I ride 30-40 km every 2-3 days, during weekends more (40-60 km), mostly out of town. From time to time I ride in town but on road only. Are this bikes a good choice for me (if you look equipment and materials used)?
I am a little worried because of that strange spokes on Cannondale ( Gipiemme T3-30S ), how they behave of local (rural) roads?
Does anybody have some experience with suspension seat post?
I ride 30-40 km every 2-3 days,> during weekends more (40-60 km), mostly out of town.> From time to time I ride in town but on road only.> Are this bikes a good choice for me (if you look equipment and materials> used)?>
I am a little worried because of that strange spokes on Cannondale (> Gipiemme T3-30S ),> how they behave of local (rural) roads?>
Does anybody have some experience with suspension seat post?>
Thanks,> Branimir>
Seems to me that the Bianchi has two advantages: the adjustable stem and more robust wheels (but I don't know anything particular about either wheel)
I ride 30-40 km every 2-3 days,> during weekends more (40-60 km), mostly out of town.> From time to time I ride in town but on road only.> Are this bikes a good choice for me (if you look equipment and materials> used)?>
I am a little worried because of that strange spokes on Cannondale (> Gipiemme T3-30S ),> how they behave of local (rural) roads?
not a great design. the 3-grouped rear addresses the tension differential of a dished wheel [but not lateral elasticity], the 3-grouped front is purely cosmetic - and pointless.
Does anybody have some experience with suspension seat post?>
Steven M. Scharf 26 April 2005 19:52:43 [ permanent link ]
"Branimir Putnikovic" <myaddress@nirko.com> wrote in message news:1114508270.281768@internet.fina.hr...> Hello,> I intend to buy a new hybrid road bike and I can't decide> between these two:>
I ride 30-40 km every 2-3 days,> during weekends more (40-60 km), mostly out of town.> From time to time I ride in town but on road only.> Are this bikes a good choice for me (if you look equipment and materials> used)?
I ride 30-40 km every 2-3 days,>during weekends more (40-60 km), mostly out of town.>From time to time I ride in town but on road only.>Are this bikes a good choice for me (if you look equipment and materials>used)?
The only part of either bike that I would look at with disfavor for recreational riding would be the wheels. In both cases, those are a potential trouble spot.
I am a little worried because of that strange spokes on Cannondale (>Gipiemme T3-30S ),>how they behave of local (rural) roads?
Until a spoke breaks, the wheels work just fine. Break a spoke, and you're likely to be reduced to walking. The same is true of the wheels on the Bianchi, however.
Does anybody have some experience with suspension seat post?
A suspension seat post's virtues are a matter of taste and acclimation. I have one on a bike that I ride occasionally. Some people find them very useful for making long rides more comfortable, while others are bothered by the inconstant saddle height. My experience has been that for those few instances where I don't see a bump coming in time to lift off the saddle, the suspension post helps. It is neither essential for street and smooth-road riding in my opinion, nor is it an adequate substitute for rear suspension in bumpier off-road venues. . -- Typoes are a feature, not a bug. Some gardening required to reply via email. Words processed in a facility that contains nuts.
jabario@backpacker.com wrote:> Find a STEEL bike with carbon fork!!!!! Any brand will do. Aluminum> will beat you up! Dont even consider an AL bike w/o carbon fork.> You'll be sorry.>
Total and utter crap. Materials per se have very little to do with it. It is what is done with them, as well as tyres and seat tube, that determine whether or not the ride will be comfortable or not.
I'm doing up to 300km rides on our mediocre Swedish roads (coarse bitumen) on an aluminium Colnago with steel fork, steel steerer tube, 20 mm wide tyres pumped to 8 bar. Only concession I've had to make is installing a Campag CF seatpost, to smooth things out a bit. It's as comfortable as any touring bike I've ever owned.
jabario@backpacker.com wrote:> A frame IS the materials used. A carbon fork has made my AL c'dale> cross bike nice and comfy on the road. But mt 853 lemond w/carbon fork> and 120 psi tires still just glides over irregularities. Anyone who> thinks AL frames are smooth is just deluding himself and justifying not> buying the right bike to begin with.
So your AL bike with a carbon fork is "nice and comfy on the road", but it is not "smooth"?
I'll throw in my two-bits. When I test rode road bikes two years ago, I rode four bikes in this order:
- Specialized Sequoia Sport (AL w/ carbon fork and suspension seat post), which I ended up buying
- Specialized Allez (AL w/ AL fork)
- Lemond Nevada City (Steel w/ steel fork)
- Trek 5200 (carbon)
The first three were about the same price range +/- $150 or so (with the Sequoia being the most expensive, the Nevada City next, then the Allez being cheapest), all with similar components, while the 5200 was like 3 or 4x the price of the others with high end stuff everywhere.
Although the test was very un-blind, and I did not note the tire sizes of each bike (the Sequoia had 26-622 tires), they were all stock and pumped up to ~100psi, and I think it was pretty obvious to me that in descending order of "smoothness", I'd rank them:
1 - Trek 5200 2 - Specialized Sequoia Sport 3 - Lemond Nevada City 4 - Specialized Allez
I suppose the suspension seat post and carbon fork gave the Sequoia the edge over the Nevada City, despite the latter's steel frame?
I would have been glad to have saved $100 or so buying the Nevada City, but I found it to be a harsher ride than I wanted.
The 5200, I didn't want to bring back to the shop, but I didn't want to spend whatever the price was (like $2500???) either.
The Allez, I couldn't wait to ride it back to the shop and get off the darned thing. Maybe it's "standard" AL bikes like this one that are what people have tried when they get a negative impression of AL frame/fork bikes?
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Branimir Putnikovic 27 April 2005 17:32:34 [ permanent link ]
"Branimir Putnikovic" <myaddress@nirko.com> wrote in message news:1114508270.281768@internet.fina.hr...> Hello,> I intend to buy a new hybrid road bike and I can't decide> between these two:>
I ride 30-40 km every 2-3 days,> during weekends more (40-60 km), mostly out of town.> From time to time I ride in town but on road only.> Are this bikes a good choice for me (if you look equipment and materials> used)?>
I am a little worried because of that strange spokes on Cannondale (> Gipiemme T3-30S ),> how they behave of local (rural) roads?>
Does anybody have some experience with suspension seat post?>
Thanks,> Branimir
Thank you all for advices. Yesterday I found out that Cannondale RW600 comes (in Croatia) with Mavic CXP-22 with 32 holes instead of Gipiemme. (and Continental Top Touring 2000) Seems to me that this is just fine solution for various types of roads around me.
Motobecane Cafe Noir ->I live in Europe, Croatia, cannot get this...
I'll try suspension seat post, it's easy to change later...and about frame, hm, carbon, steel...Bike in Croatia costs 1000?, and in USA 750$ (55% of Croatian price!!!) I just cannot find better bike of that type then cannondale RW600 in Croatia & Slovenia.
Guy F . Anderson Sr . 28 April 2005 03:04:21 [ permanent link ]
On Wed, 27 Apr 2005 16:38:29 GMT, "Steven M. Scharf" <scharf.steven@linkearth.net> wrote:
Anyone who>> thinks AL frames are smooth is just deluding himself and justifying not>> buying the right bike to begin with.
Apparently you have never ridden a Vitus 979 or an Alan frame .....er.....maybe you are not old enough to have had the pleasure of riding one of these Flexy French Fliers!
Guy F. Anderson Sr. wrote:> Apparently you have never ridden a Vitus 979 or an Alan frame> .....er.....maybe you are not old enough to have had the pleasure of> riding one of these Flexy French Fliers!
Looks like the chance is still available to young and old alike, though probably only for the taller among us:
Nashbar seems to be dealing in lots of NOS (new, old stock) stuff these days.
I recently got a 1990 vintage San Marco Rolls saddle from them and it's been much more comfy than the Specialized Body Geometry Milano saddle that came stock on my Sequoia.
-- I do not accept unsolicited commercial e-mail. Remove NO_UCE for legitimate replies.
Salesmen in many shops are notorious for trying to sell unsuspecting> buyers the bikes the shop owner wants to move, not the bike the buyer> really needs.
If anything, the salesman was really trying to push the Lemond on me, saying he'd give me an especially great deal if I bought one, etc. Somehow he failed to diddle the bikes' setups to make the Lemond more desirable to me than the others that I preferred.
Or maybe he was being really sneaky and made the Lemond purposefully uncomfortable while making me believe he really wanted to sell it to try to get me to buy the 5200.
Long story short, you may have been duped into believing one bike was> more comfortable than another, all for the purpose of helping a> salesman meet a sales goal on a particular bike.
Everything you say about manipulative ubersalesmen may well be true. But it may actually be the case that the stock Specialized Sequoia Sport is more comfy than the other bikes I tried that were in my price range, including a steel bike.
Having said all this, of the four HPVs I currently own, my three recumbents are steel, and my one DF is aluminum.
I'm liking my DF more and more these days, despite how uncomfortable it must be (or at least less comfortable than a steel framed DF would be) because it has an aluminum frame.
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