Haibike Noon SL
Handling off road is, as it is on road, predictable and safe. Maybe the slightly wider bars add to the feeling of slightly slower steering, but on longer rides this should mean you aren’t using up energy constantly making little adjustments to your ride.
Compact bars with their shallow drop are perfect for smaller hands
The 44cm wide, almost square handlebars have a shallow drop. There’s plenty of space for suicide levers, if that’s your bag. Being of a compact design, they’re perfect for my little hands and made braking and gear changes easy while on the drops.
The seat post clamp is unusually, a lever operated affair, which could be an issue if you are locking your bike outside for long periods. Nothing worse than coming out of work and finding your saddle missing. The Selle San Marco ERA Dynamic saddle is exactly what I look for in a saddle; that is I didn’t notice it at all during the test period. No discomfort, no sore points or chafing. Obviously saddle choice is a very personal thing, but the ERA Dynamic would be my choice.
The Selle San Marco ERA Dynamic saddle was comfy and colour coordinated, what more could you ask?
The Noon SL is definitely a do anything, go anywhere kind of bike. While it has behaved admirably at the races, it is the ability to tackle pretty much any kind of riding without fuss that has impressed. A quick change of tyres means you can be a weekly commuter, tackle the weekly chain-gang and then hit the mud on the weekend. For those on a limited budget, the Noon SL could be the one bike answer. Or if your budget stretches further, you could use the Noon SL for the daily grind of commuting and leave your best bike for the weekend.
The road less traveled, the Noon SL might just take you there
While there are faster, lighter bikes out there, that would be missing what for me is the Noon SL’s main advantage. It allows you to ride anywhere and anyhow. Part of the appeal of the Noon SL is riding past a scrubby little lane that you would never tackle on your ‘best’ bike. Buy a full on race bike and you won’t want to tackle a muddy, gravel strewn lane. A full suspension mtb is going to be a major disadvantage on a fast road ride. Take the Noon SL and travel the road less traveled, or not, it’s your choice. Well done Haibike.
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