(Getting back in the saddle) The Only Bike You Need

I wouldn’t describe myself as a hardcore mountain biker but I do love to cycle, both on the streets around where I Iive for day-to-day jobs where I don’t need the car and whenever I can get out there, up on the surrounding hills for a bit more freedom and adventure.

But whenever I come to choosing my next bike it’s the same old conundrum, road bike or mountain bike?

Well at last I have the definitive answer: both ….but in just the one bike!  I fell in love with my Raleigh Strada Trail Sport 2 bike almost as soon as I got on it.

Raleigh have put their decades of experience in the design and build of both road and mountain bikes in to the Strada Trail Sport 2 and created the ultimate hybrid that’s at home in both environments.

I found it extremely easy to ride from day one, thanks partly to the great all-function design, partly to the light weight (kit weighs in at only 13.5kg apparently).

It also looks great, which helps me to feel good riding it.  The lightweight aluminium frame has a very cool stripped back sports style, accentuated by a very swish metallic paint job which turns heads.

When I’m off-road and on rough terrain the light weight of the bike really comes in to its own, aided and abetted by the suspended fork which gives a real featherweight, fluid feel to the ride.

In fact the front suspension fork has a full 60mm of travel which really absorbs even the biggest bumps in the road which I found as handy with some of the potholes on the streets where I live as out on the downhill biking trails.

That said, Raleigh have put so much thought in to making this bike versatile for all conditions, those flexible forks actually have a locking facility so if you are lucky enough to be on smooth ground and want to stop the shock absorbing function of that 60mm of cushioning a simple flick of a lever locks the forks in place.

What else?  Well every detail seems to have been thought of.

The high profile tubeless tyres have both a solid centre for minimal friction and maximum speed on the road, but also I found they have enough width and grip on each side to provide additional cushioning and grip off-roading.

The gears and brakes are both only the best: Shimano.

The company’s Acera 24 speed gears are a piece of cake to flip through at high speed to gobble up every gradient and the hydraulic disc brakes provide quick but comfortable all-weather stopping on every surface I tested them on, from tarmac to turf.

A final nice touch is that part of the Strada TS’s design includes both rack and mudguard mounts so I can customise the bike depending on whether I’m on the trails and needing some splatter protection or add the rack on a road trip when I’m needing to carry some baggage.

Another neat feature (the list of those is long…) is that there’s a reflective strip running around the rim of the tyre to provide additional visibility on dark nights, very smart.