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Road Cycling “It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best, since you have to sweat up the hills and coast down them. Thus you remember them as they actually are, while in a motor car only a high hill impresses you, and you have no such accurate remembrance of country you have driven through as you gain by riding a bicycle.” -- Ernest Hemingway

Intro and question

Old 03-05-21, 03:51 PM
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Doomrider74
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Intro and question

Hi folks,

New member here.

A few years ago I moved to Canada (Vancouver) from England, and due to limited space I sold my carbon road bike and brought over my gravel/commuter bike (Charge Plug) and a mountain bike.

The gravel bike has been great for exploring, but I'm missing having a road bike. The Charge is OK on the road but the heavy wheels and tires (dual ply 45mm Maxxis Roamer @ 770g each) make it harder work than it should be. It also has mechanical disc brakes (Pro Max Render) that are terrible. The drivetrain is Tiagra, which is ok, but not as nice as the 105/Ultegra I had on my road bike, IMO.

My options are to either buy a new set of brakes and wheels for my Charge or put the money towards a new bike,and keep the Charge as a gravel only bike.

What would you folk do? Any recommendations for wheels and brakes I could fit on my Charge?

Budget: Given my Charge is a fairly low spec bike I'm reluctant to throw too much money at it, which is why the new bike option is a bit more appealing, albeit quite a bit more expensive.

Sorry for the long-winded musings.
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Old 03-05-21, 04:04 PM
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New bike. Recent 105 stuff is pretty great & should be satisfying.
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Old 03-05-21, 04:12 PM
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Originally Posted by woodcraft
New bike. Recent 105 stuff is pretty great & should be satisfying.
I suspected that would be the unanimous answer . Yeah, I'm a fan of 105 as well: just like SLX on mountain bikes, it sits nicely in that affordable but works well niche.
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Old 03-05-21, 04:14 PM
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New. By the time you spend money to build up another used bike or upgrade the one you have, you have spent a lot and still have a heavy bike. Light bikes make climbing easier. When I ride on my 22 pound bike, I notice hills that I don't notice on my 17.5 pound bike. And that isn't even a five pound difference. Sure I could lose body weight, but the lighter bike is immediate and longer lasting.

As stated Shimano 105 from 5800 to the newest is pretty good performance wise. Not as light as Ultegra or DuraAce. Even Tiagra 4700 shifts well enough for me if you are okay with a 10 speed.
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Old 03-05-21, 04:38 PM
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Originally Posted by Iride01
New. By the time you spend money to build up another used bike or upgrade the one you have, you have spent a lot and still have a heavy bike. Light bikes make climbing easier. When I ride on my 22 pound bike, I notice hills that I don't notice on my 17.5 pound bike. And that isn't even a five pound difference. Sure I could lose body weight, but the lighter bike is immediate and longer lasting.

As stated Shimano 105 from 5800 to the newest is pretty good performance wise. Not as light as Ultegra or DuraAce. Even Tiagra 4700 shifts well enough for me if you are okay with a 10 speed.
The advantage of upgrading my Charge is I could keep the Tiagra until it wears out and then relate with 105. However, just new wheels, tires and brakes would be 1600 bucks CAD, before I even touch the drivetrain.
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Old 03-05-21, 05:21 PM
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Originally Posted by Doomrider74
The advantage of upgrading my Charge is I could keep the Tiagra until it wears out and then relate with 105. However, just new wheels, tires and brakes would be 1600 bucks CAD, before I even touch the drivetrain.
In 2018 my son got a new 2017 Émonda ALR 4 or 5 with Tiagra for 1600 USD. LBS's and the mfr's like to get rid of old stock so it don't get older and older.

Not sure what things are like now because of COVID, but check around. And maybe there'll be some spring sales too, but COVID and low inventory may have nixed that too.

Might be an aluminum frame, but those are nice too. I do feel more road on the Émonda ALR than with my carbon bike. But not to the extent I'd turn one down if I didn't have better. However I saw some pretty nice new in the shop carbon road bikes just prior to COVID that were down at and below 2000 USD.
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Old 03-05-21, 05:36 PM
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Originally Posted by Iride01
In 2018 my son got a new 2017 Émonda ALR 4 or 5 with Tiagra for 1600 USD. LBS's and the mfr's like to get rid of old stock so it don't get older and older.

Not sure what things are like now because of COVID, but check around. And maybe there'll be some spring sales too, but COVID and low inventory may have nixed that too.

Might be an aluminum frame, but those are nice too. I do feel more road on the Émonda ALR than with my carbon bike. But not to the extent I'd turn one down if I didn't have better. However I saw some pretty nice new in the shop carbon road bikes just prior to COVID that were down at and below 2000 USD.
The Emonda ALR 105 disc is one of the bikes I'm looking at. They're about 2700 here in Canada.
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Old 03-05-21, 08:07 PM
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If you buy a road bike, you have a backup if you get some kind of mechanical issue you can't fix immediately.
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Old 03-05-21, 08:08 PM
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Also, of you wanted an honest answer about whether to buy a new bike, you're in the wrong place.
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Old 03-05-21, 08:11 PM
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Originally Posted by Seattle Forrest
Also, of you wanted an honest answer about whether to buy a new bike, you're in the wrong place.
Ive been around a few internet forums, I know how they work
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Old 03-08-21, 02:58 AM
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I grew up in Vancouver and went to UBC before moving to the USA. Vancouver roads are pretty narrow (compared to Southern California, where I live now) and most roads do not have bike lanes. Is there anywhere safe to ride a road bike? Yes, I know that you can take the whole lane but Vancouver does not have much of a cycling culture unlike the UK and Europe.
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Old 03-08-21, 11:31 AM
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Originally Posted by SoSmellyAir
I grew up in Vancouver and went to UBC before moving to the USA. Vancouver roads are pretty narrow (compared to Southern California, where I live now) and most roads do not have bike lanes. Is there anywhere safe to ride a road bike? Yes, I know that you can take the whole lane but Vancouver does not have much of a cycling culture unlike the UK and Europe.
They are undertaking a huge project to extend cycle lanes in downtown Vancouver, at the moment. Elsewhere, cycle lanes are less common but I don't find it any worse than the UK, and the roads are much wider here as well.

I'm not sure about the road cycling culture as I haven't been here that long, but you see plenty of road cyclists about. Plus, there's the Gastown races held every year thar help raise the profile.
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Old 03-08-21, 11:39 AM
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Oh, and I should probably update this thread: I took the plunge and bought a new bike at the weekend, a BMC Teammachine ALR TWO. Ive only managed to do a 10k check ride so far, but the two words that spring to mind are SMOOTH and FAST.

...And the 105 hydraulic brakes are awesome.
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Old 03-08-21, 12:02 PM
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Originally Posted by Doomrider74
They are undertaking a huge project to extend cycle lanes in downtown Vancouver, at the moment. Elsewhere, cycle lanes are less common but I don't find it any worse than the UK, and the roads are much wider here as well.

I'm not sure about the road cycling culture as I haven't been here that long, but you see plenty of road cyclists about. Plus, there's the Gastown races held every year thar help raise the profile.
Nice! And congratulations on the new bike.
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Old 03-08-21, 12:08 PM
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Originally Posted by Doomrider74
Oh, and I should probably update this thread: I took the plunge and bought a new bike at the weekend, a BMC Teammachine ALR TWO. Ive only managed to do a 10k check ride so far, but the two words that spring to mind are SMOOTH and FAST.

...And the 105 hydraulic brakes are awesome.
Congrats! But points deducted for not posting pictures.

I was gonna say, my new SuperSix Evo has 105 and it's great, fast and smooth, they really did a great job with the r7000 series.
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Old 03-08-21, 12:15 PM
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Originally Posted by Rides4Beer
Congrats! But points deducted for not posting pictures.

I was gonna say, my new SuperSix Evo has 105 and it's great, fast and smooth, they really did a great job with the r7000 series.
I'll see what I can do: I need to get somewhere more picturesque than my dining room, aka garage, before I take pics.
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Old 03-08-21, 01:29 PM
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A pound makes a difference

I'm not pro, I barely quality as amateur but have been riding for three years and started with an upright hybrid. What you don't know at the beginning is that the upright position not only slows you down but it's painful on your seat bones and on your wrists which are holding up most of the time. The road bike provides multiple options for hand placement not just the hoods and the drops creating more comfort for longer rides (25mi+).
After that, and as you get in shape you will hit a wall, that falls down with a better bike, and you won't want just part upgrades, you'll want a new steed.
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Old 03-08-21, 01:35 PM
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Originally Posted by VintageSteelRid
I'm not pro, I barely quality as amateur but have been riding for three years and started with an upright hybrid. What you don't know at the beginning is that the upright position not only slows you down but it's painful on your seat bones and on your wrists which are holding up most of the time. The road bike provides multiple options for hand placement not just the hoods and the drops creating more comfort for longer rides (25mi+).
After that, and as you get in shape you will hit a wall, that falls down with a better bike, and you won't want just part upgrades, you'll want a new steed.
All good points, but I should add Ive been riding for over 30 years and have done quite a lot of 70+ mile rides, including a 100 miler (Prudential Ride London), so I'm no stranger to the bike .
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