Like many runners, I have one major flaw, among others: I do not exclusively enjoy running. I like to eat, just saying. I also enjoy sitting on the couch watching TV series for hours, surrendering with each passing minute some of the upright position gained millennia ago.
And then you know what? I love to ride a bike, perhaps even from before I fell in love with running: for years I’ve been happily riding in traffic on a Cinelli Vigorelli, a track bike that I wouldn’t exchange for anything else so much it fits me like a glove.
Do you know what the trouble with the track bike is? That you can never stop pedaling. I know, hearing it the first time you can’t believe it but–believe me you–it’s not that bad, in fact many cyclists do winter bottoming with it to improve pedaling roundness. I happily do my 70-80 km cheerful miles with it as well, but the real problems come when you would also like to do some climbs and of course some descents.
To make a long story short: It soon became obvious how badly I needed a road bike (which is equivalent to saying road bike, although I still haven’t been able to get my mother to understand that).
I have already told you about Runaway. Runaway is my heart place for running and – especially – trail running. A place where they give you the best advice and try as much as possible to find the ideal clothing or equipment for you, which is often not the ideal one for me (and not because I am a difficult guy, not only at least). A place as all places should be, as I see it. Okay but weren’t we talking about bikes? I’m getting there now.
While I was intent on finding the bike best suited to my needs it turns out that right at Runaway they are organizing an evening to introduce a bicycle brand born in 2015: Exept.
What I didn’t realize was 1. that Runaway became an official Exept dealer from that point on and 2. that Exept was a top-tier brand. That evening the whole Exept crew was there to tell us about their philosophy, as well as, of course, to let us touch on the objects of desire. Let me summarize the issue: Exept is the only brand in the world (so it seems, I swear I researched) to produce a fully customizable carbon monocoque frame; this means you can stop going crazy among the dozens of size charts of models and brands and who knows which frame will be right for me and I like that one but the M is too big and the S is too small and this one would be perfect but I’m a certain age and would like more relaxed geometries and so on. Exept offers a full tailoring service in all respects, and the frame will be designed and produced-in one piece-for you, around you. And then when they told me that I could completely customize the coloring of the frame, I realized that that trickle of drool coming down my lips was starting to get slightly embarrassing.
It is understood that the entire set-up is also customizable in every component: from the wheels to the drive train, from the saddle to the cockpit, from the handlebar tape to the smallest screw.
Now there’s no use getting around it: we’re talking about a very high-end product (service?), and prices are-here-important. But not at all out of the market when compared to equivalent frames of many more or less emblazoned brands in the catalog, only this one is tailored for you. Finally I would add that periodically small rides are organized to test the bikes directly on the road: of course in that case the frame is not (yet) tailored to you, but an accurate set-up is done based on your biometric measurements. In total continuity with the group spirit of Runaway and its running and trail outings.
I know, now you want to know what color I got it. No kidding: I’m still a newbie to the sport, so it wouldn’t make much sense to start with a product of this level. For now I enjoy my new Canyon Ultimate, which is matte black and goes with everything.
All the details you need can of course be found on the website Exept, but if you pass through Milan you can also enter from Runaway drinking coffee and touching what I’m talking about (my favorite is the pearly white and bronze one: a perfect mix of elegance and tamarra naughtiness, which never hurts).