njkayaker

You might prefer not to know.

njkayaker

Well, compared to track bikes, road bikes have gears.

Derailleurs are somewhat delicate (it's a well-known thing). It's part of the a compromise between having gears (for a reasonable price) and not having them.

Here's what you need:

https://www.cyclingabout.com/tour-wi...%20you%20think.

Given that many, many people don't have similar troubles, it might just be you (that you as careful as you think you are).

njkayaker

As we can see, it's improving every day.

jadocs

Huh???

Are you saying that only road bikes would sustain damage being crashed or dumped on the road?

oleg232000

Totally get you Ryan Rides. I too have spent many years on Track bikes before I ever rode road bikes with any frequency. And yes, the biggest luxury with a track bike, is the ZERO maintenance. And that is one of the main reasons why it is the preferred work horse for high mile urban riding, for example bike messengers. If you are slow or cant move at all due to your drivetrain, then your losing money, work, jobs, time etc. If you let it sit there and collect dust under the elements (even in NYC) for a freaking year, you will get on and go (except for maybe the tires). And I do miss it, especially the drivetrain doing the work for me at times.

Having said that, road bikes can be just as rewarding they just need a different approach. My first real road bike was a Cannondale Multisport2000, a TT bike. But, it had an Ultegra drivetrain. And it never ever gave me one problem. Albeit, I never crashed it. But, maintenance zero. Just lubed. I honestly dont remember ever even adjusting it. I probably put like 10k on it. Its still sitting back on the east coast. Always reliable, super fast. So i guess my point is, if your RD or entire drivetrain is failing, it might not be the actual bike, but the drivetrain. Think about upgrading it before you decide you hate road bikes!

popeye

This thread put a smile on my face this morning, thanks. I wonder if he is related to Ryanf. Remember him?

njkayaker

It's not "failing". He's breaking it.

Here's some info about what he bought:

https://www.bikeforums.net/21681570-post1.html

https://www.specialized.com/us/en/al...ext=90020-5149

oleg232000

Hey I m just giving him the benefit of the doubt. If its truly failing cause he broke it, I m sure hes smart enough to understand that. If he thinks its breaking cause its flimsy on the other hand, well I was just giving him my perspective. I think we can all agree, cheaper drivetrains need more care and maintenance than more high end ones (generally speaking).

noodle soup

I asked the same thing in his other thread

​​​​​​​

njkayaker

Dude needs to earn a "benefit of the doubt".

In the OP, he talked breaking it twice, when crashing it and dropping it. He also talked not-very-clearly about it needing adjustment.

From reading the post, it seems more likely a lack of understanding on his part (so, no, it's not sure "he's smart enough to understand that").

If you don't know exactly what he bought, how do you know it's a "cheaper" drivetrain? He isn't providing the sort of detail that would be needed to start giving him advice.

He might have gotten one of the two (with 105):

https://www.specialized.com/us/en/allez-sprint-comp-disc/p/184442?color=293160-184442&searchText=90020-5149

https://www.specialized.com/us/en/allez-elite/p/184449?color=293181-184449&searchText=90021-4044

There's nothing that should lead one to think the drivetrain is bad.

njkayaker

Road bikes are new to this guy. It's not even the same sort of style.

popeye

One more and we have consenus and it's him. On a serious side it turned out that guy had a really dark side to him.

oleg232000

Ok so he broke it. Maybe hes just venting here cause hes pissed that it broke. Let me tell you, track bikes dont break like that. Steel is real, and steel track bikes can be thrown off an effin mountain before you have to fix anything. I rammed my Kilo TT over and over into cars, trucks, people, other bikes. All im saying is, I get where his frustration is coming from. But of course, if you break it, it wont work. And 105 aint the best in terms of strength, although a great drivetrain no argument there.

noodle soup

He was more about bragging about how fast he is

I tried to find that thread, but failed.

njkayaker

Yes, track bikes don't have derailleurs that can break or need adjustment (which is the thing that "don't break like that").

It's a trade off: gears for something a bit more delicate.

Hundreds (thousands?) of people here don't have the problems he's talking about.

???

There's nothing that indicates 105 is weaker (especially, when crashing or dropping). It certainly is heavier than "higher-end" drivetrains (and some of the "higher-end" drive trains wear faster).

noodle soup

This bike fell off a bike rack, and onto the freeway(back when It was a geared bike). The saddle and bar tape got torn, but I nothing else was damaged. CF road bikes are stronger than you think they are.

oleg232000

Have to say that is hard to believe. But, i have a carbon MTB right now, and although im still weary, Im slowly starting to believe that carbon can be just as strong. It definitely feels so much lighter than any MTB i ever rode.

Seattle Forrest

You know what your problem is?

You sugar coat things too much.

noodle soup

One of my friends is a CF framebuilder, so I brought it to him to do an ultrasonic scan. We were both surprised to find that it was undamaged. The frame is an old Scattante(Performance house brand) that he got when he managed the shop. It had flaking clearcoat, so they took it as a return. He gave it to me as a placeholder while he built my custom frame. I refinished it with matte clear coat.

Most Hi-Mod CF frames on today's road bikes couldn't take a hit like that, but they aren't made for that purpose.

oleg232000

True, but I also learned that monocoque vs bonded carbon also makes a big difference. My MTB, La Pierre Spicy Team, at the time was one of the only monocoque frames made in its class.

Seattle Forrest

It's an unspoken goal every roadie has, not to crash. Sometimes **** happens and it can't be avoided. But that's pretty rare. If you're aware of the traffic around you, the road surface ahead of you, and ride in a predictable way, that will avoid really a lot of trouble. People are poking fun at your bike handling skills etc because once is bad luck but twice is probably something else.

A road bike is like a glass window, you can break it real easy, but not really if you're using it the way it was meant to be used. If you don't crash it, and don't hit it with a hammer, it can outlast you. A lot of people in here have had their road bike for decades, even some carbon ones. Once you get into the mind set, it's pretty easy for the most part to take care of a road bike.

rubiksoval

He's just crashed this bike twice. He also crashed twice before that this year...

79pmooney

Yeah. He should sacrifice his body and save that bike. (In my experience, the cars trying to run me off the road are always on my non-drive side.)

Road bikes fare considerably worse now in crashes than they did 40 years ago. Ruined bike in race crashes were not common. Bent forks, yes. Bent rear triangles, yes. Road rash on brake levers and bars, yes. Bent hangers, yes. Dented tubes, yes, But stuff actually breaking? Beyond wheels and rear derailleurs? Not that common, Much of the bent stuff could be bent back. The $30 shifters never got damaged.

We'd crash, pick up the bike, spin the wheels, straighten bars and levers. get on it and ride. Do the first shift to low carefully in case the hanger or derailleur was bent. Inspect the bike when we got home.

And yes, less than light steel fix gears are very crash worthy. They don't care whether it is drive-side or no. Going down on hard ice? Tough on me but I pick the bike up knowing it's going to work and get me home. (Too tough on me to do that now. 20 something stuff.)

Ben

rubiksoval

I don't think I'd ride a rebent fork or rear triangle, personally...

Psimet2001 

I remember my first troll too.