I think relaxing a bit may help with the whole minor stroke thing too. Just a guess.
On bikes... You're discounting bikes without giving any reasons other than you're "done with them". You're asking about others that get quite a bit of press here in BF (BMC, Cervelo). Based on your palmares, I'm sure you know a lot about bikes. You've gone through the whole index evolution. You started dealing with aero wheels. You saw some of the craziest aero bikes ever made. You saw the rise of aero bars. Hidden brake cables. You went from 5 or 6 speed to 8 or 9 speed. You've had your foot in the pond recently based on your wheel comment. You know you don't want a tall head tube. You know what you're looking for. I don't understand why you're asking about a pro brand in particular.
The quality of any of the bikes is about the same. Yeah, some are finished nicer and all that. If you care about it, great. If not, great. Choose a frame that you like. Make sure it fits.
BMC? Fine bike, if it fits. Cervelo? Fine bike, if it fits.
You understand as much as anyone that a bike that doesn't fit isn't going to work.
I suppose what everyone is trying to say is that the bikes are really similar. Find a frame that fits, or, more accurately, find a pool of frames that fit you and your needs. Select one or more of said frames. Go from there.
Would I buy a BMC frame off the shelf? No frickin way. It doesn't fit. For a long time I tried to make me fit my bike. I finally tried a custom frame and it's a huge improvement.
Regarding the Porsche comment, which seems uncalled for. There are guys who "downgrade" a car and are perfectly happy with their next car. So the guy on my team that owned a monster twin turbo Porsche (I guess he owned two since he recently got rid of his Cayenne Turbo - his big monster car went away a while ago) is also happy driving his kids around in an old Dodge van (or his new land yacht or some other SUV I noticed). Another ex-fast-car-guy (Porsche guy too) is driving around in an Altima. And although I wouldn't count my blue car as being "Porsche" (though the magazines tried hard to write it up like that), it has literally 3 times the horsepower of my red car. Which car is more fun to drive? They're both fun. The blue car is scary fast, rear wheel drive, and gets loose when pressed. The red car is scary slow, front wheel drive, and requires the absolute minimum braking possible, the best lines in turns. I enjoy driving both cars.
Riding bikes is fun. Riding my mountain bike on the road gives me different challenges. Ditto the tandem. Track bike even. And of course my road bike.
Originally Posted by
look171
...Now I just want a bike you can race on. I don't care if the pros ride it or not. I don't care if its high end or not. I am done with Colango, DeRosa, and Cinelli to name a few. They do not make me faster but make a fat guy with his tongue hanging out in the back sucking wheel getting drop look really stupid. Sad, but true, I am never racing again.
On that note, if you think that you'll look "stupid" on a Colnago, DeRosa, or Cinelli, you'll look idiotic on a BMC or Cervelo, especially the Cervelo. No hate here. For whatever reason Cervelos have gotten a bad rap as being the bike "wanna-be" racers buy. BMC and Cervelos will not make you faster either, and if you're riding with your tongue out sucking wheel getting dropped no one will think anything of it except you.
Having personally experienced the fat side of things, I should point out that if you are a lot heavier than you used to be, it made be in your best interest to consider those more upright bikes. When I was 190-215 (at 5'7") I was riding a size M Giant. 55.5 top tube, tall head tube, and a nice long stretched out position but with room to breathe. Later, as I lost weight, I went to a size S Giant. Now I've gone a bit further and gotten what is essentially a limo version of a size S Giant (long top tube).
Hope this helps,
cdr