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Carbon fiber randonneurs?

Old 06-20-07, 10:29 AM
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oboeguy
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Carbon fiber randonneurs?

It's new bike time for me, and apparently there are some carbon fiber frames in my price range (certainly some with carbon bits like chain or seat stays and fork, of course). Any randonneurs out there roll on carbon?? I'm not *too* concerned with a lack of eyelets b/c I don't have plans to do anything more than a 400k in the near future so a seat-post clamped rack would be OK, no?
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Old 06-20-07, 10:33 AM
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I've seen plenty of carbon fiber on brevets.
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Old 06-20-07, 11:40 AM
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I'm a retrogrouch, but carbon does work. The only serious improvement with a carbon bike, though, is weight, and you have to ask yourself whether that's worth the trade-offs (lack of eyelets, few if any "rando-specific" geometries, probable lack of clearance for wide tires) for you. If so, I don't see any real reasons not to go for it.
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Old 06-20-07, 05:18 PM
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My Trek 5200 makes a great rando bike, I think. Stiff for good power transfer, yet it soaks up the chipseal. But every frame is different. I use a Detours seatpost rack pack. Have to have an aluminum seatpost for that sort of thing.
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Old 06-20-07, 06:20 PM
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Thanks! I'm actively shopping ATM so I'll keep CF on the list.

A propos, what would qualify as "rando-specific geometries"?
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Old 06-20-07, 06:35 PM
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Depending on size, roughly 73 front, 72 rear, longish chainstays, and plenty of fork rake. The Specialized Roubaix comes close to this, I believe, but still doesn't include room for especially wide tires, AFAIK.

There may be some carbon cyclocross bikes that are quite suitable, but I'll admit to being out of that loop. Way, way out.

Were I on a budget, I'd strongly consider the REI bikes, the Novarra touring and randonneur bikes in particular. Were I on a super tight budget, I'd be searching for an 80s "sport-touring" frameset which is really pretty close to an old French rando frame.
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Old 06-20-07, 10:51 PM
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I ride an all carbon, no fork rake, Giant TCR Comp1 on all my brevets. Done 400s and 600s on it. Also a 1000 and a 1200. I'll take the bike to PBP. I love it. It's light, it turns on a dime, and it fits me perfectly.

I am a novelty out there. Never seen another TCR on a long brevet (seen 'em on 200s and 300s), but you do see them in ultra races. I've seen some Trek 5200s roll in randonneuring events, but again, only on the shorter rides.

I've ridden with a seatpost rack in the past (including my one 1200K), but that's been replaced by an equally voluminous Caradice Super C pack (which affixes as well to my Selle Italia Flite as it does to the Brooks saddles that it was designed to accompany).

As for durability? No problems yet. (I did break a stem bolt on a 400K once; 2-bolt stems are not recommended for randonneuring! Finished the ride of course. Steering with the stem (only 8 miles from the finish; couldn't extract sheered bolt with anything other than vise grips, which were in short supply in the Ohio countryside at 1am.)

I'll get another invite to join the Dick Head idiot club for saying it, but I think a good rando-appropriate bike is whatever you want it to be. Yes, to each his or her own.... Pick something you like to ride that fits you well and go with it. That said, I don't recommend my bike to others. Or my 11x23 gearing (with a 53/39 up front). Or my preference for light travel. But it all works for me. And I'm just as a much a randonneur as all you granola-munchin' guys with your down-tube shifters! See ya in Paris!
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Old 06-20-07, 10:57 PM
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From what I've seen, you can ride damn near anything in a brevet. I'd bet the vast majority of bikes in brevets are not rando-specific. For my money, I want a bike that's going to go straight when I'm wasted. "Turns on a dime" is not what I want when I'm seeing things and trying to remember my own name. Other people -- many other people, by the look of it -- don't care so much. C'est la vie.
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Old 06-20-07, 11:10 PM
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Originally Posted by Six jours
From what I've seen, you can ride damn near anything in a brevet. I'd bet the vast majority of bikes in brevets are not rando-specific. For my money, I want a bike that's going to go straight when I'm wasted. "Turns on a dime" is not what I want when I'm seeing things and trying to remember my own name. Other people -- many other people, by the look of it -- don't care so much. C'est la vie.
Like I said: I don't and haven't recommended, and am not here recommending, my bike or my style of randonneuring to anyone else. I'm just saying that you see a lot of stuff out there and there aren't any "right" answers to bikes, gear, etc. You even see a nut like me out there. Having fun. With a big smile. Turning on lots of dimes. If you like carbon, then ride carbon. And don't let the grouches who will poo-poo your bike and openly make fun of you at events (yes, this happens with sad frequency -- we're every bit as snotty and elitist here in the randonneuring community as the USCF racers are) tell you what you should or shouldn't ride.

Note: Six jours, I'm not saying this is you here-- I think we agree that folks can and do ride anything!
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Old 06-21-07, 06:27 AM
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Originally Posted by The Octopus
I ride an all carbon, no fork rake, Giant TCR Comp1 on all my brevets. Done 400s and 600s on it. Also a 1000 and a 1200. I'll take the bike to PBP. I love it. It's light, it turns on a dime, and it fits me perfectly.
Your fork has rake, even if it's a straight bladed fork the blades are at a different angle than the head tube which creates rake. Track bike's have 30-40mm rake which puts the front tire millimeters from the downtube.

You're right though, anything you're comfortable on for hours and hours and hours and hours...
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Old 06-21-07, 06:51 AM
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you want one of these:

https://ifbikes.com/frames2/xs-lg.shtml
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Old 06-21-07, 07:15 AM
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I rode a steel / carbon LeMond last year.
Worked great, except for the clip on fenders which sucked in the rain, and no real place to hook up lights (I used knobs on the fork), no real place to attach a rack (for the 400 and the 600, but I made a Tubus work OK), and no clearance for tires larger than 25mm - and this was a huge benefit when I got my new frame - what a difference in comfort wider tires can make!

I think if carbon bikes came with some options for creature comforts I'd be more into them... but most seem set up for fair weather, racer type riding...

The bike worked perfectly fine. I was comfortable as I could be on that frame (the geometry changed on
my new ride and I'm more comfortable now...)

YMMV

Ride what you love, love what you ride, but for long rides make sure its comfortable.

I get laughed at when I roll up to group rides with my Carradice, fenders, and lights still mounted - but I ride like I ride - no sense in changing the bike around for each ride... I'm comfortable, and I always have the same gear with me... and it means I can take the long way home if I feel like it.
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Old 06-21-07, 10:49 AM
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I'm all in favor of the Octopuses' view: Whatever works for you on a brevet is a randonneuring bike. So far this year, I've ridden 11 brevets (including a fleche) on five different bikes (main rando bike; then after its frame broke, I rode a borrowed C'dale touring bike; then I got a new main rando bike, a Rivendell Rambouillet; then I rebuilt a Trek 400 w/Reynolds 531 and rode it on a 300; and I rode with a friend on a tandem). Main thing that matters is to make sure that the geometry of the contact points is identical.

I see quite a few people riding bikes with carbon fiber bits on brevets. Personally, I have some concerns about the longevity of those bikes. I like metals that have long fatigue lives and tend not to have sudden failures. Steel frames (after my aluminum frame cracked) and aluminum parts. Maybe titanium if I had the money.

On the DC Randonneurs 600K, this year, someone with a carbon seat post had the seat post snap at about the 250K point. FWIW, he had a Carradice bag on a Bagman. Looking at our results page, it looks like he DNF'd.

I've never seen an aluminum seat post snap, and I don't think a carbon seatpost saves more than a few grams. Supposedly they're a little more comfortable, but that hardly seems worth it if they snap. You can always run fatter tires for extra comfort, and if they're good tires then they should be just about as fast as narrower tires.

But if you're buying a bike primarily for shorter, club rides, and only for occasional (and maybe shorter) brevets, then CF might be optimal for the club rides and work perfectly fine for the brevets you ride.
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Old 06-21-07, 12:22 PM
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Oh, I certainly don't mean to imply that one is "wrong" for choosing one bike over another for randonneuring; just that personal preference reigns supreme. Personally, any advantages that carbon has are, for me, outweighed by the limited and possibly non-existent choices about "braze-ons", geometry, tire clearance, etc.

For other folks, a carbon race frame may be just the ticket. They can even put on double disks and a rubberized skinsuit, if they want.
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Old 06-21-07, 01:29 PM
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Jeff Oatley, placed 7th in RAAM this year, on an all-carbon Orbea Orca.... I believe the geometry is road racing; definitely not touring or randonneuring.



Edit:

Oh by the way, don't forget that a lot of bikes of all sorts have CF seatposts. You might want a metal one if you're going to clamp a rack onto it.

And why not use that Dahon Speed Pro you used to love?!?
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Old 06-21-07, 01:41 PM
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Originally Posted by Bacciagalupe
Jeff Oatley, placed 7th in RAAM this year, on an all-carbon Orbea Orca.... I believe the geometry is road racing; definitely not touring or randonneuring.



Edit:

Oh by the way, don't forget that a lot of bikes of all sorts have CF seatposts. You might want a metal one if you're going to clamp a rack onto it.

And why not use that Dahon Speed Pro you used to love?!?

Again, totally cool if thats what you are into.
Jeff probably had a support car full of wheels, meals, and whatever else he needed following him around.
Much different than most randonneurs heading off into the night between controls at mini marts in sometimes rural country.

CF can make a perfectly great bike... perfectly great for rando if you like what most CF bikes offer.
I think its critical to get the fit right, then make sure that the components are comfy for the long haul.
What feels great for a 60 mile club ride or even a century may not feel so great after 400k.

We also tend to over analyze all things bicycles. (I know I do...)
Borrowing the words of a former secretary of defense "You go to a brevet with the bike you've got."
If the body armor starts failing after 300k... you know you have some things to work on.
Try to adapt the machine to the body, not the other way round.
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Old 06-21-07, 01:54 PM
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Originally Posted by Bacciagalupe
Jeff Oatley, placed 7th in RAAM this year, on an all-carbon Orbea Orca.... I believe the geometry is road racing; definitely not touring or randonneuring.

Edit:

Oh by the way, don't forget that a lot of bikes of all sorts have CF seatposts. You might want a metal one if you're going to clamp a rack onto it.

And why not use that Dahon Speed Pro you used to love?!?
personally I like the style of John Spurgeon - custom Vanilla frame, and single speeding RAAM.
I think he's probably the only rider in the history of the race to sport fenders... (and it looks like a homemade cloroplast job at that)

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Old 06-21-07, 06:26 PM
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Originally Posted by bmike
personally I like the style of John Spurgeon - custom Vanilla frame, and single speeding RAAM.
I think he's probably the only rider in the history of the race to sport fenders... (and it looks like a homemade cloroplast job at that)
RAAM on a singlespeed? I can't even ride to work and back without changing gears :-)
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Old 06-21-07, 06:55 PM
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So I made it Bicycle Renaissance today and sat on the Orbea Onix and Felt F4. I couldn't test ride b/c I got out of work too late and barely made it to the shop before closing! It appears that I'm a 54 in Orbea and 56 in Felt. I'm still looking for a place I can try a 54 Cervelo Soloist Team.
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Old 06-21-07, 07:37 PM
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Originally Posted by bmike
personally I like the style of John Spurgeon - custom Vanilla frame, and single speeding RAAM.
I think he's probably the only rider in the history of the race to sport fenders... (and it looks like a homemade cloroplast job at that)

That bike that John is on was built by Ira Ryan cycles. His flat land maching is the Ira and his climbing bike is the Vanilla.
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Old 06-21-07, 08:18 PM
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Originally Posted by sacha white
That bike that John is on was built by Ira Ryan cycles. His flat land maching is the Ira and his climbing bike is the Vanilla.
Sorry!
You are correct.
I should have noticed the logo...
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Old 06-21-07, 10:05 PM
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Plastic bikes

I just finished a 1000k this weekend on my main Randonneuring bike, a Trek Pilot 5.2. I've done a series on it and the Cascade 1200. It' got eyelets for fenders, which I do run most of the time here in the Northwet. I've also ridden several of the shorter brevets (100,200,300k) on my Trek 5500. For hauling stuff, I carry a Jandd Large seat bag. Typically, it weighs less than 10lbs and I don't need to add any rack for it (and the extra weight).

Don't let anyone give you too bad of time if you ride plastic, Jan Heine Gives me a bad time about my plastic bikes, but he'll grab it's wheel just the same.

I've ridden steel in the past, but prefer my carbon. Ride whatever you like and feel confortable on.

Brian
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Old 06-22-07, 12:23 AM
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Originally Posted by bmike
Sorry!
You are correct.
I should have noticed the logo...
No worries, at all.

credit where credit is due and all...
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Old 06-22-07, 09:33 PM
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Brian O, what is the tire clearance on that frame. With fenders also if you know.

Thanks
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Old 06-22-07, 11:50 PM
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Tire Clearance

I've only run 25mm Pro 2 Race tires with the fenders, and there is plenty of clearance around them. I don't have anything larger to try, but I would guess that most 28's wouldn't have a problem but anything larger might.
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