Very few bikes that I have ridden in the recent past truly surprise me. I can pretty much look at a frame and see what kind of ride quality the manufacturer designed into the bike by their choice of tube sizes, diameters, shaping and manipulation of each of the eight frame tubes. Other than carbon layup and weave direction, the ride quality of most bikes is pretty predictable.

The Guru Photon is a very notable exception. With it’s oversized down tube and tapered, oversize top tube, I was expecting a ride that would make every pebble in the road feel like a speed bump. Guru tuned their massive tubes to absorb rough roads like you were riding your old steel bike. The call out of “rough road” from the front of the paceline doesn’t startle you, when you know that the Photon is going to track directly where you aim it. The bike glides over choppy surfaces like a touring sedan.

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