HASA Shimano Ultegra Carbon Flat Bar Road Bike

An update from my earlier review. Frame size – the 48cm fits the girl well although it may have been possible to go up to the 50cm frame without too much of an issue. She commutes to work approx 3 times a week and does 30-40kms on the weekend on sealed roads at 20-25kph. As expected, there have been no issues with the running gear or groupset as they are all quality parts. I did say the bottom bracket was an Ultegra in my original review – oops – it is actually a press fit Dura-Ace as described in the specs. It’s a bit more expensive to replace than the threaded outboard-type bottom brackets and you need special tools to do it but I don’t think that the girl will be regularly unleashing enough power to make this a regular chore for me. There have been no brake problems with the tight turn on the front brake cable under the headstem so it seems this arrangement is ok. The seat is pretty much a (male) roadie racing saddle and she has found it a bit hard on longer rides. The exacerbating factor here is the headstem as supplied was 110mm rather than the 90mm as advertised for the 48cm frame. The longer and lower handlebar position coupled with the hard seat (with limited tilt adjustment) is not ideal for her ‘girl’ comfort so the stem is being replaced with an 80mm unit and the hunt is on for a comfy women’s seat. She still mentions that her toe touches the wheel on tight turns but not so much that this is a problem. She really likes the bikes lightness compared with her old bike and enjoys her riding more now that the hills aren’t as daunting and that it accelerates much more quickly and is easier to keep on the boil. All in all the bike has lived up to expectations – Kudos to Hasa and Cycling Deal. Pedal like you stole it.
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I bought this bike on a Saturday, online, and it was delivered by Monday - top notch service. Context to this review, I'm a daily commutor and I ride about 20km's each day to and from work. I'm not a fussy lycra type rider, I just need something fast and reliable so I can get in some exercise and save money on tram fares (based in Melbourne). The bike arrived in a box and it took me about 30 minutes to put the handle bars, wheels and pedals on the bike. All pretty straight forward, need to adjust the brakes etc - so you will need a set of allen keys and a spanner (for the pedals). Once assembled I took the bike down to the local servo to pump up the tyres. I also like the fact that it came with reflectors and a bell! Cute. Out of the box the Hasa performs really well, but I will be taking it to my local bike shop this weekend just to sort out the rear gears. They're not quite slotting in - close, but it needs adjustment. It's all a bit rattly. So take that into consideration if you buy online - you may have an aditional expense to get the bike properly set up. You normally don't have to worry about this when you buy direct from a store. This bike is straight from a factory. Having said that, this bike is fast. It's very light and highly manouverable and when you put your foot down (pretty much in any gear) - it just goes. I had an Italian Bianchi Cameleonte flat bar road bike before this which was much more expensive (and was recently stolen) and it wasn't as light or as quick as the Hasa. The Hasa weighed in at 9kg (the Bianchi was 13.5kg). The Hasa is seriously light-weight. I also think there's less chance of the Hasa getting nicked as no-one has ever heard of them! The seat is also quite hard, but I'll probably get used to it! All i all - I highly recommend this bike.
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I bought one for the girl (48cm frame – she is 163cm) as it offered the best value for money in terms of the groupset and accessories at this price. I have a 2011 Giant CrossCity 1 – which is a fantastic commuter - and the Hasa sports a very similar spec (mainly Shimano 105). The main differences, apart from the frame, bars and saddle, are the Ultegra bottom bracket (not that anyone will ever pick that), the Shorty4 brakes and the fact that it is a triple crankset (30 speed) rather than the Giant’s double (20 speed) but the rest of the drivetrain and shifters are almost identical to the Giant so I knew the parts were good. Assembly is straightforward although the manual that comes with it is not as comprehensive for this bike as it could be. This is a function of having one manual for all the bikes that Hasa sells rather than a dedicated manual but obviously this is on account of cost. It can also be a little confusing, eg. when assembling the handlebars and fork it uses different terminology for the same part from one sentence to the next, and from the diagram/s. But if you have a little mechanical knowledge and are careful and methodical this should not present too much of a problem. Be careful disentangling the front wheel – it has been slipped over the crank and zip tied to the frame for transport, but if you just try to pull it away from the frame you may bend or snap some spokes. The front brake cable housing needs to be located in the mounting bracket located on the headset. The mounting bracket should be positioned directly beneath the headstem and parallel with it for effective brake operation as this ensures the straight run of the brake cable from the bracket to the brake calipers. The main issue with this setup is that it forces the cable sheath into quite a severe curve beneath the headstem and doesn’t seem ideal but I will hold judgement and advise if there are any cable/brake problems in the short/medium term. I also thought the front brake cable was far too long as I couldn’t get the brake to bind on the rim but solved this problem by loosening off the clamp on the brake caliper and discovering that the v-piece slides up the brake cable when loosened in this way. This effectively shortens the brake cable and means the brake operates properly. Problem solved. The ‘balance’ of brakes (front and rear) was easily fixed using an allen key to adjust the tensioner springs so that both sides of the calipers moved an equal distance from the rim when the brakes were released, rather than having one brake pad dragging, or worse still, trying to fix a dragging pad by loosening the brakes off too much at the brake lever. I checked the tightness of the bolts on all the critical fittings that didn’t need my assembly and found that they were all pretty good – but you should still check yours. The shifters/derailleurs were properly adjusted and didn’t need any tweaking which is good straight out of the box. On the electronic scales the bike weighed 9.25 kilos as supplied out of the box which is pretty sharp. To the ride. It is early days yet but the girl is happy. The gear change is crisp and accurate, as it should be with the 105 groupset and R770 triggers. It is a much more aggressive position on the bike than her current ride as the handlebars are about 7 centimetres lower for the same saddle height/pedal position - but I think she should be making the most of the more aerodynamic position because the Hasa is 5(!) kilos lighter than her current ride. It is very directional (she says twitchy – but it is a matter of getting used to the geometry of the bike). If you are after a comfortable tourer – this is not the bike for you. I took it for a spin - it is fast. It spools up quickly when you put the power down and its lightness means you can keep it tapping along on the flat and hills are a breeze. The girl says that the front wheel touches her toe on slow tight turns (geometry again) so it may be worthwhile going one size up on the frame if you are concerned. That’s about it for the moment. I’ll update this post as she becomes more familiar with the bike. Pedal like you stole it.
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