The Night Rider
So I'm just gonna get right to it on The Night Rider. Everyone is curious as to the ride of this new bike from TIME. I would never bullshit you guys when it comes to my overly critical reviews on a bike. I gotta say this, after riding the NXR Instinct for a week, I am blown away.
As some of you may know, Pista Palace is the biggest TIME dealer in the world. However, we just got our first NXR Instinct last week. It has been out for several months but we resisted bringing it in. Why? Well, I still believe that the best all around road race bike that TIME has ever made is the World Star. The RXR Ulteam in a years time has become a Tour de France stage winner, a proven race machine. Heck, it is the bike of my race team. But! The difference between the RXR and the World Star is drastic. I compare it to a Porsche GT3 and the Turbo. The RXR is a stiff race machine that on race day I would choose no other. The World Star is the Turbo with its all wheel drive and more compliant suspension. So since the idea of the NXR was to create a bike that was a bit more comfortable and at a lower price point, I was under the impression it was gonna be a bit too comfy and not sporty enough. And since we have a billion World Stars here and it sells for the same price, I thought it just wasn't a bike we would be interested in selling. Besides, Pista Palace is in love with lugged carbon and anything that is multi-COQUE, we just tend to avoid.
At last I reluctantly brought one in. Well, actually, that is not entirely the truth. France, SOME DAY!, is going to be making me a World Star but with the graphics of the VIP. This was to be the actual Night Rider. Blackened out like the night sky. As is turns out, the Frenchies over there are too busy on strike and such and so I just decided that if I wanted a new bike before the end of the millennium that I should just go with an Instinct.
And so as I was already an unwilling participant to the NXR, Bicycling Magazine even made it worse for me. While their review was a positive one, they describe the bike as some century riding comfort bike. I can't tell you who it was that rode the bike, but I can tell you that I have been riding TIME for about 6 years. I started with a VXRS and have been on a Vibraser and an RXR for over a year. I would like to say that I have a pretty good idea behind the bike and can hopefully educate people on what it is that TIME is attempting to do and ultimately provide you with the knowledge that I have acquired. But I can only tell you what MY experience is. It is effectively MY opinion. Our reactions to bikes are based on our previous bike experiences so that anything I experience is relative to the quiver I have ridden up to that point. I can say with confidence that the NXR is ORDERS OF MAGNITUDE beyond a century cruiser.
Ya know, I am always curious about what Pro Tour riders ride once they are no longer obligated to ride a sponsored bike. I recently touched based with Justin Spinelli of Sveltecycles.com as he was acquiring a bike for a customer (he is a TIME dealer on the East Coast). Justin is a former Pro Tour rider racing for years on the Lotto team, racing the Giro and endless other European races. He tells me he is training for Cyclocross worlds. I hope he kicks some ass. So not being sponsored what does Justin choose to ride? A TIME. What bike is he riding today? An NXR Instinct. Does he love it? YES.
I decided what the heck. Lets build this sucker. And not only that, but I decided that this will be the bike I race for the season. I wanted to give it a complete shot at impressing or depressing me. I changed out the bottle cages for VIP ones. Replaced the headset spacer with one from an RXR and slammed the stem aborting the "Ergodrive" stem system. Super Record with Nokons and Power Cordz on the brakes. Yes, I ride a front Chorus derailleur. Why? It is simply my shifting preference. And since the bottom bracket is BB30 and had the opportunity of putting in the worlds best crankset, I put in the Cannondale Hollowgram BB30 SRM with ceramic BB.
The bar is the 3T Ergonova LTD. You know I love the Aliante and this one was the perfect color. Had to put on the new TIME iClic carbon pedals. Without doing a full review, easy to get in to. Maybe a little less float. Feels so amazingly solid in them. And the Obermayers. These are the lightest Deep Section wheels in the world. I really didn't go completely weight weenie, though. No Zero gravity brakes. No carbon railed saddle. Chorus FD. If I wanted to I could have shaved a pound, but this is my race bike. I want stuff the way I like it. 13.51lbs on the dot. With Shamals and Michelins the bike is at 14.75, fyi.
Blown away. That is how I can explain my reaction to the new NXR. I absolutely LOVE it. It is light, lively, has great acceleration, and while it isn't the mountain goat that the World Star is, it does have the rear end of the RXR and so the power transmission is solid. Oh yeah, same front end as the RXR as well. The only thing I'm still working on is the descending. But this always takes me time as I don't wanna push 50 mph on a bike I just put together hours earlier and getting to know how a bike descends takes time. And yes, its really comfortable, but not the century riding comfort bike that conjures up images a bike that has rear view mirrors on the handlebars.
The bottom line: After only a week of courtship, I am in love.
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