Well, my trial period of 2 weeks is now ended. I have covered 180 miles in the 2 weeks, so have given the Sherpa a good test and can conclude that the bike is here to stay. I completed a 54 mile ride on Sunday to Glastonbury Tor and returned home in fairly good shape. No problems at all the next day either. The saddle still needs a little 'work', and I may tweak the handlebars here and there, but otherwise the bike is superb.
I think the bike is slightly slower than the Dawes, but not by much and strangely enough it feels faster when you are on the bike, it is only the times on the computer that lets you know it's a bit slower. I like the 2.0 Duremes, they seems to roll very smoothly and offer enough comfort to iron out most of the bumps. Any smallish inclines will slow the bike down quite quickly, but once you put it into a lower gear you seem to be able to just keep on pushing up the hills and the down hills are a pleasure.
I have had many positive comments from my work mates about the look of the bike and I still love it to bits. Only negative I can find is that sometimes it seems really difficult to lean the bike against a fence or wall, those tyres just seem to want to keep on moving! I think I may well invest in a click Stand for ease.
