Recently I spent a week in southern Hesse where I grew up and took my G Line (small) with me. I'm used to the flat terrain of Hamburg and its equally flat surroundings, so this was the first time I had to deal with actual inclines, woods and gravel stones up to the size of fists. Let's just say the bike handled it really well and it was a lot of fun but my fitness is not quite what I believed it to be. Even 1st gear was often too much over longer distances so that I had to push the bike (I don't need anything below 5th gear in Hamburg). If I were to make trips in terrain like that more often, I'd go for a smaller chainring (or simply get another, preferably lighter bike).
Apart from that it was a blast! Riding downhill through the woods with high speed made the effort to get there really worth it. Tires and brakes were great and it never felt unsafe. (I actually tried the same with a C line last year and even though it kinda worked with less speed, it didn't feel safe at all, extremely bumpy and the rear inner tube had three punctures after the first trip.)
At some point it turned out I should have been a little more careful though. I came across a section in the forest road where big stones were protruding through the ground. I was a little too fast and couldn't break in time, so I braced myself and went flying but managed to stay on the bike, no harm done. Except that my phone was tossed out of the bag's side sleeve (bad idea to put it there) and the display broke. Otherwise there'd also be pictures of a waterfall and castle ruins. ;/
Last but not least, the bike was absolutely fine in long distance (ICE) and regional trains. I was glad I did some modifications on the handle bar catch nipple though.
by Manamonster