Girs Solo road bike - A quick review
I've been riding bikes for over 35 years now, and I'm now 68 in 2026
For the last 15 years or so
I've been mixing things up with a few different bikes, still mostly riding my MTB, a Van Nicholas Tuareg. A Singlespeed road bike, though sold in 2024. Some Gravel, as I also have a Gravel from Orange and since March 2024, a Girs Solo road bike
I rode a Pompino Singlespeed for over ten years
Boy, I loved that bike, but finally sold it in 2024 as I'm getting on in years, and decided it was time to replace it with a bike with gears.
I've had a couple of road bikes in the past: a Cannondale CAAD10 in 2012, but I wasn't ready for road riding at the time, so I sold it fairly quickly. Later, a cheap B'Twin bike, but I'm a snob, and riding a B'Twin just wasn't for me. It was just a bog-standard model as well, not at all sexy or fun.
I like non-standard bikes, or rather,lesser-known makes
Currently, I have a Van Nicholas MTB. Before that, it was a Rocky Mountain Tribal MTB. A Pompino singlespeed, now sold. A gravel Orange RX9-pro, which I use riding mostly the same tracks as the MTB, and now the road bike, the Girs Solo. These makes are few and far between; you don't see them often. People stop and ask about them. That's nice :)
Buying a real road bike - 2024
I decided that it was time to start riding maybe more on the roads with a bike with gears, as well as off-road with the MTB Tuareg or sometimes with my Gravel Orange RX9-pro. So I sold my singlespeed to get ready to buy a real road bike.
Girs, a high-end French bicycle manufacturer
Now I'm lucky, a French high-end bike maker called Girs is only 10 km from my house.
So I popped into their shop, and after looking at their bikes, I decided to go for a test ride on their model Girs Solo. The photo below is the bike at home :)
Of course, the ride went well. It's a really well-equipped bike, without going over the top, and the test ride went well. So the next day, my credit card got heated up, and tra la la la la the bike came home with me.
It's a mean machine, well-equipped. In fact, it's the only bike I've ever bought that I haven't immediately started changing parts on.
Even the wheels Sonic Hypersonic are good, often when you buy a bike, they scrimp on the wheels, meaning that you need to upgrade them, but not with Girs.
That's the difference between entry-level / mid-range bikes and something from a real bike manufacturer.
It has an SRAM Rival eTap AXS, which, from the start, I loved. I'm not a big fan of SRAM groupsets. I have an SRAM Apex on my Orange Gravel, and to be honest, it's pretty crap - compared with my XTR setup on the MTB, it's nowhere near as good.
So the Rival eTap really surprised me. No wires, no problem shifting, it also shows the gear ratios on my Garmin Edge 530 computer while riding. Pretty cool
Frame: Carbon T700/800 weight 1100 g
Group: Sram Rival eTap AXS
Saddle: Brooks C13 (same saddle on both my MTB & Gravel, it's not a super lightweight, but it's comfortable)
Chain ring: Rival 48/35 & Cassette: Rival XG-1250 10-30
Wheels: Sonic Hypersonic 3 : weight: 1480gr/pair
Tyres: Grand Prix 4-Seasons, 28mm
- Why the Grand Prix 4-Seasons? They’re a little on the heavy side, but they don't puncture. I would rather have a little more weight than having to faff around repairing a puncture on the roadside. I'll go tubeless soon and will go for the Continental Grand Prix 5000 S TR 700 as I'm used to tubeless tyres and like them.
Pedals: Shimano MTB XTR M9100:
- Don't laugh, I like these pedals and have never sussed out why one should have different pedals and different shoes for riding bikes. This way, my Sidi MTB shoes fit all my bikes.
Eighteen months on: I've clocked up over 4200kms, which isn't too bad considering I also ride my MTB, Gravel and do Crossfit séances two or three times a week
The bike is damn good; not only is it sexy, but it rides well. It's a beautifully made bike from a great, if lesser-known, high-end French bike manufacturer.
This bike, from Girs, is basically found only on the French market, though they have recently opened a store in Gerona, Spain.
I’ve modified nothing on this bike:
Again, this is the first bike I’ve ever owned where I didn’t feel the need to start swapping parts to make the bike better. I have added some small, useful parts/gadgets, though.
Added gadgets:
A Garmin Varia RTL515 radar. which I've just added a complete post about here. Being deaf, I can’t hear approaching vehicles, so this little device is a godsend. It alerts me on my Garmin Edge 530 and Garmin Epix watch about cars coming up from behind.
A K-Edge chain catcher so the chain can never fall off and fuck up the paintwork. It did happen once. Once was enough, so now I protect the frame and the paint with it
A Rival AXS Power Meter Upgrade. I love reading and trying to analyse my power readings. I really believe they make you a better rider.
Update January 26
When out riding, I almost always ride only using the 48-tooth chain ring. I rarely use the 35-tooth one, as I don't need it much, no mountains here where I live.
So I've decided to go for a bigger on the legs 50/37 set-up. I also decided to upmarket the equipment and go for the SRAM Force with dual power settings rather than the mono leg one on the Rival.
This setup should make me use the smaller chain ring a little more. and maybe even give me more speed. It will certainly work my thighs more :)
I had to change the chain as it was too short for the 50 chain ring set-up, so I fitted the SRAM Flattop Force version, and while changing all that, I also added a Force 10/30 Cassette. The Rival cassette still had lots of life in it, but while I was changing the Chain ring and chain, I thought lets do it all.
