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08-20-07, 07:12 AM
my bicycle needed it's 200 mile serve (about 300 miles ago) and with the rear wheel out of true, the shifting needed attention, and the bottom bracket needing a good through cleaning, i decided to drop it off at the shop that I bought it from. So I decided to call them up to see how long they would need my bike. I am fully aware that they rent bicycles, so I figured (because they are about 15 miles from my house) that if they couldn't do it right away (it's a saturday) then I could just rent a bike for the weekend and still get in my sunday ride / monday morning ride. they were generous enough to give me (loan) a free Schwinn fastback sport for loaner for a few days. having never ridden a road bike needless to say I was excited.
sunday was a wash, rained on and off all day.
this morning I dissappointed to learn that it rained all night and the roads were wet and slippery. Having fallen once on my mountain bike due to conditions similar, I decided to stay on surface streets instead of the MUP that I was hoping to ride (thats where I went down about 2 weeks ago)
so I got in a decent 10 miles (guessing) this morning, on mostly surface streets...
and here are my impressions of a road bike (comming from a mountain bike guy)
first, I like brifters, what a great concept, the bike has sora brifters on it, and I like them quite a bit.
second, i dont like toe clips (they are hard to get into, and they drag on the ground if you need to pedal a few revolutions to cross a street before you slip in) and without adjusting them, I felt no benefit over platforms (they are loose though) I prefer my powergrips. never have tried clipless yet.
third, i prefer my bike, maybe because i know it, I know what speed I can go, i have the seat, pedals, handlebar combo that makes me most comfortable. but its a comfort thing, I know what to expect with my bike
lastly, damn road bikes are fast, having no idea (no computer) how fast I was going, I can only imagine that my average was close to 15 or 16 instead of the 12~14 i get on my mountain bike.
sunday was a wash, rained on and off all day.
this morning I dissappointed to learn that it rained all night and the roads were wet and slippery. Having fallen once on my mountain bike due to conditions similar, I decided to stay on surface streets instead of the MUP that I was hoping to ride (thats where I went down about 2 weeks ago)
so I got in a decent 10 miles (guessing) this morning, on mostly surface streets...
and here are my impressions of a road bike (comming from a mountain bike guy)
first, I like brifters, what a great concept, the bike has sora brifters on it, and I like them quite a bit.
second, i dont like toe clips (they are hard to get into, and they drag on the ground if you need to pedal a few revolutions to cross a street before you slip in) and without adjusting them, I felt no benefit over platforms (they are loose though) I prefer my powergrips. never have tried clipless yet.
third, i prefer my bike, maybe because i know it, I know what speed I can go, i have the seat, pedals, handlebar combo that makes me most comfortable. but its a comfort thing, I know what to expect with my bike
lastly, damn road bikes are fast, having no idea (no computer) how fast I was going, I can only imagine that my average was close to 15 or 16 instead of the 12~14 i get on my mountain bike.