So expensive
09-08-20, 08:08 AM
#26
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So... I bought my first ever bike with brakes and gears this year. I started cycling through BMX. Then I transitioned into riding single speed Fixed gear/track bikes. Never ran brakes on any of my bikes (except when I was a bike Messenger in downtown Miami). I've been hit 13 times in my life. Twice this year. Once in February and again in July. The accident in July totally destroyed my track bike. It was also a hit and run. A few of my friends helped me get a new 2021 Specialized Allez. The basic model. My LBS had it in stock at the time and I really needed another bike asap because I dont own a car. Getting a bike online worth buying was almost impossible. I love cycling and I get miles in. I'm not new to cycling by any means. I am new to having to spend SO damn much to upgrade these parts to gain speed. My bike is heavy. Easily weighsf 4 pounds more than my previous bike. I really want to get an entire new groupset(one by sram-rival) and new lighter and better wheels but that in itself is $2,000 +++++. So I'm forced to wait longer for more gains in speed and performance bike wise because I have to save so much more money. Is it worth getting not as expensive parts first? Or waiting to get the best?
It's worth getting more expensive parts if you keep the bike for a long run, which is impossible to know when you start cycling. Don't worry, road bikes don't depreciate as much as other goods (cars, for instance...).
09-08-20, 10:54 AM
#27
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So what you all are saying is that I should save my money and just buy the Specialized Allez Sprint Disc? By no means will I choose to remain to ride a bike with crappy parts and not upgrade them. That’s ridiculous. I’m not disagreeing with the fact that a power meter can help me train. Why would I put a power meter on a bike with Shimano Claris? Would you take your Toyota Yaris to a dyno?
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09-08-20, 11:06 AM
#28
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So what you all are saying is that I should save my money and just buy the Specialized Allez Sprint Disc? By no means will I choose to remain to ride a bike with crappy parts and not upgrade them. That’s ridiculous. I’m not disagreeing with the fact that a power meter can help me train. Why would I put a power meter on a bike with Shimano Claris? Would you take your Toyota Yaris to a dyno?
09-08-20, 01:01 PM
#29
Senior Member
I don't have a power meter so I don't speak for those who do, but ... if my serious intent was to improve my power (speed) I'd have no issue with training on a bike with Claris and a power meter would be a useful tool. Certainly more useful than upgrading to 105 or Ultegra to get faster more quickly.
09-11-20, 02:23 PM
#30
Senior Member
Funny that I'm often adding weight for my training rides. I am the engine and weight is just a number to be crushed by better fitness
09-11-20, 04:04 PM
#32
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09-11-20, 04:17 PM
#33
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So... I bought my first ever bike with brakes and gears this year. I started cycling through BMX. Then I transitioned into riding single speed Fixed gear/track bikes. Never ran brakes on any of my bikes (except when I was a bike Messenger in downtown Miami). I've been hit 13 times in my life. Twice this year. Once in February and again in July. The accident in July totally destroyed my track bike. It was also a hit and run. A few of my friends helped me get a new 2021 Specialized Allez. The basic model. My LBS had it in stock at the time and I really needed another bike asap because I dont own a car. Getting a bike online worth buying was almost impossible. I love cycling and I get miles in. I'm not new to cycling by any means. I am new to having to spend SO damn much to upgrade these parts to gain speed. My bike is heavy. Easily weighsf 4 pounds more than my previous bike. I really want to get an entire new groupset(one by sram-rival) and new lighter and better wheels but that in itself is $2,000 +++++. So I'm forced to wait longer for more gains in speed and performance bike wise because I have to save so much more money. Is it worth getting not as expensive parts first? Or waiting to get the best?
09-11-20, 04:22 PM
#34
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09-12-20, 07:15 AM
#35
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First ever bike with brakes? You can't race in any sanctioned BMX race without brakes... nor would you want to. Even if you're not racing, BMX - flatland, ramps, track - doesn't work without a free hub/wheel. So, you're saying this is your first road bike without brakes?
Forget about a power meter.
Don't upgrade your current bike.
Ride the current bike until you can afford to replace it - the entire bike.
Consider a used bike - later
Bike weight doesn't matter nearly as much as we hear, read, are told by bike manufacturers - especially in South Florida.
Body weight does matter... it also costs less to reduce
I have a lot of bikes. The two I ride the most (on the road) are:
- New Scott Foil with carbon everything and an SRM power meter.
- 1997 single speed aluminum Klein with some steel parts.
On rides under 50 miles, my average pace is virtually the same. As one of those skinny guys who got paid to ride his bike once said "It's not about the bike".
Forget about a power meter.
Don't upgrade your current bike.
Ride the current bike until you can afford to replace it - the entire bike.
Consider a used bike - later
Bike weight doesn't matter nearly as much as we hear, read, are told by bike manufacturers - especially in South Florida.
Body weight does matter... it also costs less to reduce
I have a lot of bikes. The two I ride the most (on the road) are:
- New Scott Foil with carbon everything and an SRM power meter.
- 1997 single speed aluminum Klein with some steel parts.
On rides under 50 miles, my average pace is virtually the same. As one of those skinny guys who got paid to ride his bike once said "It's not about the bike".
09-12-20, 07:52 AM
#36
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So what you all are saying is that I should save my money and just buy the Specialized Allez Sprint Disc? By no means will I choose to remain to ride a bike with crappy parts and not upgrade them. That’s ridiculous. I’m not disagreeing with the fact that a power meter can help me train. Why would I put a power meter on a bike with Shimano Claris? Would you take your Toyota Yaris to a dyno?
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09-12-20, 01:07 PM
#37
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I've found that most of the problems are due to poor setup.
I've had 4 bikes with Sram and my son has 3. Three with Rival 10 speed, 1 with Rival CX1, Force 10 speed, Red 22 and Red eTap and never had a problem.must be over 60,000 trouble free miles.
So either i'm doing better than everyone else or some people don't know how to setup a bike.
I've had 4 bikes with Sram and my son has 3. Three with Rival 10 speed, 1 with Rival CX1, Force 10 speed, Red 22 and Red eTap and never had a problem.must be over 60,000 trouble free miles.
So either i'm doing better than everyone else or some people don't know how to setup a bike.
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09-12-20, 02:18 PM
#38
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If your friends are on Tarmacs and have years of experience on you, buying an Allez Sprint won't help. Train on the current bike until you can afford the Sprint, then you'll be on pace with them.
09-12-20, 02:55 PM
#39
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Either that, or a quality control issue. People say yaw derailleurs are harder to set up correctly, so more bikes with poor setup wouldn't be a surprise. But you're not the only one who it's worked satisfactorily for, proving that it can be done.
09-12-20, 10:35 PM
#40
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Thread Starter
First ever bike with brakes? You can't race in any sanctioned BMX race without brakes... nor would you want to. Even if you're not racing, BMX - flatland, ramps, track - doesn't work without a free hub/wheel. So, you're saying this is your first road bike without brakes?
Forget about a power meter.
Don't upgrade your current bike.
Ride the current bike until you can afford to replace it - the entire bike.
Consider a used bike - later
Bike weight doesn't matter nearly as much as we hear, read, are told by bike manufacturers - especially in South Florida.
Body weight does matter... it also costs less to reduce
I have a lot of bikes. The two I ride the most (on the road) are:
- New Scott Foil with carbon everything and an SRM power meter.
- 1997 single speed aluminum Klein with some steel parts.
On rides under 50 miles, my average pace is virtually the same. As one of those skinny guys who got paid to ride his bike once said "It's not about the bike".
Forget about a power meter.
Don't upgrade your current bike.
Ride the current bike until you can afford to replace it - the entire bike.
Consider a used bike - later
Bike weight doesn't matter nearly as much as we hear, read, are told by bike manufacturers - especially in South Florida.
Body weight does matter... it also costs less to reduce
I have a lot of bikes. The two I ride the most (on the road) are:
- New Scott Foil with carbon everything and an SRM power meter.
- 1997 single speed aluminum Klein with some steel parts.
On rides under 50 miles, my average pace is virtually the same. As one of those skinny guys who got paid to ride his bike once said "It's not about the bike".
I do think bike weight matters. And if it doesn't then why do poeple, like yourself, own full carbon bikes? Why dont you go to your local Walmart, buy a beach cruiser, slap Di2 on it and call it a day? Bike weight does matter a lot. The sport wouldn't be where it is today. I'm not saying that I need a sub 15lb bike. But plus 20lbs is not okay for me. Also, I'm losing weight. A few months ago I weighed 190lbs and now I'm at 180lbs. My goal is to be close to 170lbs. I do agree with just replacing the whole bike. I've looked around more and seen that I can get a Tarmac SL6 comp with Ultegra for $3,500ish. My roomate is getting the New 2021 Bianchi Aria which is around the same price I think. It's just that I have to save up so much and ride this clydesdale of a 2021 Allez that weighs 20 plus pounds for longer than I want to.
09-12-20, 10:37 PM
#41
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Thread Starter
09-12-20, 11:24 PM
#42
Non omnino gravis
If you're that strong, the bike weight shouldn't matter. If you think 3lbs of bike weight is why other riders are ahead of you, then the upcoming reality check is going to be a harsh one... and from the sound of it, expensive.
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09-12-20, 11:57 PM
#43
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Where does all this SRAM hate come from? Is it the nasty shift feel? Because aside from this inherent drawback of their escapement, the gear I've seen and used has appeared to be pretty good stuff, employing a few nice innovations, not least of which is the longer cable pull for better indexing consistency, and the Yaw FD which eliminates the need for trimming. The RDs were more accurate and elegant than Shimano's pre-shadow designs, GXP cranks look sleeker than HT2 cranks and still take standard rings, and you can have BB30 or BB386. While Shimano's 2nd-gen 10s groups were confounding their owners with that wing-and-a-prayer signal-to-noise ratio thanks to the tiny cable pull coupled with under-tape cables, SRAM riders were like, lol. Except anyone stuck with a 1st-gen RED FD, of course...
So yeah, it really seems like SRAM don't get a fair shake, to me. Was it the epic RED FD fail too? It's that still an albatross despite the supreme compensation of Yaw?
So yeah, it really seems like SRAM don't get a fair shake, to me. Was it the epic RED FD fail too? It's that still an albatross despite the supreme compensation of Yaw?
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Half-step triple, using double gear ~~~ 6400 STI rebuild walkthrough ~~~ Want 8/9/10s @126mm OLD? OCR. ~~~ Shimano cassette body overhaul ~~~ Ergopower Escape wear repair ~~~ PSA: drivetrain wear
List of US/Canada bike co-ops ~~~ Global list
Last edited by Kimmo; 09-13-20 at 12:01 AM.
09-13-20, 12:12 AM
#44
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I guess every rider in the Tour should ride walmart bikes then.
09-13-20, 12:43 AM
#45
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Walmart has some decent bikes now. And even the lanterne rouge in the TdF would drop me like a rock on my 18 lb bike. There's no substitute for youth, a natural engine cultivated to optimal form, and getting aero. Five lbs here or there won't matter nearly as much as those factors.
09-13-20, 01:03 AM
#46
Senior Member
The point that people are making here isn't that bicycle quality doesn't matter at all, it's that you don't seem to understand how your priorities correlate to performance.
A Walmart beach cruiser is vastly slower than a high-end road bike, but weight is actually pretty far down on the list of reasons why. Posture, rolling resistance, and *actually working properly* are all more significant in most situations.
The weight difference between an Allez and a Tarmac SL6 Comp is a little over 2lbs. For a 180lb cyclist, that's going to cost roughly 1% in climbing speed up a steep hill, and be negligible in most flat and downhill situations. That's not to say that a Tarmac SL6 Comp isn't a better bike than a base Allez, but it's important to understand why and how.
The tricky thing with weight is that its actual performance impacts are disproportionately small compared with how easy it is to feel its presence. It matters, but much less than people think if they're gauging everything by tactile noticeability.
Latex tubes require more care for installation, but in my experience, if anything they get fewer flats on the road than butyl does.
A Walmart beach cruiser is vastly slower than a high-end road bike, but weight is actually pretty far down on the list of reasons why. Posture, rolling resistance, and *actually working properly* are all more significant in most situations.
The weight difference between an Allez and a Tarmac SL6 Comp is a little over 2lbs. For a 180lb cyclist, that's going to cost roughly 1% in climbing speed up a steep hill, and be negligible in most flat and downhill situations. That's not to say that a Tarmac SL6 Comp isn't a better bike than a base Allez, but it's important to understand why and how.
The tricky thing with weight is that its actual performance impacts are disproportionately small compared with how easy it is to feel its presence. It matters, but much less than people think if they're gauging everything by tactile noticeability.
Latex tubes require more care for installation, but in my experience, if anything they get fewer flats on the road than butyl does.
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09-13-20, 01:14 AM
#47
Full Member
Again, the bike weight doesn't matter, especially on flat terrain. I had the same speed to work (16 mile commute on flat to rolling-ish terrain) on my 22 lb CX bike as I did on my 16 lb carbon aero bike this week. It's the engine, start working on that. Or, if it's your first bike ever with brakes and gears, make sure the breaks aren't rubbing, and maybe learn to use the gears properly? Just a thought.
09-13-20, 08:35 AM
#48
Senior Member
my man, just to reiterate my post above, I accomplish 99.999% of what most cyclists can on an allez with Claris (and I do have a power meter on it). Someone I know locally has a carbon frame, custom carbon wheels from a local builder, and is a really good masters crit racer. We ride the same loops around the same average power, and our times are generally the same. You’re attributing way too much to gear like it’ll help you leaps and bounds, But pros use gear for marginal gains, and all the entry level stuff is good enough to ride with and compete against other people.
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