blandin

I'll have to take that under consideration. Thanks for the nice words.

Hammertoe

I have a few weeks until I will take the bike out on the road...Still a couple of feet of snow on the ground...

I will post a report after some serious climbing (for me)...

I am excited to see if there is any difference between the RS and my 853 LeMond Maillot Jaune...

t4mv

Here's another build for the books:

PF RS frame, 50cm
PF ID14 fork, filed off the lawyer lips
Campy Chorus shifters/brake levers
Campy Neutron wheels
Campy Chorus 10 spd CT gruppo except below:
Easton EC90 hbar
Easton EA70 stem
Look Keo Carbon pedals
Bontrager X-lite seatpost from PF (this thing has an aluminum core, btw)
Cane Creek IS2 headset
Fizik Aliante carbon/carbon/ti saddle
Vredestein Fortezza Tri Comp tires

7.34 Kg/16.18 lbs

I was trying to go for the total stealth look, so this might be the RS build with the least amount of contrasting color you're going to see...





Ride report:
About half of this bike got taken off a LOOK KG481SL that I have, so that's my benchmark for this ride report. I did a 30 miler that incorporates several sets of hills, the longest being a 5 mile climb with over 2K ft climbing @ an average grade of 7% w/ sections of up to 16%. My impression of the frame is that it's not only laterally stiff, like everyone else has been saying, but, it's also vertically stiff (not vertically compliant, IOW). I noticed this right away as the wheels I'm using were the same ones from the LOOK and there was a night and day difference between the two rides. The best description of the overall ride of the RS is that it feels almost exactly like a Columbus SL tubed Benotto frame I bought at a bike show back in the early '80s, a real filling rattler. High buzz ride aside, the bike does transmit rider input more readily into forward motion than on any of my other bikes and it does climb as you would expect. However, once you are climbing, I had to pay more attention to what I was doing as the bike would start to wander if I got distracted, or the level of oxygen in my brain got too low... For some reason I climbed the above grade 5 minutes slower than I had less than a couple weeks ago on the LOOK, but I'm not sure if it was because I had slightly lower gearing on the other bike, or maybe I was more mentally in tune with enjoying the climb, which I can't say I really felt the love on today's ride. The descent on the flip side was pretty enjoyable. I had worries about the ID14 fork as raised by other BF members, but, personally, I've got nothing bad to say about it. The bike goes where it's pointed and even though the ride is a little on the harsh side, the bike does track true, and the only limitation would be your fear of laying it down or being a hood ornament if you overcooked a corner. I don't believe the (fork)trail issue, if there was one, is anything to worry about; I removed some clothing as the ride warmed up and there were no issues whatsoever riding no-hands and steering by lean. Very stable.

I'd say for $550 those of us that participated in this group buy did very well indeed, but, I for one will be planning the purchases of the parts needed to put my LOOK back together as I find that a much more enjoyable ride. It all depends on what kind of ride you're after; do you want all day comfort, or do you want to get somewhere fast (or maybe even both)? The RS is NOT a bike you want to take on Paris Roubaix, but at least I'd consider it on the LOOK.

Edit: I really do need to learn how to type...

FrankBattle 

My build's done and I'm in love all over again; He is a beut .. a pimp. Now to sift through the hoards of pictures. It will take me a while. I'm finicky.

My little spreadsheet says my [unnormalized] final weight is: 16.92 lbs.

blandin

t4mv, Very stealthy indeed, maybe you could pick up some black chain rings to complete the concept. Thanks for the ride report and comparison to your Look.

FrankBattle, Bring on the pictures!! Can't wait to see what you've accomplished.

FrankBattle 

Hey Blandin .. Here is another question. Since we are normalizing frames, why not handlebars? The typical size quoted is the 44cm.

If I have not said it, the builds are smokin' so far .. yours too

Dubbayoo

I think you're doing a disservice comparing the PF to a LOOK KG481SL, which is near 5X the price new. For me this will be my first CF frame after spending last year on aluminum and the previous 15 on steel. I can't say I've really felt beat up on any bike, but then I've only ridden materials that tend to beat people up so what do I know?

I'm approaching the PF as a $1,000 retail frame and comparing it to whats available in that price range.

t4mv

Price aside, the comments made translate to not all CF being equal. For some there's the marketing, but I'm just saying that any material can be made to ride any way you like. Since I don't have a stable of (other) CF bikes to compare with, perhaps a better choice would have been to compare w/ Ti, or steel. The RS, imo, is still buzzier than a Merlin XL I have, which, considering the reputation Ti is supposed to have, is interesting because it rides like steel except the road imperfections are muted. And it's not unlike steel (which I like, btw), except that all these bikes have different wheel sets on them, and that makes some difference, too.

Considering the alternative (the group buy being for the QS2 instead of the RS), I think this was the better way to go because it would have been kind of strange to have two bikes made from the same material ride nearly the same way. What would be the point? Speaking of QS2, though, a friend of mine has a Silk Carbon, which looks exactly like the QS2, and he states that the ride of the Silk Carbon is very comfortable. So does that mean if one wants comfort from PF that they opt for the QS2 vs. the RS? Maybe. I guess that's the point of these ride and bike reviews, so you can draw your own conclusions people are reporting back. A lot of it subjective, but if there's a reference point to something else, it helps me put things together. Since this is your first CF bike, chances are good that you will enjoy it for what it is, probably a $1000-$1400 frame retail, for $550. I thought WW's review was pretty good where he basically compared the rides of his RS and Motobecane CF. Granted, it's not 5x the cost, but, it's still a valid comparison.

S4tuned

I am going to wait until I get a month or so of riding on this bike before I post my opinion on the overall ride...

One thing I will share is that I have ended the debate in my mind between Titanium and Carbon fiber frames. I must have both... it is not an either/or scenario. The behave differently and that is good.

More later.

FrankBattle 

Interestingly, I already had the QS2. I have been riding that on the rollers. I will put the RS on the rollers tomorrow morning. That will give me the quick and dirty off the cuff comparison.

I thought (and still do think) the QS2 is a plush(er) ride compared with the TCR C2; that said, I have never felt that the comparison was fair (Qs2 has larger tubes and is a standard frame versus the TCR with it's compact geometry, and smaller diameter tubes), but it is what it is.

I can't wait to get the RS out there for a road test.

I could argue that most of what one pays for these days is the name of whatever company is selling you the bike. Companies try to differentiate themselves by coming up with unusual geometries and tweaks and subjective, meaningless claims to increased/improved parameters (e.g. stiffness etc).

Either way, it won't be the first time such an argument would be put forth ..

zimbo

With all this talk about the RS being "buzzy" I can't wait to get mine back. More buzzy than my aluminum Motobecane (which was much more teeth rattling than my Trek 5200)?!

--Steve

WheresWaldo

This is basically what I said, and I weigh over 200#. Thanks for the report, and it is a beautiful build.

FrankBattle 

teaser 1 ..

blandin

You're a mean man . . .

FrankBattle 

Spirits .. I want to ride like Floyd

FrankBattle 

He was a labor of love ..

FrankBattle 

Authentic Asian shiznit ..

aprilia4life

hmm, I wonder what's behind that plant... could it be the same frame that 50 OTHER PEOPLE have already posted pictures of?

Just post up the pics of the damn bike

FrankBattle 

I know I know. Ironing clothes for work. Gimme a break!

t4mv

Frank, that's Italian, dontcha know...it's pronounced doo-rah-che.

Just don't take so long to post your pics that we all die from old age, lol!

AzureDrpTp

Sweet build! You'd get my vote for best build! The easton parts go real well together with that frame.

blandin

All right already, what are you ironing with, a hot rock?

FrankBattle 

The obligatory pic:



Rearing to go out ..


Cockpit:


Hoops:


My favorite stem:


aaah .. toasty:


anyone home?

FrankBattle 

The all purpose 12-25 cassette. This is what I run on all my bikes.


The other steeds in .. lined up next to GemiNyx


The 1 splurge item:


Alright, good enough for now.

jet sanchEz

Suh-weeeeeet! Is that a 59? Great work!