The Protos is not without its compromises, though. There were times when my facial expression couldn’t quite choose between grinning, from the thrill of its assured handling on high speed descents, or grimacing, from feeling every crease in the road surface. The latter was only really an issue for rides in excess of three hours, where my hands felt sore by the end, despite the ergonomically sculpted 3T Aeronova Team bars feeling comfortable for the most part. And at times I would feel the rear wheel skipping around during explosive bursts, particularly on what I would describe as ‘punchy’ climbs..