Disc brakes are now the default on road bikes and no one cares
02-28-20, 05:39 PM
#428
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02-28-20, 05:59 PM
#429
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I used to ride with my stems slammed. Blessed with great flexibility. What changed for me was the increased need to see better. Slowly over the years traffic has increased all over the region. It also has gotten more aggressive. I feel like I need to be able to see as far ahead as possible.
02-28-20, 06:11 PM
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02-28-20, 09:35 PM
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I used to ride with my stems slammed. Blessed with great flexibility. What changed for me was the increased need to see better. Slowly over the years traffic has increased all over the region. It also has gotten more aggressive. I feel like I need to be able to see as far ahead as possible.
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02-29-20, 06:17 AM
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02-29-20, 07:52 AM
#435
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This was actually the intent of another thread, to discuss whether most people find bigger HT's more appealing than spacers -- more relevant for larger bike sizes. I think i'm on the fence -- eg. a 18cm HT with 2cm of spacers I think looks better than a 20cm HT, but if more spacers than this (aside from safety?), likely the bigger HT would be nicer.
02-29-20, 04:00 PM
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40mm - it's the maximum recommended for carbon steerers I believe. I plan on removing 10mm this summer and see how it goes. Worked on my flexibility during winter, I hope it'll pay off!
Funny story: The large felt big when I tried it. I preferred the ML.
Funny story: The large felt big when I tried it. I preferred the ML.
Last edited by eduskator; 02-29-20 at 04:06 PM.
02-29-20, 04:15 PM
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02-29-20, 04:39 PM
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Why the TCR vs the Defy?
02-29-20, 08:29 PM
#439
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This thread has gone off the rails.. the topic was every new road bike has discs.
BTW: I've ridden the Defy Advanced. Carbon frame, discs and 105 components. 32mm (fat) tires. Anyway, the bike was around 20 pounds with porky heavy wheels, and it all rode like a farm tractor. I thought that the wide tires would make this bike super stable, but it was still sketchy above 20mph on the gravel in the Yukon. The crappy chip-seal roads were almost as jarring as riding on my other bike with 25s. And this performance coming from a $3k bike.
Anyway, here is the point: current road bikes are sluggish pigs due to weight burden of discs, and especially the heavy rims and tires. Plus the high-Q of the current cranksets are biomechanically inefficient, as are wide 142mm chainstays. But if you have to shove 13 cogs plus discs in the rear stays, then I guess you have to go wide in the rear. Plus thru-axles are an unnecessary PITA.
My $1,500 Allez with rim brakes allowed me to travel everywhere that the Defy did. It was also lighter and felt much more responsive.
BTW: I've ridden the Defy Advanced. Carbon frame, discs and 105 components. 32mm (fat) tires. Anyway, the bike was around 20 pounds with porky heavy wheels, and it all rode like a farm tractor. I thought that the wide tires would make this bike super stable, but it was still sketchy above 20mph on the gravel in the Yukon. The crappy chip-seal roads were almost as jarring as riding on my other bike with 25s. And this performance coming from a $3k bike.
Anyway, here is the point: current road bikes are sluggish pigs due to weight burden of discs, and especially the heavy rims and tires. Plus the high-Q of the current cranksets are biomechanically inefficient, as are wide 142mm chainstays. But if you have to shove 13 cogs plus discs in the rear stays, then I guess you have to go wide in the rear. Plus thru-axles are an unnecessary PITA.
My $1,500 Allez with rim brakes allowed me to travel everywhere that the Defy did. It was also lighter and felt much more responsive.
02-29-20, 08:53 PM
#440
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Now it has really gone off the rails.
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02-29-20, 08:59 PM
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BTW: I've ridden the Defy Advanced. Carbon frame, discs and 105 components. 32mm (fat) tires. Anyway, the bike was around 20 pounds with porky heavy wheels, and it all rode like a farm tractor. I thought that the wide tires would make this bike super stable, but it was still sketchy above 20mph on the gravel in the Yukon. The crappy chip-seal roads were almost as jarring as riding on my other bike with 25s. And this performance coming from a $3k bike.
Anyway, here is the point: current road bikes are sluggish pigs due to weight burden of discs, and especially the heavy rims and tires. Plus the high-Q of the current cranksets are biomechanically inefficient, as are wide 142mm chainstays. But if you have to shove 13 cogs plus discs in the rear stays, then I guess you have to go wide in the rear. Plus thru-axles are an unnecessary PITA.
My $1,500 Allez with rim brakes allowed me to travel everywhere that the Defy did. It was also lighter and felt much more responsive.
Anyway, here is the point: current road bikes are sluggish pigs due to weight burden of discs, and especially the heavy rims and tires. Plus the high-Q of the current cranksets are biomechanically inefficient, as are wide 142mm chainstays. But if you have to shove 13 cogs plus discs in the rear stays, then I guess you have to go wide in the rear. Plus thru-axles are an unnecessary PITA.
My $1,500 Allez with rim brakes allowed me to travel everywhere that the Defy did. It was also lighter and felt much more responsive.
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02-29-20, 09:20 PM
#442
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That's quite a sweeping generalization, and without much merit, considering it's based your experience with one bike that had "porky heavy wheels." I hate to break it to you, but there are many, many disc brake road bikes that would make your Allez feel like a "sluggish pig."
It is time to buy my dream retirement bike after coming into some money. Walk into a shop and they invariably ask: "what is your budget?" I respond with: "14.00 pounds max including pedals". I have a couple of 16 pound bikes, and they are sweet indeed. But lighter is always better.
They then ask: "dollar budget?" I respond: 15. $1,500? No: $15,000. That gets their attention. I tell them I would be willing to expand my budget further if I can get external cable routing and a BSA threaded BB shell.
Nobody can deliver me a bike given these simple constraints. I would have bought a Trek Emonda SLR (rim brake version obviously), an added bonus being I could have decked it out with USPS cosmetics and colors. But, the weird BB standard kills the deal. Industry fail. Time to get online for some 800g Chinese carbon frames and 300g carbon tubular rims.
02-29-20, 09:40 PM
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02-29-20, 09:56 PM
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If every bike you've been on is sluggish, it's probably not the bikes... 
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02-29-20, 10:03 PM
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Nope: all disc-brake equipped road bikes are sluggish pigs. I've been shopping and test riding.
It is time to buy my dream retirement bike after coming into some money. Walk into a shop and they invariably ask: "what is your budget?" I respond with: "14.00 pounds max including pedals". I have a couple of 16 pound bikes, and they are sweet indeed. But lighter is always better.
They then ask: "dollar budget?" I respond: 15. $1,500? No: $15,000. That gets their attention. I tell them I would be willing to expand my budget further if I can get external cable routing and a BSA threaded BB shell.
Nobody can deliver me a bike given these simple constraints. I would have bought a Trek Emonda SLR (rim brake version obviously), an added bonus being I could have decked it out with USPS cosmetics and colors. But, the weird BB standard kills the deal. Industry fail. Time to get
online for some 800g Chinese carbon frames and 300g carbon tubular rims.
It is time to buy my dream retirement bike after coming into some money. Walk into a shop and they invariably ask: "what is your budget?" I respond with: "14.00 pounds max including pedals". I have a couple of 16 pound bikes, and they are sweet indeed. But lighter is always better.
They then ask: "dollar budget?" I respond: 15. $1,500? No: $15,000. That gets their attention. I tell them I would be willing to expand my budget further if I can get external cable routing and a BSA threaded BB shell.
Nobody can deliver me a bike given these simple constraints. I would have bought a Trek Emonda SLR (rim brake version obviously), an added bonus being I could have decked it out with USPS cosmetics and colors. But, the weird BB standard kills the deal. Industry fail. Time to get
online for some 800g Chinese carbon frames and 300g carbon tubular rims.
Plan A) walk in to random LBS and be a ****** to the employee unfortunate enough to greet you
Plan B) buy some cheap **** of unproven quality and questionable provenance online
Cool. Sounds legit.
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02-29-20, 10:11 PM
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Dude must not live where feral hogs are. Those things are anything but sluggish.
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02-29-20, 11:58 PM
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This thread has gone off the rails.. the topic was every new road bike has discs.
BTW: I've ridden the Defy Advanced. Carbon frame, discs and 105 components. 32mm (fat) tires. Anyway, the bike was around 20 pounds with porky heavy wheels, and it all rode like a farm tractor. I thought that the wide tires would make this bike super stable, but it was still sketchy above 20mph on the gravel in the Yukon. The crappy chip-seal roads were almost as jarring as riding on my other bike with 25s. And this performance coming from a $3k bike.
Anyway, here is the point: current road bikes are sluggish pigs due to weight burden of discs, and especially the heavy rims and tires. Plus the high-Q of the current cranksets are biomechanically inefficient, as are wide 142mm chainstays. But if you have to shove 13 cogs plus discs in the rear stays, then I guess you have to go wide in the rear. Plus thru-axles are an unnecessary PITA.
My $1,500 Allez with rim brakes allowed me to travel everywhere that the Defy did. It was also lighter and felt much more responsive.
BTW: I've ridden the Defy Advanced. Carbon frame, discs and 105 components. 32mm (fat) tires. Anyway, the bike was around 20 pounds with porky heavy wheels, and it all rode like a farm tractor. I thought that the wide tires would make this bike super stable, but it was still sketchy above 20mph on the gravel in the Yukon. The crappy chip-seal roads were almost as jarring as riding on my other bike with 25s. And this performance coming from a $3k bike.
Anyway, here is the point: current road bikes are sluggish pigs due to weight burden of discs, and especially the heavy rims and tires. Plus the high-Q of the current cranksets are biomechanically inefficient, as are wide 142mm chainstays. But if you have to shove 13 cogs plus discs in the rear stays, then I guess you have to go wide in the rear. Plus thru-axles are an unnecessary PITA.
My $1,500 Allez with rim brakes allowed me to travel everywhere that the Defy did. It was also lighter and felt much more responsive.
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03-01-20, 09:13 AM
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So you've got a specific set of requirements and a very healthy budget, but instead of contacting custom builders, you've got:
Plan A) walk in to random LBS and be a ****** to the employee unfortunate enough to greet you
Plan B) buy some cheap **** of unproven quality and questionable provenance online
Cool. Sounds legit.
Plan A) walk in to random LBS and be a ****** to the employee unfortunate enough to greet you
Plan B) buy some cheap **** of unproven quality and questionable provenance online
Cool. Sounds legit.
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