Originally Posted by PhatRoadie
Thanks to everyone for responding. I am in the middle of buying my 2nd bike. My first bike, I bought when I knew nothing about bikes. Luckily, experienced roadies pointed me in the right direction and I was able to purchase a second hand italian steel bike with good parts for a reasonable amount.
50 pounds, thousands of kilometers and a bunch of races later I'm ready to reward myself.
Hi RiPHRaPH,
Does the stiff BB and down tube area make the bike uncomfortable over 100+ kms? How about over sketchier road conditions? I was considering the Vortex but one of the Cat2 guys in the club had one and told me it was an @ss hatchet.
Also is your fork the Ouzo Pro Integrated or the regular one?
i'll tell you, maybe it is the fit, but my 59cm is damn comfortable. i came from custom steel, and can see where it would be a bit more harsh on longer distances, but with the EC90 seatpost and fizik aliante saddle i run, i find my sensitive back giving me no problems. and these roads here have seen better days. my fast club rides are between 50 and 70 miles, and i am yet to do a century on it yet, but i exclaim every week 'i love this bike' and can't wait to climb on it each and every ride.
the integrated ouzo pro, with carbon steerer makes it nice too. the d/a crankset is stiff and responsive as is the BB area (6/4 Ti) >> i saved some $$, going with ritchey pro stem and ritchey WCS bars. overall, it is a bit more harsh than my Steelman was, but i can run vredstein forezza's, with 145 psi max, to 130-135 psi to make it even smoother.
in short, i'll gladly take a bit more harshness in the front end (might a different fork be better?) for the lightening turning radius and quickness i feel every time out. is it the perfect bike? no. but from where i sit, but i've yet to find a quicker bike. i am sitting right over the engine, and it is quick when you jump up and need to hammer.
my bike runs 17.8 lbs.
on my ride this AM i was thinking how there isn't another bike i'd want (need) to ride other than this one. That makes it a great bike for me. I'm still loving it.