Team Bike Review - and an apology!

First thing's first - I'm sorry! It's been what, two months since I last posted? That's pretty poor show, I don't really have any excuse other than my life has literally been non stop since my first race. Between training like a maniac, racing and working the only down time I've had has been spent firmly with my feet (and fingers) in the up position.

So what's been going on? I've been racing a ton, way more than last year, both on the Island and in
the UK. My results? Not as good as I'd have hoped so far, my TT has been brilliant, but this first season of 'proper' road racing (proper distances, against the big girls!) is proving difficult for me. I've found out my strengths, and I've realised what I need to work on - my tactical know-how needs to improve as does my confidence within the bunch. My fitness, on the other hand, is bang on target which is great. I've done a stage race with the team (the epic Bedford 3 Day) which I'll write up about soon too. We're now entering criterium season, one of my strong points, so hopefully I can come back with better news really soon.

Today I'm going to tell you all about the steed I'm continuing my journey on this season, the beautiful Sensa Guilia kindly provided to me by Merlin Cycles (www.merlincycles.com).

I received this beauty in the post a couple of months ago, in a huge box. As I unwrapped her I realised this was a very special bike. Her matt black and white colour scheme ooze quality, attention to detail and style. Her oversized downtube and even more pronounced chainstays scream furiously at me like no other bike I've seen. This is a machine designed for racing, for attacking. Yes, this bike is a 'she' - unlike my others - she carries an elegant charm, curves in all the right places and the sort of voluptuousness you'd expect if bicycles could perform burlesque.

I currently have two road bikes of my own, a Kuota Kharma - an aero frame, designed to go well on the flat, and the Trek Madone 4.7 - designed to get as much power from my legs to the wheels as possible without compromising comfort, a good climber and out and out all rounder. The Sensa, however, appears in design to take into consideration all of this, without sacrificing weight or build quality. The carbon seems well woven, it feels of a standard not unlike my partners' S-Works Tarmac SL4. Most impressively for it's price point is it's weight, it exceeds my Madone in weight saving using the same bars and wheels by a quick judgement.

I've raced on this bike a lot since it arrived, and in comparison to racing on the aerofoiled Kutoa it's a dream. It's steering is incredibly responsive, something some people may find a little discomforting (some may find it twitchy) - but it's worth noting I have my stem "well slammed" which will make for a twitchier ride overall - for most riders this probably wouldn't be an issue. On the flat this bike embraces the power you put through it, with a nice fat BB86 to maximise the effort you put through on each pedal stroke. As someone more suited to sustained high intensity efforts this bike really does it's job. When riding it simply feels as if the bike is waiting for you to jump, and when you do it's not difficult to maintain that power.

Now for the crux, the climbs. Most people who know me know I'm not a great climber, especially not when it comes to climbing in races. This bike makes light work of this problem. I've found myself actually needing to move up during climbs since using this bike. It wants to carry me forward like a chariot in a bustling amphitheatre.

A point of note with the Sensa frames is they usually run a size smaller due to their slightly alternative geometry, they have fairly 'stout' triangles; which I have actually found to make for a very comfortable ride (especially on rough Manx and Yorkshire roads!). In a racing frame I find this quite refreshing - I'm by no means a thoroughbred skinnyminnie road racer so to keep my legs, and bum, happy in a 2-3 hour RR is quite the feat! Usually due to my long leg length I would ride a 52 (small) size frame but in the case of the Sensa I'm fitted to a 50, which actually fits just like a 52 - it's also worth noting for smaller folks that this is actually the smallest frame size they do for the Guilia, some of our team-mates have had to look at different brands and bike-models due to this. If you're concerned about sizing I would give the lovely sales staff at Merlin a call, as the sole distributor for these bikes in the UK they're more than qualified to advise on what's right for you and Sensa provide many other models, not just the Guilia.

Possibly the best thing about this bike is it's price point, the cost of their racing spec (Ultegra mechanical 6800) is less than £1,600 - over £400 less than my Madone of the same spec. This is an unbelievable price for a bike of this kind, it has been designed with speed and sprinting in mind, it's not a bike to go out on a Sunday sportive every now and again, this little baby want's to be ridden hard and fast and it's not going to let you off lightly if you don't. The Guilia comes in several other options including Dura Ace and Ultegra Di2.

It's worth mentioning that the stock wheels provided make great training wheels but you may want to look at an upgrade if you're planning on using this bike for serious business.

All in all I'm absolutely gobsmacked by the quality of this bicycle, for a lesser known Dutch brand Sensa have really surpassed my expectations. If you're looking at getting in to road racing, or even upgrading an older carbon frame, then this would be a perfect bike to look at, for the budget you can't go wrong. The bike looks, feels and rides like a steed of twice it's price.

If you're interested, check out the range of Sensa bikes in stock at Merlin here (I'd also suggest for you Triathlete and TT afficionados to check out their range of extremely sexy TT bikes): http://www.merlincycles.com/sensa-bikes-57810/