After having owned and ridden my Blend for almost a full year now (its like 5 days short of it), I wanted to make a follow up post to my original impressions. Here you can find that if you are interested. Edit: added hyperlink
I have now ridden the bike for a good 7300km (~4500mi) and through a full season of conditions. And overall the bike dealt well with them. Terrain was a good bit more road than trails, since I did my winter riding on the bike and didn't feel like riding too much loose stuff in the dark.
Aside from my contact points, I did change a few bits. partially fit, partially wear.
I lowered the cockpit by 15mm. Tried 10mm with spacers, then cut 10, now I am running one spacer up top for another 5mm. Tried 20mm total, but that felt a bit weird for some reason. That makes it noticeably better in headwinds and overall aero. Though it is by no means areo still.
The original Conti TerraTrail tires just were worn out, so I swapped them for G-One Overland 365 tires. Nothing wrong with the TerraTrails, mind you. They lasted a good 5k km before the rear went bald. Grip was great, they were no slog rolling like I feared and even running tubed I had zero punctures. I just wanted to try the Schwalbes for fun and because they have the subtle reflex strip. They are tubeless now, so not apples to apples. They are a tad slower than both the contis and my G-One R setup. The comfort is better, though that is likely more tubeless than the tires themselfs. Wet grip is great, they are a bit more predictable on harder surfaces, but lack a little bit on looser stuff compared to the TerraTrails when you don't lean them over actively on the shoulder. Both I would ride again.
Another wear part was the pulley wheels. Strictly speaking I would not have needed to swap them when I did. A little clean and lube of the bushing would have been fine. But the tension pulley had a pretty rusty bushing after the winter that also squeaked with every shift. So I put in the XT 10 speed pulleys with bearings instead. Zero issues so far with the replacements. Although they have not seen salt yet. Shifting is pretty much identical. No change there.
Had to swap the rear brake pads after the winter too. Especially on smoother stuff I tend to mostly drag brake with the rear when I don't have to stop quickly. So in winter conditions that wasn't unexpected with resin pads to me.
The part that saw the most wear though was the drivetrain. I am still on the original cassette and chainrings.They will probably be done after this chain, which is no. 5. Four were the standard CN-HG54 with the current one being a KMC X10. I have to say though I really was much more lax with chain care than on my other bikes. Ultimately, that is why I bought the bike in the first place. The stock chain lasted 1900km. It saw plenty rain and dirt, but no salt. Chain 2 lasted only 940km. It saw the first road salt of the year after only a few km. It generally got the brunt of winter. And once the first rust had developed there was no stopping it. Not too bothered about that. Chain 3 also experienced some salt, but the winter didn't get too cold after I put it on so it lasted about 1650km. Chain 4 saw barely any rain, it was the first one I ran with dry lube. It lasted almost 2500km. The remaining distance I did on the current KMC, no notes on durability yet.
Finally, I also did a sort of performance upgrade. I got the same wheelset my Backroad came stock with, the G30 disc instead of the stock G20. Nothing wrong with the G20 and I enjoyed the Fade R Freehub sound more. But the G20 is noticeably less stiff when accelerating and in turns. Not sure about the weight factor. But the new wheels made the bike more snappy and precise.
My general verdict has not changed significantly from the intial impressions. It is a great allrounder, although it is a bit more on the allroad side. After having adjusted to the fact, that 40mm are not as trail capeable as 45mm, I have had less comfort issues too lol.
I was very lazy with maintenace on the bike and its been doing remarkeably well. Had to readjust after the new wheelset, and the front derailleur could do with a tune up now. But no other mechanicals to speak of.
I still really enjoy the GRX400, maybe even more than before. With Shimano chains, shifting is accurate and plenty fast. Although it definitely is a bit more on the clunky side. But like I said in my initial impressions, the feedback is very distinct, the shifts not as smooth but precise which I actually do enjoy. Now with the KMC chain, that has changed a little bit. It is noticeably softer, the reassuring "clank" has become quieter. Its not a better/worse scenario, just different. The front rings shift a bit slower, but in all fairness that could be down to the wear as well.
Braking I finally could stress a bit more with a few 100 meters of elevation into the brakes in one go. No glazing or fading issues, despite "only" running 160mm front too, unlike my other bike. Power is good, though I do still miss the instant grabby feel of sintered pads. And you can still feel the less even rotor surface from the stamped finish. When the RT10 rotors are worn, I will upgrade. But that is a preference thing, it is perfectly capeable already.
When I got the bike, I had the issue, that with my preffered cadence of around 90-95rpm, I would cross-chain too much. That has actually become less of an issue for normal rides. But on daily errands, especially when carrying the pannier bags, it still is in a weird spot. I have become a bit stronger over the winter though so I tend to ride a bit more in the middle now.
So, like in the initial impressions, if i only could ride this bike from now on, I would be absolutely fine with that. I may do some more upgrades down the line. And I got some parts for super high range tomfoolery lined up. Overall, I am really happy with the bike and for less than half the money of my carbon bike it is definitely not just half as good. Would buy again.
by UseThEreDdiTapP