Originally Posted by
HawkOwl
After my trauma, which if you want details you can find by searching on my posts, I need something more comfortable and that better manages my energy. I was counseled I needed to either modify my old Lemond Versailles or buy a new bike like a Domane or Robaix…Cost was nearly $2500 for the new bike.
On the other hand changing tires from 23mm to 28mm and the cassette from 11-28 to 11-32 would bring great improvement I was told and would cost less than $400.
Two grand for a piece of pipe and a fancy name sure sounded high to me…
I picked up the bike yesterday at the LBS and rode it the 17 miles home via a hilly course. A New Bike!
No comparison in handling. It literally feels and rides totally different and much better. Plus, since I don't chew up so much energy on hills I am actually faster. Could not be happier.
See how easy and cheap it is to get a new bike?
After
my trauma, when for a few months I had doubts about riding again, I started riding my beater Cannondale Mountain Bike through the Winter. My beloved classic steel Bridgestone RB-1 was totaled. The next Spring, I started my search for a new Road Bike. I had always wondered if carbon fiber was worth the premium price, and decided to find out. I figured to spend about $2000. Soon my trusted bike shop, saying they knew my riding style, steered me toward a Specialized S-Works at four times my initial price range, but at half off the MSRP as an end-of-year model.
It was a great deal.
I’m not any faster than on my Bridgestone, but the S-Works may be compensating for residual deficits from the accident. Nonetheless, I’m riding similar long distances of up to about 70 miles, as before, but much more comfortably. Even on Boston’s pothole-riddled streets, I kept the 23C tires.
The decision to spend so much, relatively speaking, was easy because I use the bike for commuting as well as training. Even more convincing was that the accident made me realize that likely well more than half of my cycling lifestyle is behind me, and I can afford it. I have no regrets about what I might have been missing had I settled for anything less.
