cyclezen

Yeah, bike doesn't change... but it can be 'rejuvenated' with a 'spa treatment... New tires, chain, after some serious miles maybe even new wheels, cranks/cassettes... try new saddles.
I know when my FAV ride starts feeling 'not perky', all these 'spa treatments' really bring the magic back. I don;t really track too much, but 1 do often change tires, chains, when 'new' is obvious improvement and that's often enough.
But just last week, the 'ride' felt tired (a lot of that is me... every day is an adventure, these days...). But I also have 35k+ miles on the HED Kermesse wheels. Put on a much new/younger set of HED Ardennes - WOW! what a difference !!! The Kermesse are becoming 'social ride' kit, new wide-range cassette. Ride them when it's the 'social group thing', not a perception of performance level...
... so bikes do 'change'... they need some 'love' on a regular basis...
Rider... definitely changes constantly... rider needs to make decisions... can they 'improve' themselves for that which no longer seems 'right' ? can the bike be 'changed' to the current rider 'state'? is the effort/cost of change/improvement worth it? will new bring back the 'magic' (for long?).
yeah, new tech helps some... but, ultimately I've learned 'new' isn;t forever. And fades rather quickly, without a rider mental, emotional and physical adjustment.
Those with a deep pragmatic personality seem to have an easier time not blaming 'the bike', and accepting the ride implications.
I've also found that the joy in a ride is totally on me (except when I flat... LOL!). Gotta say that every ride I've had in recent memory was way better than not riding, no matter how desperate the ride seemed...
sell, keep, buy another... none of that ultimately matters much, except how much attention you can give to keeping all the 'stuff' in a condition which doesn't degrade your 'joy'.
and how much space you can provide... LOL!
Ride On
Yuri
EDIT: using a trainer, rollers, stationary pedaling device is not 'riding a bike' (to me). Yeah, I did that for too many years... Joyless... beyond tears...
riding the bike is about moving through space, new or changing enviroments, feeling more than just 'exercise'. I would never judge anything on a joyless thing such as trainer rides or gym work... that's just me...

tomato coupe

If the OP is serious about Zwift, he'll want to get a new aero frame anyway.

spelger

you can just give it to me. my address is 9578 m...

base2 

Fair points made by all.
It very well could be that it just isn't the best bike for Zwift.

It very well could be that I found other bikes that fit better & I discovered that by riding other bikes. I dunno though, double centuries does suggest it fit me well at one time.

It very well could be that I largely switched from road to other types of riding. I have been doing a lot of commuting, a lot of gravel, a bit of mountain biking. Driver prejudice & complete ignorance does get sort of grating after a while. Path of least resistance?

It very well could be that it's been years since I have been doing all the proper stretches to really "lay" into the aggressive fit. Maybe I did change & this is to blame. The good news is that is fixable with time, a yoga mat, & since I never cut the steerer, a 4mm allen wrench.

I have been riding. That much never stopped. I am as strong now & as fit as I ever was.

Maybe I should swap out the deep section carbon rims for something more compliant with larger tires, find another Thursday evening group to ride with, & get it outside. I can re-evaluate from there.

It is good to know that others here have had similar experiences & it is ok to not love a bike or to have moved on.

Thanks, all.
Base2

billridesbikes

Maybe you just hate indoor trainers? So back on the hook and new wait for a nice spring day, see if you feel the same way.
Did your body or flexibility change in the last few years? It might be time to take a close look at your set up too, for example slammed stems look super cool and were in fashion in the early/mid teens but aren’t all that comfortable to ride, especially indoors.

seypat

Surely the OP could put up a better breakup song than Gotye. This song is probably how the bike feels. Maybe the OP can get it sorted out so we can hear some Peaches & Herb. Or, maybe the OP has another bike he named Mrs. Jones.

WhyFi

Trainers are also trial-by-fire when it comes to fit - you tend to move around quite a bit out in the real world, and that can mask a lot of issues that'll be brought to the fore when locked in to a trainer.

livedarklions

Again, just silly.
Among other bikes, I ride a 1995 Specialized Allez Pro with a 52 cm frame and a 2006 Giant OCR with a 56 cm frame. Both are road bikes, both fit me, and I guarantee you that the geometry is significantly different
How do you know he's even riding the same size bike?

genejockey 

That, and as someone mentioned above, position is different on a trainer. There's no reason to stretch out into an aero position, so aggressive geometry is wasted. There are other issues, like whether or not your bike is level on the trainer, or needs a front wheel block so you're not always going downhill.

And there's aging. This year, I reduced reach on my most 'stretched out' bike by 1 cm, and it's significantly more comfortable. There's another bike I'll probably do that with, and then they'll mostly be in line with all the others.

livedarklions

I think that clarifies things--people always want to make this a question of fit or unfit when "fitness" is always a concept that needs to be considered in context--i.e., fitness for what?

Our bodies adapt to the machines we use and if we start using different machines, we adapt to those and perhaps away from the ones we used to use. The "obviously you got fat" posts in this thread were really dumb. Sounds like you wandered into somewhat different but not easier riding patterns, and gradually the bike got faded out.

Yeah, sell the thing, it doesn't do it for you anymore. Nothing wrong with that.

blacknbluebikes 

If someone does "2000 happy miles a year for three years" on a bike, then the bike is not the problem. OP got sick of cycling. Similarly, I don't miss playing golf at all. Nothing to do with the clubs. I just got tired of totally sucking at it.

Eric F 

2 years ago, I ended a 15 year period of almost zero cycling. I was fat, and had very mediocre cardio fitness. However, when I rolled out of my driveway on my old race bike, for the first time, the bike still felt "right" for my body. I currently have 4 road bikes, including one that lives full-time on my Zwift rig. I have made an effort to set them all up with the same position, as closely as possible. No matter which bike I get on, it feels "right". I can recognize differences in the ride quality, and handling differences, but everything is right where it should be.

I would suggest that your Cervelo might not have ever been set up correctly for you, even though you felt relatively comfortable on it at some point.

Eric F 

I had this same experience.

seypat

I do, but I was pretty good. The yips are hard to deal with, though. Eventually you can't take it anymore.

Juan Foote

Fit changes over time and in relation to your fitness level and riding frequency. IF you once loved the bike it might be worth making some small adjustments to fit based on what/if you are riding something else, now.
I have a 2013 Specialized Roubaix that is an absolute Cadillac of a performance (in my eyes) bike. I haven't ridden it in so long I am not actually sure I can. I am very hesitant to get rid of it, as if the bug strikes again and I decide to get off my lazy ass and ride I would not have an easy opportunity to own and ride something this nice again.

mstateglfr 

hmm.

genejockey 

I would not make a decision about keeping or selling a bike based on how it feels on the trainer, if I originally bought it to ride on the road, unless I was consigning that bike to nothing but trainer duty. It's kind of like making a decision about dress shoes after wearing them on a long hike.

Interestingly, though, I had consigned one of my carbon bikes to trainer duty, since I don't want to be dripping corrosive sweat on my steel bikes, but I find I like it so much I take it off the trainer frequently for long rides IRL.

ChamoisDavisJr

Curious....what did you ride once you put the ol' UBER CARBON FANCY WONDERBIKE DREAM MACHINE on the hook?

It appears that you "hated" the bike but (hatefully?) rode the thing for 6,000 miles in about a 900 day span. So you ditched the hated bike in 2018. What did you ride in 2019, 2020, and now 2021? Do you love that bike? Let me guess what frame material it is?

Hold on it will come to me...

Back to the bike you hate. In 2019 you did 2 175 mile rides on the hated carbon bike thing...then what were you riding? Wait, let's go back to 2019...were these two 175 mile rides close together? Or more spread apart? I might get side tracked here but riding 175 miles is still a big deal and not something just anyone can head out and do on a moments notice...Did you still like the bike when you rode the equivalent length of your average Milan-San Remo Race? How'd the bike feel on those two monstrous rides?

Nevermind...

What's your question?

Sell it.

Sell the whole thing before we see a post titled "I rode shimano ultegra 6800 groupset. I hated it" and we find out you put 6,000 miles on a groupset that you hate but are now unsure what to do with it.

Good news is that you can sell it for at least how much you paid for it in our silly bike market...the bike will live on to disappoint another mamil.

prj71

How much different is the HTA, STA and ETT between the two bikes?

livedarklions

Who gives a rat's butt? All I know is I'm riding one a lot higher posture than the other.

Bassmanbob

I read the first 15 posts, but here's my take on this. You road the bike one time... on a trainer... in three years. I would never sell a bike after one uncomfortable ride under those conditions. I would at least give it a ride on the road before selling it. My CF bike feels a lot more comfortable on the road than it does on a trainer. Why? I have no idea, but it does.

Then there's you. Have you kept up with stretching and your body core strength the last three years? I know as I age, I have a greater need to keep stretching every day. I notice a difference if I miss a day or two. For the last year, I also daily do 15-20 pushups and situps, a one-minute plank and 30 second flutter kicks X 2. I feel better on the bike since I started doing this too.

I hope you make the right decision, no matter what it is.

billridesbikes

I agree you move around more out doors getting more position breaks. But, for me, I notice I tend to also sit very differently indoors and spend much more time on the bar tops and hoods or 'no hands' and almost no time in the drops, while outside I spend maybe 1/3 of the time in the drops and 2/3s on the hoods and very little time on the top of the bar. So there is an inherent position difference that can lead to bringing out fit issues since a slightly different muscle set is being used. Since my trainer rides focus mostly on riding fast, short races, or intervals with short recovery compared to outside where there is just more recovery opportunity from corners, changes in wind direction, traffic conditions, and so on, I'm generally working at a higher power with less recovery indoors and this may also play a role where the trainer feels 'not comfortable'.

Lastly, I think there is a 'mental toughness' issue on the indoor trainer that you have to overcome. Outside, on a 40km loop, your brain knows that you have no choice but to ride the last 20km home, but on the trainer on a '40km' ride you know deep down it's not real. You can just step off any time and be in the shower in a few minutes so my brain, I think, amplifies any minor discomfort to try and make me quit and have a beer.

jaxgtr

I've sold many a bike over the years, no big deal. Some I loved, many I hated.

MarcusT

I have a race geometry road bike, I ride once a year. Just to remind me how much I dislike it

ColonelSanders

What are the "yips"?