Le Barroux, as seen from above ....
Before leaving for France, I had my Zenetik Pro checked by my bike shop. Smallest chainring in front was a 34 and largest cog in the rear was a 28, which would be enough to ride all the way to the top, according to Harry, the owner of the shop. Well, I was soon to find out !
We did a couple of local rides on the first 2 days, one of them a 112km ride all around the Mont Ventoux, riding through villages such as Bédoin, Malaucene, Sault and others. The scenery is really wonderful over there and although the French drive their cars like they're racing all the time, they never cut bicyclists off. Besides the regular tourists, there were a lot of bicyclists, 99% of them on road bikes, all attrackted by the famous mountain top ....
On Tuesday we decided to try to ride to the top. Since my buddy's wife is not a very good cyclist, we decided to start in Sault, which is the longest but not the steepest route to the top. Weather was good : sunny but cloudy, with a mild wind, not too hot. I stayed with my friends for about 15' but then left them behind, riding my own pace, which was a little bit faster then theirs (but only just a little bit). Riding up was pretty tough but doable, I'm not used to ride my bike uphill for such a long period of time (we have no mountains in my country). The higher I got, the colder and windier it became. When I reached the famous chalet Renard after 20 kms, I decided not to stop but to continue riding.
Now every serious rider knows that the real climbing starts from that point on. It's only another 6 kms to the top, but the grades are really steep. Soon I was riding on my 34 x 26, which allowed me to keep my speed around 10 km/h. The wind became stronger and soon I had to switch to my lowest gear, 34 x 28. Speed had dropped to 6 km/h and I really had to work hard to keep it up to that. So yes, I did reach the top, but it was hard, really hard ! On top, it was so windy and cold that I immediately put on the extra clothing I had with me. Visibillity was almost nill and I did not even bother to ask someone to take a picture from me and my bike, I wanted to get down again ! However, I promised my wife to send her a text message by cell phone once I reached the top, but it took a while before I got any kind of connection over there. After that, it was only going downhill, which was a blast. Instaed of going back to Sault, I turned right to Bédoin at chalet Renard. This road was of better quality than the road to Sault and my speed was limited to 78 km/h because of a car in front of me.
So, was it a triumph using a CF bike going up Mont Ventoux ? Well, not really, I guess ... The bike performed well, no doubt about that. Handlebar set up turned out to be fine, even on 5 hour rides I never got uncomfortable hands, shoulders or neck. My butt never really got sore, but it got really hot from time to time, resulting in a seat cover and shorts that were completely wet from sweating. This was irritating, but never caused any kind of pain.
Gearing should have been lower, that's for sure. It would have been sufficient for a regular road bike (my friend never needed his 2 largest cogs riding up), but since I only have a 9 speed on my Z Pro, I cannot get any larger than a 28 cog in the rear. For next time, I might consider getting a 10-speed or have a triple crank in front. Or ride a regular road bike, if only that saddle .... right !
My friend rode up to the top again on Thursday, this time starting in Bédoin, but I did not accompany him, because I knew I wouldn't be able to ride that way up with the gearing I have.
Compared to a regular road bike, I think the Zenetik Pro is a little less efficient. Maybe the longer wheel base causes a little loss of power, I don't know. It's just a feeling that I got. I tried my friends' road bike for a short while and I got the impression that power coming from every pedal stroke was transmitted more directly to the rear wheel than on my Z Pro. But like I said : that was just an feeling. Maybe I should have tried that road bike to ride all the way to the top again to make a real comparison, so maybe next time ....
However, I do know that riding downhill with the Z Pro is a blast ! I'd lean on the bar ends with my elbows and the bike rolled downhill like a brick ! My friend never could keep up with me and the ones who could, were smashing their pedals like madmen (where I was only freewheeling). All in all, it was well worth the 11 hour ride to get there (le Barroux is almost 1050 kms from where I live). I rode a little over 400 kms with my Z Pro over there and was thankful that I had beefy tires on my bike, since not all roads are very smooth over there (Germany has far better roads to be riding on). And although I did bring an extra rear wheel in case I'd break any spokes, nothing happened .... I had a very good time, weather was excellent (only one night of rain) and I might consider going back in a couple of years. Will I still be taking my Z Pro next time ? I don't know, only time will tell ....
More pictures of my holiday can be seen here
