Originally Posted by Long Tom

Ouch. That hurts my brain.

Originally Posted by Campag4life

PS: I did a freeze frame of Sagan's breakaway at the recent Flanders and noticed he wasn't on a Roubaix or a Venge VIAS but rather the same bike he won the World's on...a Tarmac. See below.
Question is...did Sagan make a bike change after the grueling cobbled section of the race? If anybody knows...please post.

Originally Posted by Fiery

He has been and will be on the Tarmac for the whole spring campaign and most of the rest of the year as well. See https://youtu.be/lGioVyEcHK4

Originally Posted by Long Tom

Ouch. That hurts my brain.

Originally Posted by Campag4life

Great concepts trickle down and unworthy products die. Why steel which has littered this thread has died. And...the sad joke is the public are the guinea pigs. The vast majority who comprise the public aren't engineers who buy products and they can't discriminate marketing from improvement. Testimonials of this abound on the 41.
Sometimes things are improved. Engineers sometimes do create a better mousetrap. Sometimes not aka press fit BB's

Anybody who has ridden the current Domane knows it has the best combination of vertical compliance to power transfer of any bike on the market. Its great tech. Trek just upped the ante. As much as I believe the new Madone is the most technically advanced bike on the market, I wouldn't want to have bought one of the first ones as great as the bike is. New Domane has proven the new Madone is only half done. Probably in a couple more years Trek will come out with a tunable spring rate in the front. My guess. Look what Trek has just created with the new Domane...a tunable rear leaf spring...spring rate that can be adjusted in the rear and a 10% more compliant front end. This belongs on a $10K Madone and a variant of this tech no doubt will end up there. Now Trek has a dilemma. When they can make their aero bike as compliant as an endurance bike with available similar geometry aka H2. Why ride the endurance bike? Perhaps Trek will ponder this a while and keep some of the suspension off the Madone. But there is no reason why these worlds shouldn't collide. Complaint about the Domane heretofore is the unbalance of rear compliance to the front. In other words, Trek made the Domane too good in the back which highlighted the stiffness in the front. By contrast, many believe Specialized made the current Roubaix too stiff in the rear...the opposite direction. So Trek addressed this with with more compliance now in the front with adjustability in the rear. If the handling isn't adversely affected or a funny feeling bike from this suspension....Spartacus just won on this new design I believe that somewhat validates it...a guy who doesn't have to ride it if it isn't worthy of the most grueling conditions...a guy who rides mechanical shifting DA9000 because he doesn't like Di2...a pretty good bet it works.

I look forward to better reviews of the new Domane. Also, I wouldn't be an early adopter. I would let this new tech settle a bit. Keep in mind 41'ers...the bike industry like many others performs its beta testing on those willing to take the gamble of a new design. This is how it works make no mistake. Only so much can be gleaned by computer modeling, laboratory testing and test miles on the road before a product is released. More intricate the tech, bigger the risk. So a year or two of wait and see is a prudent posture if you plan on holding on to a given bike for a while. But to me, what Trek has just done is the future of bikes. To put a finer point on it...aerodynamic frame sections that can be created in carbon and Aluminum...what is called the section modulus of these sections are the polar opposite of what is desired for vertical compliance and lateral stiffness. With the advent of suspension aka pivoting geometry, this completely changes the game. Now vertical compliance by virtue of section shape can be taken off the table and bikes can be made more aero and more compliant than ever. So this tech is a game changer to create an aero bike that rides better than a conventional more symmetric section bike. This is why this tech has made its way onto Trek's Madone although an early foray and now Trek is dabbling with a tunable version and front compliance. Most of us that ride wish we had more suspension over certain sections of roads. If this suspension doesn't have a cost in performance or weight...especially if its tunable...then it will likely be a big seller. This isn't marketing. It works. Best to wait a couple of years before this tech makes it on the new Madone....which has to suffer some of the criticism levied against the Domane for having an uneven feeling front to back of the bike.
Its rumored the new Roubaix may debut in 2017. I want to see how it stacks up to the Domane and what direction Specialized takes the Roubaix. To me they regressed the bike a bit with the SL4 and want to see if they atone with the SL5 and give the bike the ride comfort and performance of the Domane. A last note. I am not fan of either BB90...metal bearings pressed into a pure carbon BB...or Trek's single bolt seatpost. I personally think both suck. In fact, they are the primary reasons I don't want a Trek. I believe Trek makes great bikes with these design faults. My opinion.

Originally Posted by Silvercivic27

Thats exactly my point...nobody is going to change them once a month like Robert suggested...regardless of how cheap and plentiful they are...which means you need to remember to change them before any big ride or race, which isn't a big deal, but certainly isn't an ADVANTAGE as was suggested by someone, and is one more thing on a list of things to think about before a big race, ride or cycling vacation. Also, in the instructions, SRAM recommends that you disconnect the batteries on the derailleurs prior to putting the bike on your car to drive around, I'm not sure why, but again, another thing easy to forget, and another thing on a list of things to think about. . . And nobody's going to do that either.

Originally Posted by Jarrett2

Which bikes are made for "plootering" about on chip seal then if not the Domane? And wtf is plootering?

Originally Posted by Jarrett2

Which bikes are made for "plootering" about on chip seal then if not the Domane? And wtf is plootering?

Originally Posted by Bandera

Plootering
ˈploo(ə)ter-iNG/
noun
noun: Plootering
1. A non-competitive activity of riding a bicycle. Plootering has three main forms: open public road plootering (typically over suburban distances), imaginary racing ( Strava included ), and wandering about aimlessly (typically on a MUP).
2. Imaginary racing advocates insist that only a single flavor of cycling hardware is suitable for their non-competitive activity with the fervor of a Stalinist era apparatchik at the 1951 Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.
3. Imaginary racing advocates believe that riding over their local overpass is as difficult as climbing the Kwaremont and that TXDOT chip seal is the same surface as Roubaix’s pave’.
4. Aimless wandering advocates are unsure of their exact location, but enjoyed getting there regardless of what machine they ride.

Originally Posted by Bandera

Plootering
ˈploo(ə)ter-iNG/
noun
noun: Plootering
1. A non-competitive activity of riding a bicycle. Plootering has three main forms: open public road plootering (typically over suburban distances), imaginary racing ( Strava included ), and wandering about aimlessly (typically on a MUP).
2. Imaginary racing advocates insist that only a single flavor of cycling hardware is suitable for their non-competitive activity with the fervor of a Stalinist era apparatchik at the 1951 Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.
3. Imaginary racing advocates believe that riding over their local overpass is as difficult as climbing the Kwaremont and that TXDOT chip seal is the same surface as Roubaix’s pave’.
4. Aimless wandering advocates are unsure of their exact location, but enjoyed getting there regardless of what machine they ride.

Originally Posted by jamesdak

Well for me it is this!



But who know's when this "new tech" trickles down to models I'd consider paying the money for. Or maybe I'll get lucky and the county will finally start doing a passable job at maintaining our roads and it won't be an issue.

Originally Posted by Bandera

Plootering
ˈploo(ə)ter-iNG/
noun
noun: Plootering
1. A non-competitive activity of riding a bicycle. Plootering has three main forms: open public road plootering (typically over suburban distances), imaginary racing ( Strava included ), and wandering about aimlessly (typically on a MUP).
2. Imaginary racing advocates insist that only a single flavor of cycling hardware is suitable for their non-competitive activity with the fervor of a Stalinist era apparatchik at the 1951 Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.
3. Imaginary racing advocates believe that riding over their local overpass is as difficult as climbing the Kwaremont and that TXDOT chip seal is the same surface as Roubaix’s pave’.
4. Aimless wandering advocates are unsure of their exact location, but enjoyed getting there regardless of what machine they ride.

Originally Posted by WalksOn2Wheels

What I've learned is that as much as people say "Well of course he's riding model X from that company because they want to sell more of that model!" it just isn't true. They will ride for the factory they are sponsored by, but top level riders can and will ride whatever the hell model they want. That's why I was actually surprised to see Cancellara on the new Madone earlier this year. Looks like he went back to the Domane for the more brutal classics, though.

Also, equipment. Fabian has been on mechanical DA forever. I don't think Shimano has even bothered asking him to pretty please ride Di2 so they can sell more units. He rides what he wants. I'm actually happy to see Sagan on the Tarmac for the classics. Living proof that tires probably matter more (says the guy who bought a Domane for chip and seal roads ).

Originally Posted by Campag4life

it does beg the question just how important suspension is

Originally Posted by Fiery

He has been and will be on the Tarmac for the whole spring campaign and most of the rest of the year as well. See https://youtu.be/lGioVyEcHK4

Originally Posted by indyfabz

Extra butter anyone?

Originally Posted by a77impala

I'm not an engineer and don't ride a carbon bike but putting the flex in the head tube seems extreme to me.
I watched the SLR video and the bars moved (shook). Why not put flex in the stem, that way anyone can retrofit his existing bike to have the same comfort as a new one.
IMHO

Originally Posted by Campag4life

But...big news is yes...Sagan riding the Tarmac in the Classics...presuming he will too in the Roubaix...versus the bike named for the race which has won it more than once...the Specialized Roubaix...a bike I personally ride with mechanical Campy. Its known the Tarmac has a fantastic balance of ride quality and energy transfer with fantastic handling...but a pretty big deal if Sagan chooses the Tarmac over the Roubaix for the Classics which he did for the Flanders and beat Cancellara on his new Domane. So yes, if a crit style bike like the Tarmac can beat a suspension bike like the Domane with two world class riders which are very close in power...Sagan gets the edge in handling prowess no doubt...then it does beg the question just how important suspension is..certainly to speed in the most grueling conditions...but moreover like you say WW....wheels and tires...they run wide tubulars at very low pressure...is the biggest contributor to suspension of all.

Originally Posted by jamesdak

Which brings up something I've been wondering. I wonder if this tech which seems on the rear to be designed to move the seatpost (if I understand correctly) vs other approaches which seem more designed to actually flex to allow the rear wheel to maintain contact maybe isn't the best solution for a racing application? By that I mean frames with curved, flexy seat stays and longer flexible chainstays. Treks approach seems more comfort based (why I wanted it to work for me) vs keeping the wheel in contact and the power on. Curious what others think. Either way I like the premise behind this tech, the adjustability, etc.

It's a huge leap from my old Scott CR1 Pro that boasted something like .06th of an inch compliance in the rear wheel at the time. It really was something so small. Now we're nearing close to an inch according to some of the Trek info. But I do wonder how much of that is at the rear wheel?

Anyway, time to go ride...

Originally Posted by TheKillerPenguin

My experience with powertaps is that coin cells get sketchy below freezing temps, but will last for ages and ages otherwise. I would hate to have a shifter die when it is 25 out and I'm 30 miles from home. I think it's probably safe to assume they've tested for those sorts of scenarios though...

Originally Posted by therhodeo

The biggest thing for pros is the fit. Notice that Boonen always rides a roubaix but its one with custom geometry.