I have a pretty good question (I think) and I can not really get a good answer. as many I am in the market for a new steed. I have looked at new steel frames (Lemond) and looked at AL (Felt) frames and AL frames with carbon stays(Roubiax) and such. I am looking for something comfertable and fast. I have only riden steel and its OLD! can anyone who has experance with these frames give me some insight. I would of course get the bike that fits best and I know its a personal thing but opions are what I am after here. I can only buy a Trek (Lemond) at a Trek dealer a Felt at a Felt dealer and a Specialized at a ..well you get it and they are all split up around here so I need to go to the right LBS. its alittle crappy outside to test ride much and I really can not feel much of a difference in a few mins of a test ride. thanks..

ride each for at least an hour. Then do it again in a week.

I agree with the other poster. RIDE BIKES and then RE-RIDE BIKES. And don't accept short rides but ask for additional time. Also try finding bumpy or chip-sealed pavement if you are looking to see how "comfortable" a bike feels.

I managed to get in some testing in late Sept, early Oct between rain showers to test and, again RE-test some rides and even the same bike in different sizes. I was lucky in that some of the local shops had a variety of brands. I concentrated on 3 different shops with mixed brands and sizes. And I hopped from one bike to another pretty quickly so that I could compare the rides doing the same pavement and hills. I believe that I was able to discern differences in the rides of the various bikes.

Good luck finding something you like.

I can say that I had a Trek in '96. It fit like a glove. Bought a Cannondale in '98 and later ended up swapping components in order to get it dialed in(no setbackseatpost/shorter stem).

Canni felt steep angled. When I was in the market for a new bike, I looked at Trek but the paint is too outrageous for me in the model I could afford. I ended up considering Lemond as I knew it was also Trek. Had doubts but sat on it and that was it! Felt relaxed and comfy! IT's a Lemond Tourmalet.

I would say both bikes are comfy now but the Lemond was comfy right out of the box!

As far as a fast bike? I would say that's up to the rider! I know some riders with $6000 bikes and can't ride a lick and riders with $65 yard sale specials that can average 24 mph!

I guess I will have to wait till its alittle nicer out. I did not know that shops would allow more then 10 min rides. with all this hype about AL being so still I have to just get on one and ride to see. thanks for the advice, and Beanz you are 100% correct Fast is a very relative term.

sorry I ment AL being so stiff.

It partly depends on what type of riding you'll be doing--racing, short or long recreational rides, some of each, etc. How much do you want to spend? How tall are you? How heavy a bike will you tolerate? A tall all-aluminium bike might ride more smoothly than a short one. Carbon seat stays will smooth the ride somewhat. A lot of folks think steel's the smoothest for long rides, but it tends to be heavier. Lots to consider!

Cheers.

The bad thing about a test ride is that you gotta remember that each bike will feel different partially due to the saddle!

Eventhough my Lemond felt great on the test ride, it feels even better now with a better saddle!

Maybe when you do your testrides, you can bring along your favorite saddle. I know some stores let you bring your pedals, so why not the saddle?

I would that taking the time to test ride is very important. try to have it adjusted to fit you...stem height, stem length and seat height. adjusting the seat is easy, raising a stem could be tought, and some shops won't want to put a shorter stem on for your test.

some bikes are faster than others...the first thing to look at are the tires. there is a big difference between racing tires and "sport" tires, they may not look too different, at first glance, but a racing tire pumped to 160 psi will feel faster.

wheels make a big difference also. record and dura ace hubs feel faster than entry level stuff. in fact the quality of all the bearings in the drivetrain can make a ride feel faster than entry level stuff.

My price range is really going to stop me from Dura ace and such, I am lucky to stay with a 105 group. I enjoy a long ride, say 1 1/2 or so thats why I want smooth. The wieght of the Lemond steel is the only thing holding me back. My bike now wieghts about 32lb and I really want to get a bike that is more in the weight area of about 20ish. I am 6' 2" and have a normal sized tourso. price max $1500. I have been looking into the Lemond Croix De Fer deeply the only thing thats holding that up is the wieght is it so much heavier then an AL frame? and the classic geomatry better or worse then compact. I just dont know these things.

" have been looking into the Lemond Croix De Fer deeply the only thing thats holding that up is the wieght is it so much heavier then an AL frame? and the classic geomatry better or worse then compact."

No, it won't be that much heavier than an AL frame, and the small difference won't matter for recreational riding. The classic vs compact geometry is simply a matter of taste.

The advice of my fellow posters is good. I only want to remark that if a complete bike in the 20lb. class is what your threshold is, all frame materials will more than meet your requirement, including steel. Even at 6'2", which might put you into a 58-60 cm frame there are steel frame options that would keep you below 21lbs. The little warning that I'd like to give is that there are virtually no published weight values on frames and/or components that is solid enough to take to the bank. I'm not saying it's all false, but my experience with building bikes from scratch and doing a fair amount of component shopping tells me to be wary of weight claims. After you buy the bike that doesn't have a seat pak, bottle cages, pedals, computer, and handle bar streamers, then you add them you'll have another weight weenie crisis.

I agree. Customer service from Lemond said my Sarthe Frame was approximately 3.3 lbs and the forks were 370 gram.

Actual weight of the frame is 3.9 lbs. and the forks weigh 488 grams. Thats a big difference.

I have found aluminum/carbon bikes to hit my sweet spot with regards to cost, liveliness, weight, and rideability/comfort. Aluminum frames are cheap. Made of good tubing (e.g. Easton Ultralite, CAAD 7/8, Bianchi SL), they can be made to reduce the harshness of the ride. Carbon seatstays take the last bit of the edge off. With a carbon fork and carbon seatstays, an aluminum/carbon frameset offers a good ride without being what some call "dead."