On Wed, 2010-08-18 at 13:47 -0700, bfd wrote: > > > > just like it's fun to go bombing around on a country bike, some folks > > > find it fun to go fast on a road bike whether they race or not. light > > > bikes are fun to ride, and if people are having fun - why not have a > > > race style bike? for the some, the "occasional short fun ride" is 50 > > > miles at 20+mph - a road bike seems like a good choice there. > > > > To me, the real question is, other than styling and the whole fantasy > > wannabee pro racer let's play pretend, what real advantage does > > something like a Madone give you for precisely that kind of riding over > > a racing bike that Eddy Merckx might have ridden? > > Well, if you look at today's Eddy Merckx bikes, probably not much.
No, I'm not talking about the Merckx brand, I'm talking about bikes he might have actually raced on back in the 1970s. > Compared to the bikes he used when he raced, quite a bit of > difference. For example, Madone are carbon, use integrated shifters > and clipless pedals. The bikes definitely weigh a lot less too. And I'm not talking about what are the differences between today's race bikes and those of the early 1970s. The question is, what REAL ADVANTAGE does a bike like a Madone give you, the rider, over a racing bike of the 1970s? Differences in frame materials do not constitute an advantage in and of themselves. > Assuming Eddy used a bike that weighed 18-20lbs, today's bikes are > limited to something like 6.8kg or about 14.9lbs. That 3 to 5 lb > difference is pretty big. It may mean more to a racer than an average > overweight weekend warrior. OK, let's say a five pounds lighter bike for a rider who might well be 10 KG overweight or more. How much of an actual advantage is that? What does it translate to in terms of performance, as opposed to bragging rights? If you and your pals ride primarily for fun and fitness, do those missing 3-5 pounds enhance your enjoyment? (It's certainly hard to see how they enhance your fitness -- that would be improved by adding weight, not subtracting it.) Will you go faster? If so, how much faster? And how much difference would that make? > But, as Patrick stated if it gets someone out on a bike than what's > not to like?! The bad thing is that because racing style bikes are so > prevalent, they dominate the market and make it harder for good, > reliable equipment to be available at a reasonable price. So you're saying racing equipment is less expensive? Balderdash. Let's just pick on wheels, shall we? Two thousand for a set of low spoke count racing wheels, and if you break a spoke you're done, the wheel isn't turning in the rear triangle. Compare that with a handmade wheel like what Rich at Riv builds, or what Peter White builds - let's say, Dura Ace hubs and Open Pro rims, 32 or 36 spokes. Dead reliable wheels that would still turn if you did break a spoke. Racing brakes, perhaps? $875 or more for a set of brakes? Yeah, you shave a few grams. What's a set of Shimano brakes go for? Or Tektros? Or maybe let's talk cranks. A thousand bucks for a crankset that maybe (or maybe not) includes the bottom bracket bearings. How's that compare with the Sugino Alpina, for example? I was at a rest stop at our club century 2 years ago and I overheard a guy behind me talking about the upgrade he'd just made to his bike: carbon handlebars and a carbon stem. It cost him a thousand bucks, but man, look at how many grams he saved! A thousand bucks for a handlebar and a stem? As they say in Dublin, "Jesus wept." -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bu...@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.
