juan427

I started cycling over 20 years ago on a Trek 1220. Took about 20 years off and started riding again this summer. I soon longed for a more modern bike so I bought a brand new 2013 Focus Ergoride 3.0. Carbon frame and Ultegra components and it doesn't feel much better than my old Trek. Is there like a break in period or could it be the tech that assembled it?

shelbyfv

That's too bad. Must be hard to swallow that expense for no return.

hueyhoolihan

IME, not too surprising. i regularly ride a 38 year old frameset and components and one that's 36 years old. i alternate them with a couple of new CF bikes, and a couple of new aluminum bikes. in total about 7-8000 miles per year. not all that much difference really.

Silvercivic27

Ride it for a month, then get back on the Trek, and then see how you feel about it.

johnyguy

What do you mean brake in period is this a joke ? You get very nice ultegra components it should be a smooth ride its not an electric bike right?

silversx80

Honestly, unless you have recent saddle time of thousands of miles, you're probably not going to be able to tell the subtle differences in many bikes, materials, and components. Those differences are only impressive, IMHO, once you start to worry about marginal gains.

ShortLegCyclist

Did you look at and test ride other bikes before making that purchase? If the new bike doesn't fit you better than the old, there's no reason to expect the ride to be better. Fit is much more important than frame material or component level.

Having said that, I came off a 14 year old Trek 2200 and a long hiatus where I hardly ever rode, and after a LOT of test riding and looking at options and buying various other bikes, I now have a Moots titanium bike that is an order of magnitude more enjoyable. No more back or neck pain and no more numb left hand 20 minutes into every ride... in fact no numbness anywhere even after four to six hours in the saddle, and that's all IMO due to better, semi-custom fit versus my off the rack Trek from 2001... and of course geometry more suitable to me now that I'm nearly 50, endurance geometry versus the 2200's slammed stem and short head tube.

It wasn't custom fit but about as close as you can come to that as they have seven or eight stock frame sizes.

If the fit of the new bike isn't perfect, then don't give up, that can be sometimes tweaked, might be worth a professional fitting if not already done.

jischr

Take your old bike out for 15 mile ride on crap to decent road/trails. Jump off and ride your new bike on the same course. I suspect the carbon will transmit about half the impacts your old bike does. On short rides it takes a big hit to notice the difference. Go on a century and its pretty evident as the miles build up and bod gets tired.

Inpd

Maybe its feels the same since the geometry is similar? I know that when I swap between my endurance road bike and a more sporty geometry it feels really different.

StanSeven

I don't appreciate a new and better bike fully until months later. If I just ride the new bike for a month and switch back as noted, you'll feel the difference. Do that again after six months, and the difference will be really noticable. Of course that's assuming the new bike fits right.

rms13

What exactly is wrong with it?

Lazyass

Yeah, I was kind of wondering that myself. Break in period to feel better?

Maelochs

There is a break-in period---it takes some time to break in the rider of a new bike.

What they say about a few months might be valid. A lot of times we expect so much when we make a big purchase, in the back of our minds fear that it isn't a wise purchase, hope for so much from the purchase, and fear a little that we won't get it, that we really cannot appreciate the thing for itself, beyond our own attachments to it, until we live with it, accept it, and learn about what it is in itself.

Take it by the local LBS (a different one if that's where it was assembled) and make sure it is fit as perfectly as possible to your build and style.

Also ... if you haven't ridden for 20 years ... probably most of what you are feeling is the awkwardness and discomfort of perching on a tiny saddle on skinny wheels three feet in the air and then abusing you heart, lungs, and muscles trying to move forward.

Probably you native fitness and flexibility levels were higher 20 years ago (just guessing of course.)

From this review (Trek 1200 Road Bike Reviews - RoadbikeReview.com) and this site (1993 Trek 1200 - BikePedia) it says a 1993 Trek 1200 has an Easton frame and cromoly fork, Shimano components mostly. User reviews talks about light, durable and comfortable. Frame is reputed to weigh 2.5 lbs. Weight is listed at 22.6 lbs.

This guy restored one (John's Bicycle Restorations: 1993 Trek 1200 Restoration) and called Trek frames from this era “the only aluminum frames I really like.”

Seems you got a really good bike way back when.

The Focus is described as being really smooth-riding, and only weighs 18 lbs, according to BikeRadar. (Focus Izalco Ergoride 2.0 review - BikeRadar) From all I could find online, it seems you made a good choice.

Like the folks say above, once you start riding several hours, the carbon bike will show its strengths, or rather is compliance. On short rides, you have two fine bikes and both are going to serve you well. Four pounds weight is significant, though, and if you ride up a lot of hills you might notice that, depending on your fitness level (if it were me I’d be in so much pain it wouldn’t matter how much the bike weighed.)

Post back in six months and I bet you really appreciate both bikes and are glad to own both of them.

juan427

I cannot say specifically what's wrong, but since this bike is 3 times price and 22 years newer, I thought it would be like going from Honda Accord to a Lexus. Not like going from a Accord to an Accord SE.
I will go get fitted which is something I should do any way.
Thanks for all the replies. Especially about riding Trek after a few weeks on the new bike.

quicktrigger

IMO, you spend that much more on a bike, then you better feel a major difference IMMEDIATELY. Non of this give it a few weeks stuff. Otherwise, its wasted money. Just what did you pay for, other than image. I can easily tell the difference between my hybrid, roadies, and Mt bike.

Maelochs

And maybe, if this guy had been riding for the past 20 years, he would notice all the benefits of a bike which is much more compliant, weighs four pounds less, and has 11-speed Ultegra instead of 7-speed RX-100.

I have seen TV show segments where a decently skilled test driver got into an F1 car and couldn't drive it. First he stalled it repeatedly, then when he got it going he couldn't get it going fast enough to build up enough tire temp to get traction, and also wasn't fast enough to generate enough downforce to generate traction and help heat up the tires. Therefore he couldn't get enough heat into the brakes to get the car to stop.

Basically he was slower around a track in one of the fastest cars in the world than he was in a box-stock Ford Focus.

Sometimes we simply lack the understanding of why a thing is better, or cannot utilize it in such a way as to experience the improvements. He will probably come to see the strengths of his new ride, which you, with your greater experience Would see immediately.

Please see above where I noted, "A lot of times we expect so much when we make a big purchase, in the back of our minds fear that it isn't a wise purchase, hope for so much from the purchase, and fear a little that we won't get it, that we really cannot appreciate the thing for itself, beyond our own attachments to it, until we live with it, accept it, and learn about what it is in itself."

We often cannot see what we are looking for because we are both looking so hard, and a little afraid we won't see it.

So, in this case it really does make sense that he might need some time to see what he has purchased.

Maybe in a few months he will sell you his old Trek.

cale

Take it back if you don't like it. Geez, you bought a really nice bike. Could it be that you were expecting to ride like you were 20-years younger too?

woodcraft

Are the tires decent?

Good tires arguably make more difference to ride quality than anything else.

dtrain

yeah, turns out you still have to pedal the darn things.

JHaldane

How many miles have you put on your old aluminum bike when you started riding again this summer? What kind of surface do you ride on? Hills? Fast corners?

If you only ride flat land on smooth roads, I could see you not feeling much of a difference between the two bikes if they are pretty much the same geometry. This summer I went from a 2012 Trek 2.1 to a brand new 2016 Trek Domane 5.9 and could tell a huge difference between the aluminum frame and the carbon frame. The new carbon bike felt much more "lively" and felt like it reacted much quicker to inputs to change direction. While pedaling it felt much more efficient at transferring the torque from the crank to the rear wheel.

I have never ridden a Focus and there isn't much in the way of dealers around me, so I cannot compare them to anything else.

kingfishr

Drink the Kool-Aid before every ride and soon you too will believe that something revolutionary happens to bicycles every couple of years.

redfooj

dont let out the secret that bikes dont do anything for a rider

your new one is supposed to be laterally more stiff yet vertically more complaint for a plush magic carpet ride that also jumps from under the saddle

Silvercivic27

Maybe not revolutionary, but they are better. Just like cars. In 5 years, cars get a lot better. Is it revolutionary? No. They don't fly like back to the future, they still have 4 wheels and a steering wheel, but almost everything is better. Is it revolutionary? No, but it is definitely better.

Up North

Sorry, but that Lexus feeling you want costs another $10k.

RollCNY

It is exactly like going from a Honda to a Lexus, because there is no practical difference between the two. The only differences are subjective, just like with bicycles.