03FinestAL

I drove up Pikes 2 days after hiking Elbert. The funniest thing I saw was all the people driving in the CENTER of the road because they were afraid of driving too close to the edge.......

Back on topic (bicycling at least), I'm holding off on the Marin for now. Didn't make up my mind quick enough and all the 55cm frames disappeared off of eBay . But, I have lots of time and patience. Maybe I'll look at buying a frame after I return to Phoenix in April (for good), and building it from scratch.

gcasillo

By all means, a steel or Ti bike is plenty fine. Just thought I'd offer a different idea. The Specialized Roubaix Pro Comp is that good of a bike, and a another CF frame has helped me stay out on the road.

I have a Bianchi Volpe, a CroMo frame with a 105 group, and it's a great ride. All of the bikes you listed above are righteous. The Croix de Fer stands out. The Sarthe would be great if it were Centaur instead of Veloce, but it's not like a Veloce group is going to quit on you in 5000 miles. I've never ridden a Ti bike, so I'll refrain from commenting on the Lightspeed except to say that Lightspeed owners seem to really love their bikes.

CF isn't chemistry short-hand for plastic. It stands for carbon fiber, and it's taking over the world, MFs.

velocipedio

i really don't have anything particular against carbon fibre. i haven't been overly enamoured of the ride quality of the ones i've tried [with the exception of a $10,000 time, but that was probably psychological], but i can see the attraction. i call carbon fibre plastic because the resin that holds the fibre cloth together is a thermosetic polymer. that is, plastic. i just like the sound of "plastic" more than "advanced carbon fibre polymer composite."

LordOpie

cool. What you like about it better than the Pro?

2manybikes

As with any bike the frame is the most important component I agree completely. All the other parts can be changed or upgraded. The litespeed will be more comfortable on a long ride. The farther the ride the more you can tell about the comfort. More centuries are a good reason for a litespeed. In fact all the other benefits of ti are true too. A lighter bike is more noticeable on a long ride too. 5,000 miles a year is a good reason for a ti bike.
A century a week on my Litespeed is more comfortable than on my steel bikes. The steel bikes are great too, just not quite as smooth. You would be happy with any of these bikes, but...

Around mile 100 and up the comfort is important and the small difference becomes magnified.

best frame- Litespeed
most comfort- Litespeed
overall package- you can change this on any of these bikes if you find you need to after some miles on
the bike.

I'm not putting down the other bikes they are fine. I have plenty of them, ride them constantly, and love them all. They all have a perfectly good ride that makes me happy. One thing about having lots of bikes and riding a century (or two) a week is, that I get to compare the ride of each bike over the exact same routes over and over again. It is especially good if I ride one right after the other, for a comparison.

I ride a century a week until is below freezing and the Litespeeds are more comfortable with no downside. Except the initial purchase price.

There is nothing wrong with the Robaix Pro either. It's a good bike, I get to try them. Plus I know a guy who has one. He rode it across the country. They are all good bikes. The fuji wheels may need upgrading or attention in the future The question of a significant reason to spend more is subjective, it's different for everyone. I have health problems, this is why I bought Litespeeds with light flexible frames for long distance rides all the time. It sounds like we might have similar riding concerns. I'm not putting down the less expensive bikes, I just like the more comfortable ride. That's just me. You put your own level of importance on the small difference in comfort and the increase in price. There's plenty of ways to make any bike ride better and "steel is real". You can just lower your tire pressure and get more comfort if you don't mind the small loss of speed. And many other things can be done to increase the comfort too.

celticfrost

I test rode a new 2003 and 2004 Buenos Aires -- they both felt great to me. I scheduled a test ride on a Sarthe at another LBS, but then we got 3 feet of snow and 5 degree weather. Anyway...the LBS (Cycle Loft in Burlington, Massachusetts) quoted the 2005 Sarthe at $1500 this January. I would think that nationwide Lemonds would have the same sticker prices. Maybe they're selling like hotcakes and the price has jumped, but I'd call another LBS or 2 to make sure. If I bought new, I'm 99% sure I would have bought the Sarthe (unless something horrible happened on the test ride). The paint scheme (IMO) is great, but then again, Halloween is my favorite holiday.

berny

which bike has the more laid back seat tube angle ie toward 73deg. That'll be the most comfortable.

velocipedio

not necessarilly. it depends on his proportions and flexibility. i personally prefer a relaxed seatpost, nut someone with short thighs and long shins, for example, would have to slam his saddle all the way forward.

SDS

If I did this right, here's a thumbnail picture taken at the top of Mount Evans, ten minutes after I finished, right after the front rolled in and the temperature dropped like Bill Clinton's reputation for marital fidelity. You can see a racer a little way to the right of the SUV. It had been cloudy but clear, and lots warmer, just a few minutes ago. Yes, I lumped a camera and a bottle-and-a-half all the way to the top. Didn't know when I would get back. It wasn't like I had to worry about finishing in the money.....

ZackJones

They're all good bikes. If you can swing go with the Litespeed. If you want to be practical and save a grand, buy the Fuji. The Fuji gives you an 853 frame and carbon fork which is a wonderful combination, IMO.

newroadbikeguy

I think the Burly Fox Hollow is a nice bike for the money. It made of True Temper OX Plat, like the LeMond, however has a nicer spec and is hand built in the USA. The price is $1850, quite a bit more than the LeMond, so it may or may not be worth it to you for the reasons above. As a general note, I've only ridden outside briefly given winter weather, and the True Temper OX is very nice. I look forward to warmer weather and longer rides.


https://www.burley.com/products/road-...Fox+Hollow&i=6

gcasillo

Regarding the Croix de Fer, I like the 105 components and Ultegra rear derailleur. I think 105 is the best value going amount Shimano and Campy groups. The paint scheme is slick too. Carbon fork is a bonus too.

Serpico

Not sure how strong the Bonty Selects are, but the Race Lites (Sarthe has them) are literally bombproof. Extremely strong wheels.

Brett 12

Well, that really depends on where you put your handlebars.....if your bars are forward and low (long top tube and/or stem) you will have to push your seat forward. This isn't becasue you have short thighs, it's becasue your hip angle has changed.

Adjusting seat by KOPS method only works if you are relatively upright. You have to take into consideration your hip angle and it's effect on the direction of your pedal stroke.

velocipedio

well brett... i personally prefer to position the saddle and knees before i start worrying about the handlebar position. it's not about kops; it's about overcompressing the knee at the top of the pedal stroke. someone with long thighs will [in my experience] push the saddle backward if his knee is overcompressed. the solutions for this are a setback seatpost or a more relaxed seat angle. also, the relaxed angle permits a less compressed pelvis.

kops is a rule of thumb, a reference point. it is not a hard and fast rule, and should not be treated as such. but, like the old handlebar/hub trick, it gives you a reference from which you can analyze fit. anyone who fits a bike based entirely on kops and handlebar/hub is a hack. anyone who fits a bike without taking those references is also either a hack, or equipped with much more advanced fitting equipment.

LordOpie

Are teh Race Lites better than Mavic OPs? Cuz that's what i've been riding for the past 2500 miles and they seem pretty darn solid.

EDIT: I just started a thread about wheels, so if you can, please comment there
.
seeing as how the MCL is strained and the meniscus is chewed up, overcompressing my knee is something I'd probably want to avoid, correct?

Brett 12

What your not thinking about is hip angle though. You aren't going to overcompress you knee if you hip angle opens up. Tri bikes are an extreme example of this . KOPS isn't always infallible (you even mentioned this.....so I guess we are on the same page really)

BTW, I like the handlebar/front hub test myself.

I just had a problem with you saying that seat all the way forward or a steep STA equals short thighs. Just depends how you ride and your positioning. Just becasue triathletes use 76-78 degree STA doesn't mean they have short thighs?

I can ride with seat all the back on set-back seat post with 72 STA if I want, but I'll have to adopt a more upright position to do it....that's all.

velocipedio

the funny thing is that i think we're basically agreeing. my point was that bike fit is pretty complex, and is a function of more than a few metrics. when i fit a bike, i do a whole lot of things. but the most important is to ask the rider questions about how he or she rides, what his or her expectations are and what he or she finds comfortable.

i find that i can get a better fit for someone with long thighs on a relaxed frame, but not always, depending on things like flexibility, desired or desirable drop, etc. it's a reference point, notjing more.

and have you noticed that handlebar/hub doesn't work for people with long arms?

Shifty

The 05 Cannondale R1000 is cool, ride it and see how it compares. $1800 - $1900

I've hiked Pikes, and also ran the assent of the Pikes Peak marathon. Full marathon is up from 7K elev. to 14K then back down. 28 miles, crazy.

Dchiefransom

Do you have a chance to test ride one of the new CF Giants?

ultra-g

I got the Poprad, was going to get the Croix de Fer, but decided to go with a CX bike for the larger tire size options and Reynolds frame (the sticker on the frame only says TT OX though, not Reynolds).

I'd get the Croix de Fer, the Shimano 105/Ultegra combo should be worth the price, and you get the carbon fork too.

My Poprad's 105s shift like butter.

ultra-g

If you do get the LeMond, check the water bottle braze-ons before you leave the LBS, one of the braze-ons on my Poprad are loose and I can't get the screw off, I need to take it back to the LBS to have them fix it (if they can).

LordOpie

Umm, several people have said, "and carbon fork". The Fuji Pro has a carbon fork and is 105, yeah?

I've not tried campy, all my bikes are shimano, my wheels have an ultegra cassette and I like the idea of being able to switch wheels... that said, I so friggin' dig the Sarthe paint job. Yup, I'm a freak. It's sharp and different. I'm just hesistant to go with Veloce

gcasillo

So get the Sarthe and as the components wear, upgrade them. Again, Veloce isn't going to shrivel up and die on you.

53-11_alltheway

The one good thing about Campy is they make a 13-29 10s cassette which is really good for solo riding. Only having a 13T top gear will get you dropped on group rides, but for solo cruising it has some nice gear ratios--->13,14,15,16,17,19,21,23,26,29.