Seigla update:
I did my first local race on the Seigla I purchased some weeks back. I prerode the course a couple of weeks ago with the stock 13 speed XPLR set up with 40t chainring, stock bars, but swapped out the wheels to ENVE G23 with 50mm Terreno Dry’s with TNT casing. After that ride I opted to make some changes.
For the race I swapped on a 38cm ENVE SES All Road bar and ENVE road stem, switched out the 13 speed XPLR cassette and derailleur and put on a SRAM Transmission rear derailleur and 10-52t cassette. Swapped the front ring from 40 to 42t. Switched the wheels out for ENVE 4.5s (25mm ID) with 2.2 Conti Race Kings. I left the rigid fork on.
The course was mixed of pavement and gravel, with lots of short (up to about 1 mile) but steep climgs, rollers, not super rough but some pretty loose gravel in spots. Strava had it at 6600k of climbing over 67 miles.
I was a little concerned the bar might feel too narrow, but it was the opposite. It felt way better. I had thought if I didn’t like it I would put it on my road bike, but my hands and wrists felt great and it never felt unstable.
The 2.2 Conti’s were a revelation on this bike. There has been so much hype about them recently for gravel but they truly changes the feel of the bike. The Terreno Dry 50’s felt really firm and stiff in comparison and didn’t have enough rear traction to allow me to get out of the saddle climbing on the steep climbs. The Race Kings felt much more compliant, soaking thinks up, but then when I stood up they dug in plenty with no slipping. On the pavement they seemed to roll reasonably well to but did making some buzzing (more than a Thunder Burt), but I never felt I was being held back by them. When speeds picked up, such as over rollers, it where I seemed to make up the most time on riders around me. The narrow bar, fast rolling tires, and maybe the 4.5s all seemed to help here.
During the race I consciously thought about whether the higher bottom was something I could notice or not. Honestly I couldn’t notice it. Cornering seemed fine and my position on the bike felt really good. Perhaps a more skilled rider might feel the difference, but for me the bike felt nimble and stable.
I didn’t love having the Garmin mounted on top of the stem. I seemed to be at just the right angle to cause a little bit of glare which made reading the map tricky at times. ENVE has an out front mount for their stem but I’m not sure it is long enough to fit a 1040. The SES All Road bar limits other options.
Overall I’m super happy with the set up. I still need to try it with the 3rd Gen Grit fork - maybe next weekend. I liked my Checkpoint SLR and always appreciated the extra comforted with the IsoSpeed in the rear, but the Seigla feels a lot more dynamic with the current setup.
Dusty post-race pic.
