Ti Wheels On My Wagon - by LANDRACE Ambassador Peter Georgi
Introducing Peter - by Julian & Phil
Peter Georgi. The Quietest Legend You Never Met
Fair to say that Peter is happiest behind the scenes or behind a camera as a documentary maker. Rarely to be seen or heard, Peter is actually at the heart of a bike-racing dynasty. Between them, The Georgi's have countless National Championship jerseys (Peter has seven of them), Etienne (Peter's son and ex Team Wiggins), was a National Junior Series winner and Pfeiffer (Peter's daughter), is currently ranked 11th in the world and seems to win almost by accident for her DSM-Fermenich Team.
Pfeiffer and Etienne - winning by accident
Winning by accident
The fact is that none of them ever won by accident, they are all fluent in the art of cycling and poets if they have the merest whiff of a victory. All of which belies the Georgi clan when you spend time in their charming and chilled collective company. At one point in time Cyclefit was working with three generations of the Georgi family, which included Vincent (Peter's father).
For someone who is so influential, Peter is the absolute opposite of a Tiger-Dad - his understated style seems to be to ensure that the craft of racing has been absorbed by familial osmosis, but also make available the very best evidence-based advice available. At which point he has the experience, humility and intelligence to understand that every race is, in essence, a one-off, stochastic drama.
LANDRACE - Nowhere to hide
So when Jules and I sat down to think about the hardest home possible for a LANDRACE Tupelo, we instantly thought of Peter. He will do 20,000km this year, including guiding clients around Tour de France route ahead of the pro-peloton, for The Tour21
The Tupelo has nowhere to hide. Peter rides hard in all conditions, his knowledge of bikes is encyclopedic and most worryingly, underneath his inscrutable exterior, beats the heart of perfectionist champion.
Here is the first of his reports. We didn't need to tell Peter to be warts and all. It's all he knows. What were we thinking?
Ti Wheels On My Wagon…
Well not exactly wheels, but it has been 6 weeks now since I went Ti for my frame. 6 weeks on a bike and I am surprised to admit it has brought a new level of enjoyment to my riding.
To set the scene, for no real reason I have decided to aim for cycling 20,000 kms this year and that means that the last few months of 2024 have needed me to do about 375km a week. Not a huge amount if you are pro, but quite a lot with a job and the need for recovery that being 59 entails. So, rides are long at weekends and need to be done in all weathers.
Enter the Landrace Tupelo from Cyclefit.
For context - I have been a customer of Phil and Jules for over 2 decades. They have helped me stay planted and straight on the bike, they have helped my children, the people I coach and even my Dad. So, I have seen them grow and create a business that has helped many people find comfort on their bikes.
And now they have started making their own.
I have built my ultimate winter training bike with their Landrace Tupelo and Landrace wheels. A simple Ultegra Di2 groupset, 165mm InfoCrank power meter, Portland Design Works mudguards and a homage to my old mentor, Colin Lewis (ours too, Peter) with some Holdsworth orange Benotto (original) handlebar tape to finish the bike off.
A ride like Galaxy Chocolate
Riding the Landrace has been an unexpected joy. They say titanium is comfortable. The way I describe it is smooth - the bike feels like it should be in a Galaxy chocolate commercial. Before this I had two bikes, my summer Giant TCR and my winter, decades-old steel framed Brian Rourke, built for me way back when. The Rourke was heavy, traditional geometry and incredibly unresponsive to ride. Accelerating out of corners was a strength session in itself.
My Landrace on the other hand is the exact opposite. The back end is lively, responsive and surprisingly quick out of bends. The bike feels fast and much more like my summer bike compared with the old winter hack. Climbing feels light both in the saddle and out on the steeper Cotswold climbs. And then there is stability. This bike feels secure in the lanes. We all know the roads “Are not like they used to be when I was a kid!” and so our bikes must help us navigate a new reality.
More Kemmel than Hemel
Our lanes are battered, potted and more like the cobbles of Flanders than anywhere else; more Kemmel than Hemel, so to speak, and the Tupelo definitely makes the lanes feel safer. I no longer bounce around as much as before, and the 28mm Continental 4 Season tires inflate pretty wide on the Landrace carbon wheels. The relaxed front end adds to stability, ensuring the bike goes where you point it.
Phil mentioned that the bottom bracket is slightly lower than that of a more race-oriented frame, which further enhances confidence and reduces twitchiness.
"Also, it really does attract attention. People mention it all the time, ask questions about it"
All in All
All in all, this is the best winter bike I have ever had. I’ve ridden steel gates, old carbon racing bikes with light weight (and useless) mudguards squeezed in, but this is a super-bike, fit for purpose.
Titanium really does seem a wonderful material, stiff yet comfortable. While Cyclefit’s geometry, born of 25 years of bike fitting experience, creates a bike that makes you want to ride all day. And one of the best things….. people keep commenting on the bike. For some reason titanium has a magic allure that captures the attention.
That’s good enough for me.
Anything I would Change?
For me, I feel the top tube is a fraction short. I couldn’t use the M/L as the head tube would be too big, the stem is almost slammed as it is. In an ideal world (again for me), the front end wouldn’t be quite so shallow, but that is just nit picking.
The Landrace bottle cages don’t seem to hold bottles well. Perhaps they could be slightly more shaped to hug the bottle a bit more. Bottles tend to fall out sideways.
Things I Definitely Wouldn't Change!
It does feel fast to ride as a winter bike. It feels light, secure on the road and gives you a lot of confidence when riding it. It is enjoyable to ride and the bike is not an obstacle to spending a lot of time on it. I genuinely love riding it.
Also, it really does attract attention. People mention it all the time, ask questions about it and comment on line.
And Finally
It has got me thinking about having a more race orientated Ti bike for my summer (race) bike. So, when you make a race version of this, I’ll test it…..
A word from Julian
Thank you Peter - fascinating to hear your feedback, informed by hundreds of thousands of training and racing miles. I will look at bottle-cage design. I agree, Tupelo geometry is intentionally fairly relaxed.
But, we may or may not be coming out with a more race-focused model. And it may or may not be called 'BLACKSTAR'.
Peter's Contact Details
