Road Cycling - Need Some advice on a new Bike

I have bugged my wife to the point that she finally gave in to a new bike, so I am looking for advice. I'm planning to do at least 6 centuries this summer, so comfort is king. I have narrowed my choices down to Gunnar Sport, Trek Pilot, Cannondale Synaspe, or Specialized Roubaix. I'm 6'4 250#. Is there much difference between the ride of a steel bike and a carbon? With my size do I need to be concerned with Carbon holding up?

The ride with carbon its softer than with steel... I doubt u'll have problems with a carbon frame at all.

This is a matter or oppinion only ok? isnt not a thing that I dont like carbon frames, they are super sweet. The only thing that worries me about carbon frames it is life expentancy, as the years go by carbon gets harder and harder so if something happend the frame will simply brake or u'll end with a cutted tube just in the middle.

Trek gives lifetime guarantee in their frames but no trek carbon buyer will buy those frames thinking into keep them for more than 2 years or so. So they sell those frames to others and no guarantee no more because it isnt tranferable to the new owner. In that way is super easy give liftime guarantee, dont u think?

With steel u r quite sure u can keep the bike maybe forever, or if u have a problem w/it always some framebuilder can fix it. Besides new steel alloys are so lighter and stronger than aluminum. An aluminum frame nowadays as steel frames can last loooooooooooog time...

Well between all of those bikes u named... hmmm..what do u want the fike for? for racing or touring? My school is racing so from all of those only 1 fills my ideas of what a bike could be u know.

The gunnar is a nice steel frame, I bet rides nice... touring configuration, it should be quite comfortable. The price its nice too... I mean if u dont need something else that bike its fine so far (put tubular clinchers on it and that bike will rock!).

The trek pilot? hmm... I no doubt it should ride nice because its carbon... Long trail.. hmmm... nah!. thats an LBS bike :p too much money for that junk.

The Specialized its a nice bike... the price isnt bad either. The only think i would do to it is put the stem in the right position not going UP as that one does, Oh and put tubular clinchers on it.

Now the cannondale. gooooooood stuff... racing machine... nothing else to say.

The trek it is junk. I mean look nice but u cant compare it to the other 3 bikes u just choose. All are too different. The gunnar is the modest one of all and i like it a lot. That bike should last forever. The Roubaix it is just in the midle... the samething than the Gunnar. The cannondale it is a racing machine. It should be a sweet ride, besides their angles are quite lower so it should be very comfortable.

Actually it is your call and your pocket hehehe...

cya :)

^^^^ I have no idea what the above post meant.

First, I have a Trek Madone 5.2, all carbon and I have no intention of getting rid of it in two years. I intend to keep riding it for a very long time. Frankly, that's just nonsense saying anyone who buys a Trek is going to get it rid of it in a short time.

As for carbon getting harder as it gets older and breaking, that is very hard to believe. I have friends riding 10 year old carbon frames and having no problems.

I think we have a troll here.

I would add one other bike to your list - Felt. If your LBS carries Felt, check them out. For the price, they are a very good bike. The components are pretty high end.

I like Trek, obviously. The Pilot is a very nice bike. Gunnar is made by Waterford, also a nice bike. I am not a big fan of Specialized. They just bore me, frankly. The Cannondale is also okay.

Hi- Try to talk to guys that are the same size as you. The rest of us obviously dont have that experience. It'd be perfect if there was a 6'5" 220# mechanical engineer cyclist you could talk to. Hey propofol--You'd have a clue if you'd lay off the milk of amnesia!

LOL... :) I agree w/sunday driver... well comming back to trek, personally ive seen a few frames with cutted tubes, i saw them because a friend of mine fixed them. And the person who told me the problem with carbon was just him... I doubt an aeronautical engeneering have no clue what the hell he is doing or talking about specially when what he is doing for a living is fixin war planes, besides he is war pilot. The second person who told me the samething was my framebuilder, how he found it out? A guy from the american cycling federation told him plus... one of the rosin framebuilders told him when he went to italy with the Team of my country for traning a few years ago.

I have nothing agains trek anyways ok? but thats the cruel reality of carbon. With the sun and the time gets so hard that sooner or later simply cracks with a simple fall. It is the same phenomena motorcycled helmets suffer. U may ride your bike maybe for 50 years u know, but the problem that could happend if u fall and the frame get one of its tubes cut it is that the carbon chips... i mean u'll have splinters here and there, do u know what i could happend if one those chips get under your skin and nobody notices?...

I understand that it is a thing of lucky aswell, but usually there is no racer that do not sell his whole bike each 2 or 3 years, there is something called material fatigue and even carbon suffer the same problem with the time. The other thing is that highways and roads here in the US are quite descent, u have to think that a bike used for racing seriously at the end of the second season is a real bag of c....P. So the life expentancy it will depends on what do u use the frame for and whats your riding style. i know racers that after 2 months have the bike destroyed. In my case my bikes are almost new after 4 or 5 years. So u have to think in that factor aswell u know. A bike used for touring for a 200 pounds 50ers will have a total different use than the 200 pounds sprinter that race and train for a living. So u cant compare. Lucky me im not 6'5" as sunday driver because It would a pain in the ASH try to find a fit or materials besides steel that meet my necesities.

I would add ridley and felt to the list. We agree in something :)

:)

Are you a racer? At your size I suspect not.

Therefore, do not listen to the racerboys and their recommendations. They will steer you wrong, and you will be uncomfortable.

Allow me to expand. In what I would characterize as a reasonable price range (under $2500) in carbon you will get a cookie cutter, racerboy frame made in Taiwan, or a Trek, also with a race biased frame. If you want a comfortable century bike, and you don't have the flexibility of a 22 year old, you're better off selecting a bike with a more compliant ride and slacker angles. That means you're into steel production bikes from a very small handful of makers, or you'll have to pony up for a custom or semi-custom steel or ti bike.

My advice: just call Grant Petersen and buy a Rivendell. That's what I'm doing later this summer. You can stay (slightly) under $2000 and get a sweet ride. Or you can pay $5000 or so and get the fatty full custom Riv built with Record. And wait two years.

PS. I am 6'5" and a little under 220. I currently ride a steel Landshark. Wouldn't recommend it unless you're a racerboy. I'm not and hence the Riv.

Mmmm. Heavy, comfortable steel.

What is wrong with being 6' 7", 235 LBS, and an Engineer? :)

Well that is my actual height, and I do weigh 235. I just bought a Moto, because of its classic geometry. I love the bike and highly recommend it! You should buy what fits you the best. Try all the bikes that you want to buy before you buy. Good Luck!!!!!!!

LOL... :) I agree w/sunday driver... well comming back to trek, personally ive seen a few frames with cutted tubes, i saw them because a friend of mine fixed them. And the person who told me the problem with carbon was just him... I doubt an aeronautical engeneering have no clue what the hell he is doing or talking about specially when what he is doing for a living is fixin war planes, besides he is war pilot. The second person who told me the samething was my framebuilder, how he found it out? A guy from the american cycling federation told him plus... one of the rosin framebuilders told him when he went to italy with the Team of my country for traning a few years ago.

I have nothing agains trek anyways ok? but thats the cruel reality of carbon. With the sun and the time gets so hard that sooner or later simply cracks with a simple fall. It is the same phenomena motorcycled helmets suffer. U may ride your bike maybe for 50 years u know, but the problem that could happend if u fall and the frame get one of its tubes cut it is that the carbon chips... i mean u'll have splinters here and there, do u know what i could happend if one those chips get under your skin and nobody notices?...

I understand that it is a thing of lucky aswell, but usually there is no racer that do not sell his whole bike each 2 or 3 years, there is something called material fatigue and even carbon suffer the same problem with the time. The other thing is that highways and roads here in the US are quite descent, u have to think that a bike used for racing seriously at the end of the second season is a real bag of c....P. So the life expentancy it will depends on what do u use the frame for and whats your riding style. i know racers that after 2 months have the bike destroyed. In my case my bikes are almost new after 4 or 5 years. So u have to think in that factor aswell u know. A bike used for touring for a 200 pounds 50ers will have a total different use than the 200 pounds sprinter that race and train for a living. So u cant compare. Lucky me im not 6'5" as sunday driver because It would a pain in the ASH try to find a fit or materials besides steel that meet my necesities.

I would add ridley and felt to the list. We agree in something :)

:)


What are you smokin?

Carbon fiber breaks? Steel does not break?
Broke a Reynolds 531 tandem frame at 50,000 miles and again at the 56,000 mile mark. Broke a steel fork at 15,000 miles.
Currently riding a custom carbon fiber tandem frame; 10,000+ on the odo.
Quit tellin' us what others are telling you. What have you broken?
This is from experience; got in over a quarter million miles of cycling; am 73 and still riding 100+ miles a week, year round.
Have ridden (extensively) on steel, alu, ti and carbon. My money (and butt) are on carbon fiber.

hehe...I admire u... I meet a guy in canada with 80 or so riding in a track. Thats an awesome example.. I really admire u.

Untill now, I havent broken any bike so far in 20 years... some people has bad luck... I had a vitus 979 centuries ago, those ones have fame of broken tubes and other issues. zero problems, i sold it and after 5 months the fork collapsed. There are a lot of factors to get a frame or fork broken, especially when u arent into racing.

I know bike killers that no matter what bike they use but after 6 or 15 months have the bike totally destroyed. I doubt u r one of those... About carbon I've seen 3 so far last year in my friend's house, all of them in the same place... the top tube. Then he told me the problem with carbon... but well who cares isnt my problem actually but the only thing I would like to tell u with all the respect u deserve... I think the question u have been doing for your self is, how long this frame it will last after having all those bad experiences as u have had, U know...

All materials suffer fatigue... everybody knows that...

Cya :)