I have many good & bad memories shared with this bike. The highs and the lows of long haul auduax rides and short rainy commutes to work, but the one thing I never forget is that over all, this bike shares more memories then all the bikes I’ve had in the last 10 years combined.
The intention of the Woodrup X Restrap TCR bike has always been to be an ‘all abilities’ bike. I guess the only thing it can’t do is race in an official British Cycling race due to having disc brakes.
A couple of weeks ago I raced Cyclocross on it for the first time. Having ridden the bike for 15,000km over the last year and half I knew it would cope fine but I didn’t think it would be quite as a fun as it was!
There aren’t many bikes I know of that can adapt so efficiently to different conditions as the Woodrup does. Mud Guards, Knobbles, Slicks 23mm racing tyres to 32mm touring tyres, panniers, bike packing, winter, summer, race or relax, this bike really can take on anything that’s thrown at it.
N+1 has and will always be my motto but in the past I’ve been some what restricted by what I can do because of the type of bike I’ve had thus meaning I’ve needed more then one bike (up to six at one point) to enable me to go off road, race or do cyclocross. It’s only within the last 6 months I’ve come to realise how brilliant it is having one bike that although isn’t as light as many other it is incredibly practical, versatile and reliable more so then bikes that only fit into one category.
Now don’t get me wrong – I’m not suggesting that N+1 doesn’t apply, it always applies and always will but what I am saying is that true appreciation comes when you realise how totally versatile a bike can be and that isn’t a common thing for many bikes out there!
