to proper MTB for the holidays, I'm hoping to get some forrest riding done during my time off - get back to some fun biking rather than the tarmac based commute!

Spent some quality one on one time with the new bike today, which is is quite sad how time with my bike makes it to the quality section of my life meter.

Ok, so in between family entertaining and kids parties I managed to get Version 1 of the Bad Boy config built.

So the Bad Boy 8 cometh at last. Just as i was about to hassle the supplier for not sending the bike (no confirmation email received at that point) the UPS man turned up at the door just before i left to collect the kids from school - my weekend was made right there as all i could see was a couple of days of tinkering, playing, riding and just general bike porn really - awesome!.

Its getting colder in the mornings here in Belgium so time to get those Shimano MW80 boots that my friend @raymcdermott and I wished we had last year when we had -14 and -11 weather. Its also fairly wet in Belgium at the best of times so goretex boots are no frivolous luxury.

This year we won't be caught out as we have both received our Shimano MW80 boots well before the cold and wet weather has kicked in.

Last year i managed to get through 3 pairs of overshoes - all of which ripped on me and where a complete pain in the back side getting on and off. I probably spent as much on the overshoes as i have on the boots !

A bit of fitting advice for people looking to get them, they are fairly small made. I do have wide feet and although i'm a european size 44 i had to go all the way up to a 47 to get a good fit in width with a little room for thick socks. So perhaps 2 sizes up would be a good guide 3 if you are very wide in the foot.

I will use them with my crankbrothers eggbeater and crank brothers quattro pedals.

So i am looking forward to warm and dry feet with limited fuss this year.