RollCNY

@Lazyass, are you seriously posting spoilers in this thread? Thanks for ruining that.

rpenmanparker 

I do understand your chagrin if you were planning on watching a rebroadcast of the race later in the day and I sympathize. Nevertheless, I would characterize what @Lazyass posted as a news flash rather than a spoiler. In these times I don't expect to get through a day without hearing important news second hand. There is just too much access, desired or otherwise, for us to insulate ourselves against it. I suppose my attitude is also colored by the opinion that I don't regard the TdF as a spectator sport. Knowing the gist of what has happened doesn't alter my enjoyment (small as it is) of finally watching the day's race. I'll tune in occasionally just to hear the inane commentary and the funny accents, but when I am unable to watch it, I am happy for someone to clue me in as to what is going on. I'd just as soon hear it from someone else as sit in front of the TV for hours trying to stay awake for the finish. If our newspaper provided any coverage at all, I would probably bag the TV broadcasts compeletely.

I think a true spoiler is when someone reports something suspenseful that the general public has had no chance to know like information gleaned from a PRIVATE showing of the last episode of a TV series. Reporting what is already public knowledge doesn't seem to me to be so terrible. But as you know, my thought processes are quite a bit different from those of most others.

PhotoJoe 

Posting spoilers is a violation of forum guidelines. Please see Tom's sticky.

https://www.bikeforums.net/road-cycli...do-not-do.html

Posts have been deleted.

Sixty Fiver

So the carbon bike had a better saddle and a stiffer frame ?

coasting 

actually i had the same saddle on the carbon bike for a while until i found a new saddle. the saddle on my original steel bike was so good and comfy I used it on my third bike (a Ti) until it died.

Homebrew01

I have a 45 mile loop I ride on my road bike. I ride it at about 18 mph.
I rode the same route on my heavy mtn bike with 2" tires at 60 psi, at about 15 mph.

The increase in speed from heavy mtn bike to my road bike is just slightly more than some of the claims here going from a non-carbon road bike to a carbon road bike.

coasting 

my ti bike is not as fast as my carbon.

PaulRivers

I found the link -
FEATURES: BEING THERE: LEVI'S GRAN FONDO

Neil's win aboard the Specialized Allez marked the first time an aluminum bike has taken the LGF (Levi's Gran Fondo) crown. Neil's previous wins came aboard a Specialized Roubaix and Tarmac SL4.

martinus

Carbon accelerates faster ... so, if your rides with your buddies is "surgy", you can hang on longer. Which would make you "faster" ...

Lazyass

Accelerates faster than what, and why?

martinus

I'll go with, because its lighter. (Excluding 22lb scattantes and masis...)
Sure you can get a an 18lb Reynolds 8-something or other tubing ... but, it will be like a wet noddle under load. ( and the shifting issues that go with that .) Kinda like why mtbs have lock-outs... less time & effort pogo-ing up and down, more time / effort going forward.

Lazyass

I'm not sure a couple of pounds or whatever will make you accelerate any faster, man.

martinus

You would be suprised ...

Lazyass

No I wouldn't be. I've owned a carbon bike.

martinus

Good for you.

mercator

Well, you can get a light steel bike.

halfspeed

Of course you can, if you put enough carbon bits on it.

rpenmanparker 

We learned this in Chemistry 101. It's in fine print on the Periodic Table.

merlinextraligh

That frame at 2.6 lbs is still a pound heavier than current state of the art CF frames. And I bet its a noodle.

fogrider

how much is the improvements in time due to the bike and how much is it due to drugs?

coasting 

anyone would think carbon had just been invented, the way the steel is real loons act up.

rpenmanparker 

That's a bit prejudiced, no? You can't just propose the result (noodle) that makes your case. If you don't know, what is the point of saying?

As for the weight differential to carbon, I think 1.0 lb will be the lower limit for steel. So you won't win the lightest bike in the world award, but you can have a very nice, very light ride. As for stiffness, perhaps someone KNOWS the answer.

merlinextraligh

I don't know, but my guess is somewhat educated. I can tell you how stiff an oversized steel tube bike is in general having owned one, and ridden several.

Rodriguez didn't magically change the charecteristics of steel. The tubes on that bike are not particularly oversized, and there's no unusual shaping. To get to the frame weight claimed, they've got to be using very thin walled tubing (which also btw is not terribly durable due to denting issues).

So very thin walled steel tubing that isn't particulary over dimensioned, and doesn't use any exotice shaping in all probability is going to be way more flexible than a modern CF bike.

It's also somewhat telling that the y sell the bike on weight and comfort, with no claim as to stiffness, and no mention that I can see of any special techniques to increase stiffness.

And the reason many people find steel bikes to be comfortable is because they're flexy.

OldsCOOL

This is like nailing jello to a wall. The real question is the use of nails or screws.

bikefoo

I know my months of timing the same route on different bikes has already been dismissed, but, I would like to state the ride experience I am enjoying from my carbon bike.

High frequency bumps are muted so I can focus on pedaling. Big jolts don't knock the bike around as badly, and the bike quickly settles thus allowing me to get back on power quicker. Lighter weight, seems to accelerate, climb and sprint more aggressively. Cornering and high speed descents seem more stable, allowing me to push harder. But again, this is the only what I have noticed while riding. YMMV