KAH

Looking at the endurance type bikes and the Specialized Secteurs have caught my eye.

Fishing for opinions on these Specialized designs (Zertz and Z-seatstay) to dampen the aluminum ride.

Black wallnut 

Take a test ride.

mustang1

I dont understand how zertz works. Theres a clear plastic insert inside metal. I understand the plastic is soft so allows flexibility, but surely the metal around it will stop this movement/flexibility.

Anyway, I gotta ask: how much research and development can you do with a bunch of tubes?

datlas 

A little. More benefit from wider tires.

alexaschwanden

A soft saddle would be more comfortable.

hueyhoolihan

i've got a bunch (too many) bikes with a lot of different tire sizes. when i'm thinking about having an easy and comfortable ride, i'm always taking the one with the widest and tallest tires with the least pounds per square inch in them.

grolby

It's not about flexibility. It's like touching your hand to a vibrating object: your body will absorb high-frequency, low amplitude vibrations and damp them out. That's the idea behind the Zertz inserts. I can't really vouch for how well they work to improve comfort in practice. They're based around the idea that high-frequency vibration is a major element of frame comfort and that the inserts have enough damping capacity to reduce that vibration noticably. No idea if either of those are true, but the basic concept isn't just made up.

As for the amount of R&D that can go into tubes: plenty. Both design and manufacturing processes that allow more sophisticated tube shapes (e.g. hydroforming, etc) have advanced considerably over the last few decades. Today's aluminum frames are much better than they were in the 80's, better even than they were 10 years ago.

aluminumb

I've owned a Secteur with zertz for three years and put about 2,300 miles on it. I love the bike, and it's taken me from novice rides of five miles through to completing multiple century rides and performing very respectably in a major gran fondo. The ride quality is still stiff, even with zertz, and you will definitely get rattled around, especially if the roads are sketchy. On 35+ mile rides I've experienced some occasional hand numbness. I tend to think that's more about my tendency to grip the handlebars too tightly. A change to the drops or a quick shake usually fixes it.

It's my first and only aluminum bike so far, so I can't draw a meaningful comparison with zertz vs. no zertz. Everyone will tell you to test a bunch of bikes, and that's great advice. I would say determine if aluminum ride quality fits you -- if it doesn't, no amount of plastic in the fork will change that fact. I like it just fine.

metz1295

i have the 2014 sectuer compact and love it. i use it for everything from commuting (11.5 miles one way) to metric centuries to dipping my toes into a TT. i even used it for a true century a couple weeks ago. never had a single comfort issue. at 6'-3", 215 comfort on a long ride is important as my upper body can start to get heavy over time. i don't have much of a history with other forks or road bike geometries and i know much about nothing for the technology talked about above, but i will back this bike as long as it serves as well as it has for my first 2 months of ownership.

metz1295

if you look at the design of the rear stay of the new sectuer, you'll see a slight difference from the older models. the guy at my LBS told me he felt specialized hurt themselves a little with this design in that it kept customers from buying their higher, more stable models. it also helped my decision that they now have a carbon fork on the base model sectuer. i was going to buy an allez. these changes in the base model sectuer saved me at least $400.

KAH

Thanks for the input every one.
On my local craigslist is a 2012 Secteur Compact base model.


2012 Specialized Secteur Compact - BikePedia


The price seems good @ $400 and it seems the right size for me 58cm I’m 6’1.5” 33” inseam but it is lacking the Z-seatstays and I like the idea of disc brakes giving wider tire options. so maybe I want new but if new every major bike co. has a set of endurance bikes to choose from. Overwhelmed by my choices and as I tend to ride my bikes for decades choosing wisely will have long lasting consequences.


I have only ridden steel not sure I’ll be quick to notice the differences I will care about 30 to 300 miles down the road as the STI shifting will be new to me heck even index shifting will be new to me.


Sorry I’m rambling off topic,
sounds like the Secteur owners like the bike and the Specialized vibration dampening tech helps somewhat.

svtmike

I have a 2010 Secteur as my secondary road bike (well, it was until my S-Works Roubaix and I were sent flying by a car). It's nearly the equal of the Roubaix in the vibration damping department (same seatposts on each, but carbon bars on the Roubaix). I think the fork is the main player in damping the vibrations to the hands. If the ride characteristics float your boat, it's a comfortable bike even without the Roubaix-style seat stays.