WDB
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Post by WDB on Aug 22, 2018 13:00:56 GMT
Still waiting for numbers from our insurer, who may insist on sourcing replacements directly.
Boy1 has seen one he likes - a Cannondale CAADX 105 SE at an end-of-season price. He’s the smallest of us, so the easiest to please in terms of size. Larger frame sizes tend to be full price or out of stock.
I’ve been reading about gravel bikes, though, and I’m pretty sure that’s the style of thing I want: faster on tarmac than my old one, but still capable and comfortable on the unmade roads we like to ride.
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WDB
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Post by WDB on Aug 24, 2018 13:09:15 GMT
Incidentally, I’ve been surprised at the number of steel-framed bikes still out there, even in the fairly athletic category I’m looking at. The Pelago is steel, as is the Croix de Fer that my now-defunct local bike shop recommended last year. And they don’t seem horrifically heavy, at least relative to my old 12.5kg Cannondale. Is this pure retro cussedness and progress-denial, or are there hidden advantages to steel?
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Post by Humph on Aug 24, 2018 13:22:50 GMT
A steel bike won't snap it's frame as easily as an aluminium or carbon one in extremis. Some prefer steel because it has a little natural flex. There is a weight disadvantage but that is far more controllable by regulating pie consumption.
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WDB
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Post by WDB on Aug 24, 2018 13:54:35 GMT
Does that mean saving the pie till after the ride?
I discovered in Alsace that you can get pies there too. A lovely thing called a Tourte au Riesling, containing chunks of pork slow-cooked in white wine. And every butcher or market-stallholder has his own version. Worth a cycle tour to try them all.
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WDB
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Post by WDB on Aug 27, 2018 14:07:07 GMT
Got the settlement offer last thing on Friday. At the moment, it's in the form of vouchers from Wheelies - although there's nothing in my contract of insurance that says I can't insist on cash. (Turns our Wheelies is owned by Halfords, and deals mainly with insurers like mine and employers' Cycle-to-Wotk schemes.) Decent offer, though, including £700 to replace my 21-year-old Cannondale. Anyway, Boy1 is away on a D of E trip, but Boy2 likes the look of this: www.cube.eu/en/2019/bikes/mountainbike/hardtail/aim/cube-aim-sl-pinetreenflashyellow-2019/(Although he prefers the boring grey one to the seventiestastic blue-green.) Cubes seem to have a better choice of big frames than either Specialized or Cannondale. He's 6'4", and likely to add a bit to that, so getting the size right now is the most important consideration.
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Post by Humph on Aug 27, 2018 16:27:42 GMT
Looks a'reet. He might want a wider handlebar if he's a big lad. 68cm is quite narrow by modern standards. If it was me I'd put a 72cm bar on. Opens the chest better anyway, helps breathing when climbing, and if he's broad shouldered he'll just be more comfortable.
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WDB
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Post by WDB on Aug 28, 2018 10:07:42 GMT
Interesting that you should mention handlebars, as one of the differences between the 2014 and 2015 versions of the Studio 74 that the boys had was that the 2015 had dramatically wider handlebars. The shop commented on this when we collected Boy2's 2015 bike, and offered to cut them down if he found them too wide, but he decided he liked them that way. It just meant that we had to be more careful getting the bike through the gate to the back garden.
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Post by Humph on Aug 28, 2018 10:24:58 GMT
It is a bit of a fashion thing I guess, but I genuinely prefer a wide bar, it's a bit like a turbocharger in that it allows you to get more air in your lungs more easily. Also means you can cope with rougher terrain by having more leverage.
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WDB
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Post by WDB on Aug 28, 2018 14:16:08 GMT
That maker’s page suggests it weighs 14kg, which seems like bedstead territory to me, but then I’m not well versed in the world of hardtails. My Cannondale was under 13kg; the Saracens were under 12.
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WDB
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Post by WDB on Sept 9, 2018 21:30:59 GMT
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Rob
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Post by Rob on Sept 9, 2018 23:35:33 GMT
I'd put pedals on those bikes you link to. That's a lot of bike in your garage if you go for all 3.... I hope insurance and locks are adequate. And insurance cover when away from home. If I had one of those it would be locked away for security! So about £3k for two bikes? You must be fairly serious cyclists - I thought it was just Humph on here.
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WDB
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Post by WDB on Sept 10, 2018 6:00:41 GMT
We’re not just going to leave them in the front garden, any more than we did with the old ones. 🤓
Yes, they’re expensive, but they ought to last a good long time now that the boys (and I) are pretty much at their adult height. Boy1 is looking to do more serious speeds and distances with his mates, while Boy2 prefers to hack about in the woods, although possibly not to Humph’s level. As for me — well, I’m just after something big enough, comfortable and moderately quick that I’ll ride more often because I enjoy riding it. Might still go back for that Pelago.
We’ll have to see about the pedals. I’ve never used anything but flat ones before but it might be time to learn something more athletic. All part of the fun.
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Post by Humph on Sept 10, 2018 7:02:52 GMT
I use flat pedals. Don't like clip ins. On the hopefully rare occasions you might want to get off in a hurry...
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WDB
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Post by WDB on Sept 10, 2018 7:35:05 GMT
If I do go for clips, they’ll be the MTB type and damn the weight. I see plenty of lycranauts in town, hobbling around on their lumpy road-pedal shoes. Can’t be doing with that.
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Post by bromptonaut on Sept 10, 2018 20:15:42 GMT
I've tried clip ins on the 30yo tourer and come to conclusion I'm happier with the toe clips/straps I first used 40+ years ago. Never actually fell off my own bike - though I did (twice) on a borrowed machine used when we followed the Yorkshire 'Grand Depart' a few years ago - but had enough heart stoppers to convince myself gain not worth pain. OK with planned stops but anything slightly unforeseen or worse a gear slip - my undoing in Yorkshire - is a risk too far. The first tumble was just me on a gradient. The second I collided with one of Bromptonette's now in laws (a cousin of her husband's father) and dumped the poor lady into some nettles.
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