Hi Folks, first ride on my 177 today! I bought it ages ago, as I was getting to the end of my rehab for my broken shoulder and after 6 weeks off the bike, I was looking forward to getting back on it at the first Australian Sea Otter festival on the 24th October. I started pulling all the race bits off the Cube 160 that has done so well over the last 4 years and swapping the bits I didn't want from the 177 to the 160......that was fun for an old guy....I enjoyed the swapping and fitting thing! There were a few parts that need to be ordered....I need a new free hub because I wanted to run my Race Face wheels instead of the aluminium/cheese alloy wheels that come standard on Cubes. I also wanted to use the Shimano gear set and shifters as I had not used those since I swapped out my 140 back in 2021. Then the tyres had to be swapped out for the Michelin that I prefer and so on and so on. I have included a piccie of both bikes mid parts swapping. Anyway, the day after I picked up the 177, I did some crazy thing stepping over an obstacle and rolled my ankle.....but we all know that it will hurt for a few hours and by tomorrow it will be starting to get back to normal and by the end of the week, good to go...........right? Maybe not......the MRI said two tendons torn away from their mounting points and the anterior ligament with major tear, possibly needing surgery! Surgeon says 3-6 mth recovery! Got a second opinion from a sports physiologist who works with rugby players, etc and after he has worked his magic, we are now 7 weeks in and I did my first ride today....no surgery, no treatment other than a machine called a "Game Ready" (so many good jokes in there.......) and a "boot". Road riding only for a month, building effort and distance and then slowly back on the trails by Xmas! Anyway, liked the 177 today. All the stuff I swapped works well but I hate the flat bars so some 30 mm rise bars on the way and I need to do some fine tuning on levers and seat post, but so happy to be back on it.......now can we get to the last two races of 2025 in mid-December?????
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