I received my Burls a couple of months ago and have ridden over a 1,000km of roads and some gravel paths on it too. To say I'm pleased with the bike is an understatement, it's been so much fun to ride.
The challenge in my brief to Justin was that I wanted a fixed wheel bike that felt like a modern road race bike to ride, had two bottle cages and two brakes. Something I would enjoy on 100km rides, cruising and on the rivet, climbing and descending.
Justin designed the frame with me, around an existing frame that fit me well. We made the wheelbase shorter and went for oversize tubes for a stiff race feel. I deliberated about brakes for a while (rim or disc), and Justin's advice was a really useful but without being forceful, Justin could build anything I wanted.
The result is a frame that is very responsive when accelerating, climbing and cornering, but so smooth that you occasionally forget the road underneath you and realise you've been day dreaming the last few kilometres, "how did I get here?".
For me one of the joys of riding fixed is how a descent becomes as much a challenge as the climb that got you there: Spinning at sprint like cadence, calmly and holding your line sharply in the group. My Burls handles this well, it's stiffness is reassuring as is its predictability over rougher road surfaces.
With the design I've described so far, you won't be surprised that the bike climbs well, it's efficient with whatever power I give it and the front end is solid out of the saddle.
With only two months of riding, this bike still impresses me after each ride, I'm looking forward to a summer full of riding it.
Sean
