Bike tests in the real world

AidanR

On-One Il Pompino

Specs

Frame and forks: On-One Il Pompino, Medium, 135mm rear spacing
Wheels: Salsa Delgado 'cross rims on Paul Word singlespeed hubs
Tyres: Schwalbe Marathon Supreme 35c
Skewers: Pitstop front, bolt on rear
Brakes: Paul Neo Retro cantis
Cables: Alligator iLink
Levers: Tektro aero levers
Bars and stem: Profile bullhorns on an ITM Millenium stem
Drivetrain: On-One track cranks one an FSA Platinum Isis BB, track chain and White Ind freehub (48/17 gearing)
Pedals: Shimano M520
Seat post: Cane Creek thudbuster ST
Saddle: Selle Italia SLR XC Gel Flow

Introduction

This is my commuting / towpath / pub bike, and as such is built up with ruggedness and minimal maintenance in mind. It's not particularly light, with a chromalloy steel frame, tough wheels, suspension post and the fact I'm always dragging around a hefty D-lock on the frame, but it's not as if I'm racing anyone. Well, that's a lie, I'm racing everyone all the time but fortunately I think they don't realise.

Frame and Fork

The frame is undoubtedly a versatile one, with room for big tyres, mudguard eyelets and rack mountings but its track ends make it singlespeed only and it has no brazings for derailleur cables. The steel tubing gives springiness at the cost of weight, but it's definitely a budget frame. The rear triangle isn't particularly stiff (noticeable when one gear means you're out of the saddle a lot) and the ride quality, whilst less jarring than aluminium frames I've tried, doesn't have the floaty quality of high end, thin walled steel offerings. The steel fork is very similar - weighty, reasonably comfortable, but there is the occasional chatter when braking so stiffness could be better. With carbon 'cross forks becoming more prevalent, this is an obvious area to upgrade.

Handling

The bike is set up for comfort over rough surfaces, so it's shod with high volume tyres. Even so, the steering is on the quick side due to the 90mm stem. I could have gone with a smaller frame size, but unfortunately this would have exaggerated the already noticeable toe-overlap. Given that On-One have used their own fork which is specially made for this model, they perhaps should have specced one with a bit more rake to move the tyre out of harm's way. The ride quality, with the tyres and suspension post, is much enhanced, and cobbles and dirt tracks don't give your behind a beating. The same can't quite be said for the wrists unless the front tyre pressure is kept pretty low, however.

Equipment

None of the equipment is stock, so don't expect to find this set-up on On-One's site. For my purposes, however, it works well. 2 years through all weathers and nothing has missed a beat, with two exceptions. The Alligator iLink cables haven't proved as weather proof as I'd hoped despite the inner cable running in a plastic lining for its full length. Water and dirt got in through one end and the tight fit of the cable in the lining ensured it jammed up disconcertingly quickly. The second issue has been chain stretch. It has been enlightening to see how much and how fast a chain stretches, as this issue is usually masked by the rear derailleur. This is no cheap and nasty chain either, but a high quality and very strong track chain. For singlespeed bikes it's clear to me that belt drive is the future.

Everything else I'd recommend, though. Worthy of particular mention are wheels, tyres, freewheel and seat post. The Cane Creek Thudbuster ST (short travel) is by far the best suspension post I have used, with a quick response due to the stiction-free design that proves a real boon over the cobbles. The rims and hubs have been reliable, and are surprisingly light given their mountain biking pretensions. It is a testament to the durability and protection of the Schwalbe Marathon Supreme tyres that I have never had a puncture with them, despite rolling over thorns, glass and sharp gravel. At 440g they are impressively light for their size, and offer good grip in both the dry and the wet.

Overall

The bike has proven to be a faithful companion. It has its flaws, particularly with the geometry of the smaller sizes. You simply can't spec a bike to have big tyres and mudguards and expect to be able to get away with using a standard head angle and fork rake. It's time the industry, with the exception of a few niche players, realised this.

Ultimately it's not a bike that I would choose to ride if I were going out for a fun blast, but for all those times you have to go out, it's been just about spot on.

8/10

balthazar

whyamihere wrote:

The right hand brake lever rattles against the shift lever as well, adding even more to the musical calibre of this bike.

Mine does that too: the left lever has rattled from new, because the shift lever is bent or mounted oddly that it misses the rubber nub. It works fine, and I never got around to chasing it with the vendor. My solution? One of the clear rubbery stop things that you get with Ikea drawers, stuck to the back of the brake lever. I wouldn't want to unbalance your percussion section however.