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[Stinkles]

I can't decide! I test rode it and it um, it kinda hurt my gooch area. Also the appearance is rather bland (matte black with a little red), but price wise at 1600, it seems like a decent bike.

Unless you plan on riding the tour de France then saddle should be picked for comfort not weight or worse, looks. I have a split design serfas gel seat and can do centuries without using butter or other disgusting unguents. But as the poster on the last page notes, you need to ride a long time to know. But saving a half pound of weight at the expense of your tai.t and junk, is absolute madness.

At least try a gel seat and don't listen to advice from people who shave their legs. That said if competition ends up being part of your rode the psychological assist might make it worthwhile.

 

[T8SC]

(although I like my more recent Ultegra groupset better than her SRAM)..

Blasphemy. No need for that kinda language in here. :-D

 

[teepo]

Blasphemy. No need for that kinda language in here. :-D

thought the same thing lol

 

[Teggy]

I can't decide! I test rode it and it um, it kinda hurt my gooch area. Also the appearance is rather bland (matte black with a little red), but price wise at 1600, it seems like a decent bike.

I had to order my Roubaix so I went with the bright green/yellow. However, this year they toned down the other color option so you still wind up with a primarily black frame.

 

[Draper]

Unless you plan on riding the tour de France then saddle should be picked for comfort not weight or worse, looks. I have a split design serfas gel seat and can do centuries without using butter or other disgusting unguents. But as the poster on the last page notes, you need to ride a long time to know. But saving a half pound of weight at the expense of your tai.t and junk, is absolute madness.

At least try a gel seat and don't listen to advice from people who shave their legs. That said if competition ends up being part of your rode the psychological assist might make it worthwhile.

Appreciate the words. Maybe my gooch is just extra sensitive. Or maybe I have the seat too high. In either case, I'm gonna ride with the default for a while and see if it doesn't get better.

 

[jakonovski]

It's sleeping right now. 😴😴

That escalated quickly! Grats on the new bike, that one's real pretty IMO. A good general starting height for the saddle is (your inner leg length) x 0.883, measured from the center of your chainset to the top of the saddle.

 

[Psychotext]

I need to do some road miles this week. I have a closed road sportif on Sunday and I genuinely can't remember the last time I went out on my road bike. Oh well, I only plan on finishing rather than going fast so I just need to be careful to avoid idiots taking me out on corners when trying to go SUPER SPEED.

 

[Draper]

That escalated quickly! Grats on the new bike, that one's real pretty IMO. A good general starting height for the saddle is (your inner leg length) x 0.883, measured from the center of your chainset to the top of the saddle.

Thanks! And appreciate the info. Looking forward to putting it through its paces. 🚵

 

[kottila]

I need to do some road miles this week. I have a closed road sportif on Sunday and I genuinely can't remember the last time I went out on my road bike. Oh well, I only plan on finishing rather than going fast so I just need to be careful to avoid idiots taking me out on corners when trying to go SUPER SPEED.

My priorities when riding sportifs:
1. Stay alive
2. Outclimb whatever group I'm in
3. Stay alive

 

[Psychotext]

I'll demolish anyone I'm near on the climbs... because they'll eat me alive on the flats and the descents.

 

[TarpitCarnivore]

Make sure to ramp your fred up to 10 for any sportif. Get the UCI team replica kits out for sure.

 

[Psychotext]

I'm struggling to decide between a rather nice Castelli top I own, or my fuck off awesome Bearbones bikepacking jersey.

 

[TarpitCarnivore]

What about a Pantani Mapei jersey and jorts?

 

[Psychotext]

I don't know what those are... I think that means I passed the test.

 

[TarpitCarnivore]

I don't know what those are... I think that means I passed the test.

1. pantani in his mapei jersey https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/58/33/0f/58330f8134018cd3af88e59e9ff845f6.jpg

2. jorts aka jean shorts https://s3.amazonaws.com/harvardcycling/static/images/racing-2012/dartmouth-jesse-jorts.jpg

 

[Psychotext]

So I spent my first night in a hypoxic chamber last night.

It was REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, STUPIDLY hot. Going to have to do something about that or I can basically give up on getting any decent sleep for the next month.

 

[jakonovski]

Not enough to suffer on the bike, huh? Chapeau!

 

[TarpitCarnivore]

I'm about to give up on riding a road bike. I just simply cannot get comfortable to the point where I feel ok about trying to do 4+ hours of riding. Either my neck/shoulders get tight or I feel steady pressure in the saddle.

 

[kottila]

I'm about to give up on riding a road bike. I just simply cannot get comfortable to the point where I feel ok about trying to do 4+ hours of riding. Either my neck/shoulders get tight or I feel steady pressure in the saddle.

You don't have to ride more than 4 hours. I've only passed 4 hours (ride time only) 2 or 3 times this year.

 

[TarpitCarnivore]

You don't have to ride more than 4 hours. I've only passed 4 hours (ride time only) 2 or 3 times this year.

My friends and I always do at least one 100+ day of riding. Ganted this isn't 100 straight and we take our time with breaks, but I just worry about being completely knackered less than half way through. Like I said, I may just see if the place I'm demoing from can make sure I'm all solid. I did change shoes & pedals since my last fit + got a little more flexible so perhaps I'm just missing things by a CM or two

 

[Psychotext]

Even after a couple of fits I still feel crappy on the road bike. It's just not a natural position for me.

I did enjoy a little pootle out in the sun on it today though. No cycling gear at all, just a shirt and trousers whilst heading off to look at a house we're thinking of buying.

 

[TarpitCarnivore]

The thing I like most about a road bike is you can just move around town, trails, etc and not have to worry too much about ride feel

 

[thomaser]

I'm about to give up on riding a road bike. I just simply cannot get comfortable to the point where I feel ok about trying to do 4+ hours of riding. Either my neck/shoulders get tight or I feel steady pressure in the saddle.

It could be that your bike doesn't have a correct fit for you. Could be any number of things, like a stem that's a little too long. Small issues like that can be important for long rides.

 

[TarpitCarnivore]

It could be that your bike doesn't have a correct fit for you. Could be any number of things, like a stem that's a little too long. Small issues like that can be important for long rides.

I'm convinced it's the saddle because I'll go between numbness and soft tissue pain, so I keep tilting up/down. I really need to try and get a 155 to see how that helps with things.

 

[jakonovski]

Try experimenting with flat and curved back saddles as well. I only recently realized that I need a flat back with a big central canal, at 140mm width or more.

 

[TarpitCarnivore]

Try experimenting with flat and curved back saddles as well. I only recently realized that I need a flat back with a big central canal, at 140mm width or more.

I just re-measured my sitbones and adding the 2-3cm brings me up to 145mm, so I think I need to bump it up to a 155 and give it a go. If you look at this (https://ponbic-p.azureedge.net/en/c...hash=8CED95C42C086513A78C5AAA9B1EEF881FB1E163) the 142-143 saddles tend to feel more like the left than the right. I need to basically jack the nose up to get the rear flat enough to give me good enough support.

 

[Draper]

The thing I like most about a road bike is you can just move around town, trails, etc and not have to worry too much about ride feel

Road bike on trails? I've only bought my Roubaix, but I am very unaccustomed to a bike with no shocks. I feel like I feel everything.

 

[TarpitCarnivore]

A steel bike with 35+ tubeless will help a lot with the impact on trails. I have 42s running at 30-35 and it's really supple over stuff. Obviously it's not like a mountain bike but no reason I can't do basic trails with it (roots, step ups and downs)

 

[Draper]

Gotcha. Pay no mind to me. I'm new to this world.

 

[Psychotext]

I ended up on a completely wrecked bit of road earlier. Felt worse than cobbles.

I was in a rush too so I couldn't just back it off.

 

[TarpitCarnivore]

Figured you'd be at home on some rough bumps

 

[Stinkles]

A steel bike with 35+ tubeless will help a lot with the impact on trails. I have 42s running at 30-35 and it's really supple over stuff. Obviously it's not like a mountain bike but no reason I can't do basic trails with it (roots, step ups and downs)

I have an aluminum bike with carbon forks, so I get the stiffness of the aluminum but the forks dampen the vibrations. it's a good mix and feels almost like steel to me. But without the weight.

 

[Psychotext]

Figured you'd be at home on some rough bumps

Not on 23mm tyres with a bike that feels like it's made of glass I'm not.

I wouldn't even have noticed that section on any of my mountain bikes.

 

[Addnan]

Why are you on 23.

 

[Psychotext]

Because that's what the bike came with.

 

[TarpitCarnivore]

I'm getting tempted to save up for a Titanium bike again. The biggest reason I'm considering it is it could literally be a forever bike since it's ti

 

[Psychotext]

Funnily enough, a friend of mine has had three Ti frames break on him in the same time I've been riding old faithful (aluminium). He's done nowhere near the mileage I have either.

 

[TarpitCarnivore]

What in the hell. Did they at least get warrantied?

 

[Psychotext]

One did. The other two were out of warranty.

Which is a really, really dumb thing to do to this particular guy as he's a well known name in the cycling world, and he made sure people knew about it.

 

[TarpitCarnivore]

Try experimenting with flat and curved back saddles as well. I only recently realized that I need a flat back with a big central canal, at 140mm width or more.

So to follow up, I threw my flat saddle on so I could return the demo and yep not going to work. As soon as I sat on it I could feel my sit bones just rolling side to side and it pinching the hell out of my sit bone area skin. So I definitely need a curved back. The shop is ordering a 155 version of what I've been demoing but it's going to be a week before it's in. I'll just have to make do with my current Aliante; I know I can make it work (I've done two 100+ mile rides on it) it's just going to be a bit of adjusting to get it comfortable.

 

[The_Inquisitor]

Bicycle GAF need some help. I want to make my first upgrade on my 2014 specialized Allez mid comp. from what I've read the wheelset is a good starting place. I currently am using the stock DT Swiss Etro 1.0. I mostly ride on flat road/trails around 50 miles a week. These wheels will get the most use during my Sunday long ride (will probably use my stock wheels during my
commutes). Any suggestions on a good upgrade. Think my budget will be ~500. Thank you.

 

[Mascot]

Looking good for our trip to Afan at the weekend, PT. Dry, calm and 21C, apparently.

 

[Psychotext]

Aye, hopefully not too much direct sun though. Though hills are pretty exposed and we don't want to get too roasted.

 

[Mascot]

Aye, hopefully not too much direct sun though. Though hills are pretty exposed and we don't want to get too roasted.

The forecast is for a nice layer of cloud I think. Direct sun is a bugger in the woods too, it's all sharp contrasts of black shadows and bright glare. I much prefer the nice even diffused light-box effect that cloud cover gives you.

 

[jakonovski]

You should come to southern Finland, climate change has taken away our warm sunny summers and replaced it with perpetual 15-18C overcast conditions.

 

[TarpitCarnivore]

Bicycle GAF need some help. I want to make my first upgrade on my 2014 specialized Allez mid comp. from what I've read the wheelset is a good starting place. I currently am using the stock DT Swiss Etro 1.0. I mostly ride on flat road/trails around 50 miles a week. These wheels will get the most use during my Sunday long ride (will probably use my stock wheels during my
commutes). Any suggestions on a good upgrade. Think my budget will be ~500. Thank you.

500 total or 500 per wheel? I swapped out my stock wheels for an entry level shimano for like $250 total and was more than happy. Then again the stock wheels I had were Syncro POS.

 

[BriareosGAF]

Bicycle GAF need some help. I want to make my first upgrade on my 2014 specialized Allez mid comp. from what I've read the wheelset is a good starting place. I currently am using the stock DT Swiss Etro 1.0. I mostly ride on flat road/trails around 50 miles a week. These wheels will get the most use during my Sunday long ride (will probably use my stock wheels during my
commutes). Any suggestions on a good upgrade. Think my budget will be ~500. Thank you.

At the risk of sounding pedestrian, a typical recommendation at that price point is the Shimano RS81 which is $500 at the link there. I have them on my older Roubaix and have been generally happy, but I'm a bit of an amateur. I use them as my all around commuters, which involves a decent amount of climbing.

 

[trebbble]

Two days into downhill lessons at whistler. You folks have to make the effort to come here one day, absolutely incredible trails, from mind blowing single track to World Cup level downhill. Amazing the progression I've been able to make as a rider here, even as someone who has been riding for ~20 years.

 

[TarpitCarnivore]

Two days into downhill lessons at whistler. You folks have to make the effort to come here one day, absolutely incredible trails, from mind blowing single track to World Cup level downhill. Amazing the progression I've been able to make as a rider here, even as someone who has been riding for ~20 years.

I'm so skittish to jump or even bunny hop logs I can't imagine having much fun there unless there are ways around the jumps and I can just rail turns

 

[The_Inquisitor]

500 total or 500 per wheel? I swapped out my stock wheels for an entry level shimano for like $250 total and was more than happy. Then again the stock wheels I had were Syncro POS.

500 for the wheelset (both tires)

At the risk of sounding pedestrian, a typical recommendation at that price point is the Shimano RS81 which is $500 at the link there. I have them on my older Roubaix and have been generally happy, but I'm a bit of an amateur. I use them as my all around commuters, which involves a decent amount of climbing.

Yeah that seems to be a common recommendation. I have just one bike and my average speed is somewhere between 15-16mph (I am primarily a runner but i need to get stronger). Thank you.