Seattle Forrest

I'm upgrading my frame, and have it narrowed down to two of them. You can't really go wrong with either, but it's still an important choice for me. So I'd like a second opinion.

One of them is very aero, and I can sprint a couple mph faster on it, which feels like magic. I was very impressed. But I'm not crazy about the handling; it felt good, but not great. ( For what it's worth, I usually ride a 58 and this feels very twitchy; a 61 cm feels more stable, so I'd wind up in a larger frame than I need with this bike. Felt like my weight was too far forward when climbing. )

The other has much faster/tighter handling. That should make it feel twitchier, but I felt like I could navigate curves blindfolded. I loved the handling. My favorite thing to do on a bike is to take hairpin turns going down steep hills, so I'm leaning heavily toward this bike. I have this feeling that the aero frame is a smarter choice, since I do most of my riding alone. The better handling bike is half a pound lighter, but I could stand to lose 10 lbs ... and my girlfriend likes to cook.

Anyway, people do fast mountain descents on both frames. And I think I'd get used to the aero frame. The hills bike feels great now ( confident, sure footed like a mountain goat ). I'd really like to have the extra speed, and to cross the flats with less effort, but I don't race, I just love to ride and enjoy being on a nice bike. So ... am I crazy not to get the aero frame? I'll be getting one or the other this week.

mazdaspeed

Get the better handling bike, hands down.

StanSeven

I have one of them and test rode the other and I don't really feel much difference between them in handling. The second has a 0.5 degree difference in the seatube angle and a lower headtube but that's about it. Were the wheels different or how about the setup (saddle position, stem, amount of spacers)? Also the headset on one could be loose. I would do back to the store, explain what you feel, and ask them for the reason.

Edit: The first bike has two seat positions - check to be sure it's not in the more aero position. The second bike has the steeper angle so if anything, that should feel like your weight is more forward

Seattle Forrest

Most of the people I know at the shop have the aero bike as their personal ride. None of them have any complaints about it. They speculated that the wheel base being longer could make it a little more sluggish than I'm used to ( I like the R3 and have an RS now ), and the head tube being 1 cm lower could make it feel a little less stable.