I finished building the Foia up last week and thought today would be the best day to break it in by riding the Bissoe Trail. Its an old mining trail that spans from East to West Cornwall. The trail is pretty much flat but cut through a valley so on top of beautiful views you also have the hill side to play with along the way. There’s old disused mine waste that is rocky and fast but also Unity woods that offers a few DH tracks with some lovely lines (although pretty boggy at this time of year).  Pretty perfect to test the all round capabilities of my new rig!

http://www.mapmyride.com/s/routes/view/bike-ride-map/cornwall/6987238

Spec wise, im running Fox 36 Talas forks, XT drive train (10 spd.) and brakes with some hope hoops and X-fusin dropper post. All in it weighs just below 28lbs. Very happy with the weight and feel of the bike.

Instantly noticeable was how manual friendly the bike was. I had no problems getting over the back end and amusing the kids with some manuals. Its also super easy to flick the back out making it very whippy at any given chance. So its certainly playful! This playfulness was just emphasised when I hit the rocky slopes. With the 36s on the front you can get through anything. They are stiff but as soon as you hit a drop they just absorb all the impacts. The rest of the kit performed flawlessly, as you’d expect.

What surprised me the most though is how diverse the bike is. I didn’t really notice the miles that went by and didn’t struggle covering the 23 Km each way along with the playing. I have to say that on paper I thought it would be great for playing but with the slack HA would be a pig to put the miles in (hence why I got the Talas fork) but I just ended up leaving it in 160mm mode and riding because its just comfy and it worked. Mud clearance is also great, see the pictures.

Im used to riding a 140 to 180mm full sus rig but I really enjoy the responsive feel of the hardtail and the titanium certainly gives lovely ride characteristics. In the DH sections of the woods it took me back to basics but it was refreshing and felt much more lively.

Its the first time ive visited the Bissoe and wouldn’t have bothered if my friends didnt mention it but im glad I made the effort. Its a chilled XC ride with some DH on the side (literally). I got very mud to say the least!

I’ll be updating this every once in a while with some new rides that ive been doing.
Thanks if you read the whole thing,

A very happy rider.