Originally Posted by
Barabus
This bike is sexy and just like a sexy woman- hard to handle. Note the short top tube and straight bladed forks. Make for what Trek marketing calls "responsive" steering. For me that translates to twitchy. You do not take a Ferrari cross county. The 2008 madone as I have it built weight under 17lbs. Has great acceleration and helps me chase down the 30mph rabbits in the pace lines, but is not for century riding. It hates rough roads and I have to partially deflate my 25mm tires to clear the brakes.
As to Ti bikes, are they preferred over steel for long distance?
Race bikes are built for centuries (TT bikes and build for shorter rides). 100mi is a common length for a crit so as long as you get your bike set up properly it should be comfortable for long rides. A Ferrari compared to just about any other non-race car, given the same engine, will get better mileage because of the way it's built. As for titanium bikes, they tend to be a bit more flexy which can absorb more shock than Al. I've only ever ridden Ti and Al long distance but I can say that my Ti bike with 20c tires is much much more comfortable than my Al bike with 24c tires (I've only ridden my steel bike to work and back). As for a race bike being twitcher, it is, there are things you can do to reduce it like getting a longer stem, but you also become better a handling the bike over time.
That's the way I see it, but then I don't always see thing the same as others on this forum.