fietsbob

... what "Luddite" means...

Too late the Industrial Revolution & Capitalism. Won ..

Maelochs

"Smash the looms! We can stop progress by breaking it's product!"

Yes ... but the progress was intellectual and long since done. You are trying to stop people from planting fruit trees by smashing their excrement after they ate the fruit from the trees which have already matured and borne fruit.

"Logic means nothing! it is a tool of Progress! Smart is Evil"

Guess which side always seems to win.

fietsbob

19th century Inclosure Acts motivated a lot of people to cross the Seas to the States & Australia. by making their lives untenable..


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inclosure_Acts

Maelochs

Too lazy to look at a link ... that was when the village square was fenced, I think .... landowners made a major power grab, to turn all the independent farmers into tenant farmers, sharecroppers, in effect. Ah, Olde Egnland, the home of John Locke and burning witches ....

But let me point out ... even the richest landowners didn't get bikes with disc brakes.

bruce19

Justify? I'm not familiar with that word.

rnelson17

Thank you all for your thoughts and information. I posted on a cycling forum about buying a new bike so I expected most of these types of replies which i appreciate, but I knew that Dear Abby wouldn't know how bikes are better different now than they were in 2006. I enjoy riding, but i'm just a self-proclaimed weekend warrior. I don't read about or research bike stuff very much so without knowing about how bike tech has changed in the past dozen years, my question was an honest one: what would a new bike change about my riding experience? More comfortable? Easier climbing? Electronic and synchronous shifting seems like the best thing ever. Disc brakes sound meh, to me, mostly because I've always thought my caliper brakes work great already.


Now that I'm more than interested in a new bike, I'm wondering what models out there are good options for someone like me? For example, I casually looked at a Cannondale Synapse Disc Ultegra Di2 the other day as well as a Cervelo S3 Ultegra Di2. Both lightly used and both less than 2 years old, and both around $2k. Would either of these be comfortable for longer, non-racing, endurance type rides? With snow on the ground, test riding wasn't an option.

Maelochs

The Synapse is exactly the kind of bike you say you are looking for. The Cervelo is stiff and harsh but Very efficient.

I ride with several folks on disc Synapses (a couple also won a new Cervelo S3.) I have never heard a complaint about the Synapse ... or the Cervelo, The Cervelo is designed for speed and the Synapse for long relaxed rides.

DrIsotope

I test rode a 2017 Synapse. Zzzzzzzzzzzz. It was like a Honda Civic LX. Functional. But it absolutely did not speak to me on any level.

I wouldn't recommend any bike you haven't personally test ridden. I also test rode a CAAD12, and hated it within the first quarter mile. But lots of people like both the Synapse and the CAAD. That's the beauty of it-- we can all be right.

Maelochs

He has a point. The Synapse probably feels a bit lethargic, and the CAAD is probably harsh and twitchy. If that is what you seek ..... But you wouldn't want to find out After you had forked over the cash.

50PlusCycling

If we had to justify the purchases of all the things we own, we wouldn't own many things.

Maelochs

That's sort of the point ....

WalksOn2Wheels

I prefer to think that we're all wrong. That way when someone is ready to scream at me about how wrong I am, I can say, "Yeah? And?"

AKcyclist

Here's what you do. Ride your current bike for an entire year. Log your mileage. I assume you have a cyclocomputer.

At the end of the year total your miles. Now spend one dollar for every mile on your next bike. 2,000 miles is a lot of miles and you get a lot of bike for that.

Captain Insano

Do, or do not. There is no justify.

Artmo 

+1

Having said that, I have a 1957 Maclean Featherweight whose frame I had built for me in London when I was a lad, 62 years ago. Over the years, I have upgraded it,(STI, Shimano crankset, Ksyrium Elite wheels, etc) had it repainted and although I have other bikes, this one is still the most comfortable to ride. Maybe it's the nostalgic element!

Interestingly, at least to me, I recently lent my 2004 Trek 2300 to three different experienced riders for a few days each and they all commented on how comfortable and lively the bike is. I might even go back to riding it, when I'm not riding our tandem.

Koyote

If you don't buy the bike, what else would you do with the money? Figure that out, and then you'll know whether the bike -- or its alternative -- is the right choice.

Lscico

Hi. I'm in the same situation. Considering upgrading from my 2015 Trek Emonda carbon road bike. That frame was a replacement by Trek for a 2012 Madone I had that developed a crack in the frame.


I ride about 4-5K per year, all road. 30-100 mile rides, love to climb the hills around MA, NH, VT and average about 18'ish on most rides when I'm by myself. So that's my usage. I do my own maintenance and rebuilds. I only offer that up because even though I'm not the fastest guy or the guy pounding out the most miles I don't care. I love riding for many reasons and feel that alone deserves a nice bike. There are few ways to spend your pastime dollars that provide the lifestyle benefits and joy that cycling gives us. Live a little. But I guess that's up to you to decide for yourself.


I figure, though, if I'm going to spend 5K on a new bike I might make the jump to a bespoke from Independent Fabrication here in NH, or Seven Cycles in Boston. They are around the same price as a mid-range Trek carbon and custom built to order. Everyone I know who had a custom frame built loves it. And they don't ride near as much as I do. I went to Independent Fabrication a few weeks ago when I was by the coast and I was really impressed. I just walked in the door to check the place out and they spent 45 minutes just chatting with me about what I was interested in and then they gave me a tour around the shop. They were great.


Features I'm looking for are :

- 11 speed mechanical (I don't think electronic is worth the $$$. Again that's me)

- Though the axle wheels. It's a much better system.

- Disk brakes

- Ultegra seems to be the best bang for the buck. Love SRAM but too much $$$ and I think Shimano has more features.

- Titanium or maybe Steel. Not much difference in weight. A steel crown jewel Ultegra is a bit under 17 lbs they said


There are plenty of folks that will barf at the idea of giving up a carbon bike for a steel or titanium. But these modern metal bikes are not like the steel or titanium from 20 years ago (I know I still ride an '89 RB-1). And after working on the carbon bikes I'm not so sure they're going to hold up. Don't want to get into all that here but I think Carbon is awesome if you're riding competitive and have someone else buying and maintaining the bikes. For guys like me I want something that is going to last a long time and not worry about the issues w/ Carbon. Case in point: I changed my bearing set in the crank this month (I'm overhauling the Emonda). Took the crank off and the bearing set fell out of the BB. I took it to the local Trek rep who said that its normal for the carbon BB to stretch out over time and bearing changes. This time they put in oversized bearings (I had them do it). And he said about the 3rd bearing set change you need to send it back to Trek for them to rebuild the carbon in the BB. He told me they expect folks to change their bearings every 2-3 years and for Carbon bikes to last about 5 years or so. Its logical to me as the design saves weight and is within the expected lifespan of the bike. But for my purposes I'd gladly trade the 75 grams in BB weight to get something more robust.


There are plenty of options.

Food for thought . . . .

oldbear63

Here is one good justification for a new bike:
I liked my 13 year old LeMonde Reno, it rode well and let me keep up with my club. Then it wore out (wheel bearings, head set bearings, cracking rims, 17,000 miles etc.).

So I bought a new bike (a Fuji with hydraulic brakes and an Ultegra deraileur).

Then I found out what was wrong with my old bike!

The handlebars were too thin (26 mm) and the brake levers and hoods were painful. The stem was too long. The wheels weren't all that great.

My Fuji brake hoods feel wonderful. The correct stem size for me is 110 mm. 31 mm flat handlebars are heavenly on long rides.

After I bought a set of (used) racing wheels for my old LeMonde I found out what a snappy set of wheels really feels like!

There is one good reason to get a new bike: it may be much better than your old one and you won't know until you really give it a try!

HTupolev

26mm is a stem clamp diameter. It has nothing to do with the part of the bars that you hold with your hands. The diameter of the hand-grip area of a drop handlebar is generally 23.8mm, regardless of whether we're talking about 1980 or today. The "23.8mm" dimension was standardized so that people could clamp any brake lever to any bar.

The reason that people think modern drop bars are "thicker" is that modern handlebar tape is thicker. If you take an old handlebar and wrap it in modern cork tape, it's just as thick as a modern handlebar wrapped in cork tape.

oldbear63

My new bars are flattened across the top and feel fine after 3 hours on the bike. My old handlebars are now torture (and they were before).

But the brake levers/hoods are dramatically different too. What you interact with on the bike is the seat, pedals and handlebar/brakes. My new ones are dramatically more comfortable.

rnelson17

So I happened by a new 2018 Kestrel Legend SL dura ace tonight for less than $2500. I don't know anything about this bike and the dude working there knew less about bikes than me. Can anyone tell me about this bike? Comfort for endurance riding? Frame quality? Oval 723 wheelset?

Thanks

Maelochs

https://www.performancebike.com/shop...ace-18-31-8506
"The Legend SL is made from 800k high modulus carbon fiber. Kestrel's lightest carbon construction available. Kestrel's 800K carbon uses inner polyurethane molds in high-stress areas such as the BB shell and head tube to minimize wrinkles in the carbon layers for greater compaction and stiffness to ensure the lightest and strongest frame possible. The Legend fork uses an EPS foam mold to smooth and compact the carbon fibers -- similar to the 800K carbon -- to reduce weight yet increase rigidity, particularly in the fork crown. Its frame geometry is aggressive, with a low head tube and internal cable routing for improved aerodynamics; and the tapered head tube enhances lateral stiffness for excellent steering precision. It's designed to be stiff and efficient, agile, aggressive, while still being comfortable ride."
https://www.kestrelbicycles.com/bike...imano-dura-ace
15.01 lbs / 6.82 kg

rnelson17

I appreciate it but I don't put much stock in retailer and manufacturer product language, besides specs. I prefer and further trust consumer reviews and knowledge.

rumrunn6

is s-1 worth mentioning here?

Rule #12 The correct number of bikes to own is n+1. While the minimum number of bikes one should own is three, the correct number is n+1, where n is the number of bikes currently owned. This equation may also be re-written as s-1, where s is the number of bikes owned that would result in separation from your partner.

Maelochs

Right ... the crap is crap ... but the facts seem to indicate that the company uses the latest manufacturing techniques on this bike, and the weight is pretty much a fact ... though that is "showroom' weight for a small, no doubt. What i got from that is that this is a 15-lb bike made with modern techniques and with racy geometry.

When I read ads I automatically filter out all the adjectives and all the fiction. i forgot others might not do the same.

Kestrel has been around a good while---they don't make and sell their stuff off a website in China. I'd figure their frame is about the same as any other frame in the class. The components are all the same always.

Because kestrel is sort of low-volume, not sure there will be a lot of people here who own. But .. . you could get lucky.