I have to say that there are a lot of days where I feel very privileged to do what I do here at GCN
And today is most definitely one of those days
I'm about to get a first ride on the FSA K-Force WE electronic groupset
and I'm going to do so here in the Lombardy region of Italy
on a nice, bright summer's day
We've already taken a first look at the groupset
So if you haven't already seen that, you can find a link to the video hovering above me sometime now
in that video we go into the intricate of this groupset
How does it actually perform out on the open road?
Well, we are about to find out
FSA have only been in existence now
for a little over twenty years
but it's fair to say that in that period of time, they've had a large impact on the equipment that a lot of us ride today
They were the first to introduce compact handlebars
ie a shallower drop from the hoods down to the drops here
They were also the first to come up with carbon chainsets
And also the first to come up with compact chainsets
And for that one alone, I have been grateful
all the way up this extremely steep climb
Now obviously an electronic groupset is nothing new
The big three – Shimano first
then Campagnolo and then SRAM
have all done it beforehand
However, FSA have spent the last five years developing this groupset
so that not only does it stand up to its competition
it also stands out from the crowd
So, how does this groupset actually feel?
Well, I guess the first thing that you feel when you get on to a bike with a
brand new groupset
is the shape of the levers and the hoods here
Now, I have opted for the longer of the two brake levers
and the farthest of the three reach options
And that with my reasonably large hands has been quite comfortable
I have no complaints at all in that area
and I've been riding now for a couple of hours
And in terms of the shifting and specifically the buttons here
It did take me a little while to get used to them
They are quite far apart when you compare them to
something like Shimano
But once I did get used to it I have to say it was quite good
Because it meant that I never accidentally shifted in the wrong direction through the gears
And because it's on this rocking paddle system
It also means that there is no chance of pressing both buttons at the same time accidentally
so that's going to be a really good thing on winter rides when you're wearing particularly thick gloves
In terms of the actual shifting performance
I have to say that it's been pretty flawless
Very quick, very accurate, everything that you'd expect really
And on a par with other flagship electronic groupsets
Although I have to say that what I haven't done yet are the two tests that people say I probably shouldn't do
So: big ring and big at the back, and also shifting under load
Why don't we try that now?
I'm cross chaining it now: big ring, big cog, no jumping, in fact, no real noise
And then the next test
Shifting under load
up a climb
Wow, straight up into the big ring, that was cool
So what about the rest of the groupset then?
away from the excitement of another groupset with electronic gears
Well they have made some further changes
Firstly to the crankset which is one of their specialities of course
They say that they have made it stiffer, although that's not something I've been able to test
over the course of this ride
What I have noticed, though, is the brakes
They've had a redesign too
These are the dual pivot models
And there will also be direct mounts and eventually disc brakes
And they claim a significant improvement in braking performance
And they have been extremely powerful I have to say
Now, that might be down to the fact that I'm using wheels with an aluminium rim braking surface
But they have noted that other testers of the FSA groupset
have noticed the powerful braking too
I certainly haven't had any trouble – at all – when I wanted to stop
One thing that FSA are particularly keen on is enabling
you to do a lot of data collection
through their app/software
So you will be able to see all of your shifting habits
And you'll also be able to compare this to things like gradient or elevation gain
And also your power data
And that is because they see in the not too distant future
a market shift to so called smart bikes
So, with all that data behind you
they will then be able to tailor make the gears and the groupset to your own specific riding style
So, that's been my first ride on this FSA K-Force WE Electronic groupset
but actually earlier on
when I was testing this out
on the open roads. I got the chance
to speak to one of the key testers over the last few years for the groupset
Who you might recognise...
Ivan, you have had a long relationship with FSA
you live close to their Italian headquarters
and I understand that you have had quite a big role in the development of this groupset
Yes, yes. In fifteen years, all my career, I was the last one to use the new products.
And, now, when I stopped cycling, I am the first.
So, I'm involved in the study
In the development
And, of course, in the final use
Before you boys can try it
What changes did you ask FSA to make from the first prototype groupset to where we have it today?
When we started, we had three key points. 1 is the weight
2. Faster
And third is the comfort
For me one of the most important things is the hand position
If it is comfortable, you can ride very well
Because you ride for a lot of hours in that position
You pull, you push
So you have a lot of moments, like now
for example
where if this is not comfortable, you don't feel OK
So this has to be faster
when you change gears, that is really important
The message, when you think 'I need one more gear'
you touch the lever and it immediately goes up
or it goes down
Quite often, my problem is that when I think I need more gears
... there are often no more gears left
Yeh, that is also my problem
Well, I've been told that it's almost against the law to go for a bike ride in Italy and not have an espresso at some point
So that's what I've been forced to do now, whilst looking at this beautiful vista behind me
One thing I haven't talked about just yet is the durability of this groupset
Obviously that is very hard for me to comment on
having only done about 70km with it
However, as they said, it has been developed over the last five years
so you would hope that they have done some very rigorous testing on the open road and in laboratory conditions too
So it should be on a par with its key rivals