bmike

I used to run my ti rando bike with conti '28s' at 90 psi, Nitto Noodles, Campy Ergo levers, etc, on some pretty sketch gravel and even trail.
I'm likely not the best person to comment on this.

(IF with 32s, for some dirt, road, singletrack, and bushwacking)


The drops are really comfy. I added some gel pads to tops, just behind the hoods, and from the inside bend on the drops out to the end. Really nice when it gets rough. I move off the hoods, tuck into the hooks, and your hands can relax a bit as the snuggle into the bend. I've been experimenting with loosening up my grip and letting my hands float.

I have had some pinky numbness on a 30minute single track descent - rocky, roots, switchbacks - but I think it had more to do with poor setup (didn't know the SRAM levers had adjustable reach!).

Would I want to ride technical single track on my Fargo all day? Probably not, as I miss my Soma Juice 29r for a pure MTB (Soma Odin bars, single or tringle speed, lighter, etc.)

But - for mixed terrain, the Fargo is sweet!

Speaking of Voodoos, a riding partner and I did a 68 mile road, dirt road, single track loop this Sunday. He was on his Voodoo. Really nice setup - carbon fork, Formula brakes, Shimano 8spd IGH... he races it this way too, and is planning to go Alfine 11.


Fargo and Voodoo by mbeganyi, on Flickr


Wil's Voodoo by mbeganyi, on Flickr


IMAG4125 by mbeganyi, on Flickr

We are both running WTB Vulpines, to put them through their paces. He's been getting back into racing, after destroying his collarbone coming down Smugglers notch on his road bike, and we are both aiming for Tour Divide in 013. The 29rs with the Vulpines roll surprisingly well on the road, and take the buzz out of the gravel and dirt. We hit some dirt that was smoother than the pavement, but quite a bit of it was washboard and loose. I descended a rough stretch at 38mph and felt really confident. He's been talking all about drops, and more so after this ride - but he likes his hydros for racing and power...

IchbinJay

That is one nasty ride!!! I love the stance and everything. What's the weight on that rig?


I could never get used to riding a cross bike off-road. I had a Bianchi Volpe for about a year and didn't like the way it handled--even on dirt roads. I'm doing the D2R2 next week so I'm starting to think more about my current setup. As is, I'm riding my Raleigh M80 with 1.50 hybrid tires. While it may be slow, it works better than my Jamis road bike. If this ride goes well, I'd like to do more dirt road type rides.

bmike

26 lbs, and it's for a big guy. Im 5'8 and can tip toe on the pedals.

D2R2 is a fun ride. I put on a paved, dirt, gravel 114k and 200k here in VT Oct. 1. Love the dirt roads.

Those vulpines roll as nicely as cross tires. If you can fit em, they'd likely roll better than a hybrid tire.

CitizenChain

My Baby... got it in 1983 paid for from the lawsuit. I was hit by this... Beeech at "Butchers Corner" in Sunnyvale.

Did 10 Davis Double's and a whole lot of Centuries in the 80's and 90's. Bike just got repainted by Brian Baylis.

OldsCOOL

Just rode my first century two days ago so I guess I can now qualify for a picture here

My Trek 460.....

IchbinJay

I'll keep that in mind. Depending how D2R2 goes I'd love to do other rides. Does your Oct. 1 ride have any website or any other info?

Mardmakarm

149 km with Kona Sutra and Alfine 8.(39T-18T)



Heavy rain and hot like hell weather, but very fun!

IbisTouche

This year we have done our first SR serie. Made an attempt at PBP Audax, and at PBP Randonneur - which both failed. We will concentrate on 200, 300, 400 and 600 in the nearest time, but with more hills than we did on our SR serie this year.

We have two Ibis Touche from 1994 - bought second hand, and a Comotion Speedster Copilot from 2011. We also have an old Motobecane tandem I still dream to make into a double singlespeed wintertrainer...
We used standard tyres on PBP Audax (Continental Gatorskin 28 mm) and learned that we have to use 32 mm or larger to make them last through French towns in rainy nights over disturbed tarmac... I even think about building 650B wheels with disc brakes to use fx 40 mm tyres, for a winter project.
Carsten & Dorte
Helsingør - Denmark

reueladhikari

Did 154km last weekend & 160km yesterday. The 1.65kg U-lock was left at home. :-)

WMBIGS

This is my current ride. Cannondale Synapse alloy.
Currently at 6 100+ mile rides. Had a rear flat and in putting in new tube noticed the tire getting awful thin. Tire lasted about 1800 miles. Really need to find another saddle. Brooks pro. Have another I may cut a slot down the middle.

Zermatt7

nice looking bike !

Zermatt7

nice looking bike !

Zermatt7

Cool looking bike !

Zermatt7

nice looking bike !

zoolpsu

Century Ti


Fantom Cross

Barrettscv 

Pedal Force CG2

I’m a self-admitted Gear Geek who is guilty of overanalyzing his cycling equipment. I’m also cheap and independent, never too concerned with what the trends are today. I do like contemporary cycling technology and understand that today’s gear offers a lot of performance. I’ll visit a retail cycling showroom and find almost nothing for me. I’m not super-tall at 6’, but due to a lanky build and a preference for a more stretched-out “French-fit,” I never seem find a bike that meets my requirements in stock.

Most of my riding is longer distance fitness riding. I ride solo about 50% of the time. My fitness level has progressed to the point that I can ride in the faster groups with younger riders, some of whom race. I don’t dominate the pull, but I can hang-on. I have a need for speed and want to improve my hill climbing skills. So I’ve been looking at sourcing the items needed for a complete road-bike that would fit this kind of riding better than my do-it-all CX bike.

The availability of an advanced, second generation, road bike frame from Pedal Force caught my interest. The CG2 frame is available with a virtual top-tube size of 590mm with a head-tube length of 210mm. I also wanted a very stiff head-tube, down-tube and chain-stay design. The asymmetrical head-tube with a 1 1/8 upper headset bearing and a 1 ¼ lower headset bearing would improve stiffness compared to a symmetrical 1 1/8 headset head-tube. The fork was all carbon fiber, including the steering tube. The frame featured internal cabling for the derailleurs and rear brake. A BB30 bottom bracket shell is included.
















Test results: Fit, Ride, handling and acceleration.

Even though it is a little difficult to remain perfectly objective during the honeymoon period with a new bike, some impressions are forming.

First impression is that this bike is different from other bikes I have owned. It fits more like a sports bike than my prior road bikes. The taller head-tube and the size 60cm seat-tube keeps the handlebar and saddle a moderate distance from the top tube. My prior road bikes had that short-wheelbase feel and always needed a well extended seat-post and an angled stem with a few spacers to fit well. I always felt that distance between me and the frame and never got adjusted to that kind of fit. I feel perfectly balanced on the new bike and I like the sports bike fit far more than the road-race fit. The second impression is that the bike feels a little unexciting at lower speeds but becomes much more veracious as speed and effort increases. My prior bikes felt very good at moderate speeds and were good partners on century rides, but were a little unsupportive of faster, high-effort cycling. The CG2 is going to be my fast fitness bike for group rides and will be asked to help me stay below 6 hours while completing century rides. I continue to think that it will do very well in that role.

Let’s talk about handling, ride and acceleration. It will be a while before I can comment on climbing and descending, I’ll have to write a post-script after some hill work with the bike.

Like the fit, he handling is more sports bike than road-race bike. There is nothing on the geometry sheet to indicate relaxed handling, but that is my impression at this point. It might be the longer wheelbase that comes with a size 60cm frame, or the geometry of the fork, but the bike has on-rails stability at all speeds. At speeds below 15 mph it doesn’t feel very lively. It doesn’t do anything bad at lower speeds or in tight spaces. However this is not a criterium racer or an agile city streets bike. It will make any turn at any reasonable speed, but it would rather go straight and fast and is less responsive feeling in tighter spaces and lower speeds than my CX bike or prior road bikes.

The ride quality is what I expected, firm but never jarring. One of the advantages of a bike that fits well and has comfortable contact points (seat, handlebar and shoes) is that a firmer ride can be comfortable. It also helps to have large enough tires at moderate air pressure. Finally, the wheel-set can improve the ride, my 32 spoke Velocity A23 wheel-set is comfort oriented and the ride benefits from a 23mm wide rim. I’m using 700x23 front and 700x25 rear tires at 100 and 110 psi. The tires are Continental Gatorskins which are stiffer than some tires in this size.

The frame has a firmer ride quality than my steel and prior titanium bikes. Steel bikes do feel supple and springy, in a way that can be good, but is also unwanted at times. The Titanium bike feels very supple and extra plush, but a bigger rider on a large frame will feel some unwanted flex too. The CG2 feels firmer than steel or titanium, with no unwanted flex. There is filtered road feel that is busier than steel or titanium, but this does not cause me any discomfort. The bike felt supple enough on the badly cratered and insufficiently repaired streets that are everywhere in my area. Sharper surface features, like frost heaves or broken concrete are felt, but the worst of it is filtered. Stiff riding, but filtered, is the best way for me to summarize the ride quality.

I will add that the sounds coming off the frame are more prominent than with my prior bikes. The sounds are all normal, including gear shifts and some rattling from the chain & cables. No groaning or creaking. The BB30 shell and adapter are silent, this was a worry.

Acceleration has been thrilling. Part of this is without-a-doubt a placebo effect, new bikes are great for motivation. However, part of my improved ability to accelerate and hold speed is the frame. Yesterday I rode with my speed oriented riding friend. He is a 25 year old Ironman participant on a Look TT bike. He never drops below 19 mph on our pancake flat route and can hold 23 mph for hours without drafting. I normally stay on his wheel and hang on for dear life. He was very complimentary of the improvements. He said my cadence looked smoother, faster and that my power output was more efficient. At one point he said “Now we are side by side holding a conversation at 20 mph, normally we you would be behind me…”

The bike does provide a better response to my effort. I used to hold a narrow cadence range from 90 to 100 rpm, shift often and lose and gain speed with any change in slope. Now I find myself holding speed, shifting less and feeling better power output at higher or lower cadence.

I’m beginning to wonder if I’ll ever go back to steel or titanium.

Homeyba

Probably ought to wait till you do your first really long ride before your decide. You're the first person that I know of who has bought a Pedal Force. I'm looking forward to a long term report. Sounds like you have yourself a very nice ride so far!

HardyWeinberg

After yesterday's 100-miler; pudgier tires, fenders, lights, and gears all added since July's century.

qmsdc15

My first century was this spring on The Silver Comet.


Since then I've done four more century rides, the longest was 198 miles on this Cannondale hybrid.


I did a century that included 85 miles on the C&O Canal towpath on Orca, a 35 pound hardtail killer whale.

qmsdc15

Wildcat, great pics, sweet ride! I haven't read the text yet, long post, short attention span. Telerod

Barrettscv 

It is a bit of a ramble. I need a CliffsNotes summary for my skiing friends. ;-)

hiyer1

I'm not seeing too many carbon racing bikes on here, are those not good for long distances? Because I'm considering purchasing a high end one but would also like to do centuries at some point (longest as of now was a half century, no break).

Homeyba

You can absolutely do long distances on a carbon bike. I prefer them, especially for ultra distance racing. If you go to any 500+ mile long race nearly everyone is on a CF bike. Most importantly, buy something that fits and will meet the needs of what you want to do with it. If that's a high end carbon bike go for it!

Six jours

Every July a couple of hundred folks get together in France and do three weeks of back-to-back centuries on carbon race bikes. Seems to work for them...

But recreational centuries are a great place for other kinds of bikes too, which is why you see such variety on this thread.

davemd1820

Here is my brand new Waterford RS-14. So far, I have completed a Metric Century on this bike. Later this month, I will complete my R-12. Next Spring, I will try for a Series.