Gresp15C

You've already succeeded.

bruce19

Most (all?) of the time we spend money to make ourselves happy., Be happy.

BakinaRakija

I just like to bring old neglected things back to life, and I consider these bikes more pleasant than new-new bikes.

Phil_gretz

Sometimes new bikes can bring a pleasant experience. I like to build one every couple of years or so, to complement the neglected older reborn ones...

This year's bike will be a track bike modified for road use. I expect it to be quite fabulous, but only the riding will tell.

UncleG

A new bicycle might motivate some to spruce up their garages and organize the tools.

ofajen

So, what is actually known and measured as far as the relationship between riding position and maximum output power? Obviously if speed is the priority, you need to balance maximum output with aerodynamic drag. But, in terms of simply optimal position for maximum power output, how do various positions compare?

Otto

thehammerdog

you will find yourself to be taller, more handsome and attractive to people who will all attempt to be your buddy.
​​​​woman will swoon and you will get huge raise.
some say hair becomes long. lush. thicker and bank account can never go below $50k.
​​​​​some say.

Sorg67

Nice!!

I will say that when I am out for a ride and say hello to attractive young ladies, I generally get a better response than in other settings. I guess with a helmet and sunglasses, they cannot tell I am a bald headed geezer.

I think the ship has sailed on the long lush hair though.

Eric F 

This is 100% accurate (for me).

Flip Flop Rider

you need a minimum of 2 bikes. one for wet conditions (with fenders), and one for dry. After that, maybe a trail bike for off road and a fixie for short rides

burnthesheep

I've seen really fit folks take their knobbie equipped gravel or cyclocross bikes (with requisite gearing) all the way up to the A ride. Just to sit in at a hard tempo/sweetspot the whole time for something different. One dude even showed up on his hardtail one night and kept up fine. He didn't ever pull, but made it perfectly fine. Just to show there the bike isn't mandatory to be one thing or another in different groups.

I'd say there are two practicalities to going to an endurance road bike over a t-bar hybrid. They're meant to be totally practical and nothing to do with anyone's abilities or anyone's fashion or cache'.

1. As groups get faster, if you ever choose to take a turn up front the wind you're working against on a drop bar is less than a hybrid. Unless you're okay altering how you hold your bars on a hybrid. The roadie is likely lower on the bars and narrower. Less wind to fight.

2. Often in faster groups, to save more energy, people ride a lot closer together front to back and even side to side. I don't think a hybrid set of bars in a tighter B group would annoy anybody at all. It would be fine, but there is the practical nature of hooking bars. The further a set of them sticks out, is worth paying attention to. Nothing mandatory, just something of taking note.

I don't see it mandatory at all what you ride so long as you can keep up, chat, and maybe even contribute. Ride what you wish in the group. Other than that, test ride a few! Have fun! The two things above are just things you might notice. Nothing exclusionary or mandatory.

Bald Paul

When you get a new, sleek bike, you'll notice an immediate jump in your rest stop FTP.

Sorg67

What is; "rest stop FTP"?

Bald Paul

It means when you're stopped, and standing by your sleek new bike at a rest stop, you'll look faster.

Sorg67

Gotcha. Yes, definitely I look much faster.

With my new shirt, I look even faster!

Princess_Allez

Sounds like you're already convinced. May I suggest a new Trek Emonda? It's great so far! It's everything you assume it would be, minus actually being light (SL trim).

Toespeas

as far as frame goes it will give you access to more modern tech , allowing the bike to be stiffer lighter and more efficient giving you more potential for higher performance , parts can be more hit or miss , but on bike shop bikes parts are usually the cheapest quality so they can make the largest profit !

when you do ask a question like this , you have to get more specific and state your budget , and intended uses , brand , and parts desired !

Sorg67

This is an old thread that came to life again when I reported my new bike experience. I bought a Specialized Diverge Sport Carbon in October of last year. Many of the comments were helpful in my decision. The biggest thing I learned is that speed and efficiency was not what I was looking for. I was looking for fun. I like varied terrain. The Gravel bike category made the most sense for me. Even though I spend most of my riding on road, the little bit of time I spend on dirt, grass and gravel make this bike worthwhile to me. I also like the resilience to debris in the road which is common in the bike lane. I hope to find some faster guys to ride with. It will be interesting to see how I manage. I feel like I am a bit faster on this bike than my hybrid, but it is really hard to measure. Accelerating from stops, riding into the wind and going up hill seem noticeably faster.

I think I will try some different tires. I have 38 x 700 all terrain tires. I would like to try some 28 x 700 smoother tread and some bigger tires with more aggressive tread and see if I notice much difference. I do not think I will notice much difference with the 28 x 700 in speed. I think I will notice a big difference with more aggressive tread in traction. There is a gravel loop I ride frequently that is a little sketchy on the existing tires. They slide a little around corners. I think I would be able to corner faster with a more aggressive tread. I think I will find that the existing tires are a good choice for the way I ride. They have a smooth strip down the middle which I expect rolls pretty efficiently going straight on road when fully inflated. The little bit of tread on the sides seems enough for other terrain without creating too much additional weight or wind resistance.

I suspect I would have enjoyed an endurance bike like Roubaix or Domane very much as well. Honestly, I think I have enjoyed every bicycle I have ever ridden. They all have their own charm. I road a friend's tri bike the other day. That was a cool bike. Not the right bike for me, but I enjoyed riding it. Perhaps one day, I will add a true road bike to the stable. For now, I am really grooving on the gravel bike.