aidandj

iTrader: (5)

Personal preference. I ******* love almost frozen water. Optimal temperature be damned

Savington

iTrader: (31)

Next time you're doing strenuous cardio exercise outside in <40*F weather, try to drink 33*F water. It sucks

aidandj

iTrader: (5)

I used to fill my water bottle up with ice water when rowing in

TurboTim

iTrader: (9)

Wait, I'm still not swift with biking culture, but isn't the point of racing to win, regardless of the sport? I finish towards the end of whatever race I'm in, but still go 100 thru the race and 110% at the end if I can.

I like how your wheels are oval. Looks like your 12th tho, 1-2 finish ahead of the pic?


I much prefer room temp water. My wife prefers ice cold and it wrecks havoc on me when we share water bottles. +1 for biking being awesome.

TurboTim

iTrader: (9)

So while training on Zwift I've been using the tablet holder that came with my Tacx trainer to hold our ipad. This large awkward bracket required the removal of my Garmin mount in order to fit on the handle bar/straddle the stem. No big deal, but I tend to take 10 minutes realigning my garmin mount whenever I go outside to ride. And, again the tablet bracket is universal, so it fits nothing nicely. So today I took my Garmin to work and modeled up a mount for my iphone that attaches to the Garmin mount. Works great for the trainer, not much load on the little plastic tangs.





I happened to sign onto Zwift last night right before a Jens Voigt group ride start. It was crowded.

hustler

iTrader: (6)

Yeah, I think they might be a little old and stuffy.

Yep, 1&2 in a break. No way I was catching those two.

Savington

iTrader: (31)

Pointy-ended P/1/2 crew, how much of a difference in bike stability does wheelbase make?

I have been trying to figure out why my S3 still doesn't feel stable under me when I'm off the saddle and trying to pull around on the bars a little. It feels twitchy and unstable, unlike any other bike I've ever pedaled. When I first bought it, I chalked that instability up to being gunshy after my first crit wreck (happened while sprinting), but it hasn't gotten any better over the last 12 months.

After comparing the geometry of that bike (54cm S3) to every other bike I've owned (56cm CAAD10, 53cm Kona JTS, 56cm SC Stigmata), the one glaring difference is the wheelbase. The CAAD was 993mm, JTS was 1022mm, Stig is 1024. All three of those bikes are very easy for me to sprint on. The S3 at 970mm feels like it's trying to kill me every time I stand up. I've tried specific sprinting drills suggested to me by the bike fitter I went to ~3mos ago in an attempt to solve the problem (high-cadence, low-speed sprints, making sure the saddle is touching my thighs, etc), and they have helped, but it's still not a thought-free exercise like it is on the Stigmata.

My plan is to ask my LBS to test-ride a 56cm S3 to see if it's any better, but am I on the right track?

Itty

Generally bikes feel twitchy in the front from lack of trail. In other words, too much rake for a given HT angle. This tends to happen when bike manufacturers use the same fork for varying HT angles.

TurboTim

iTrader: (9)

Fork rake? Head tube angle difference between those bikes?

Itty

Also, is your stem length constant on all those bikes? Short stems feel terrible and twitchy.

dubya

iTrader: (1)

First of all, Cervelo's geometry is jacked up. I was really close to buying an older R3 last year, but I realized their geometry just wouldn't work for me. I would have had exactly the same problem as you're having now - the wheelbase is just too short. If you look at their geometry charts, you can see how they keep the chainstay length and seattube angle constant while essentially pulling the headtube up and out. This shouldn't be happening. You can't just ignore the relationship between the front and rear end of a bicycle frame like Cervelo does.

You mentioned your old C'Dale didn't have this problem - that's because they understand proper racing bicycle geometry. They are actually one of the few big name makers that do and have stuck with it (Pina and Colnago also come to mind). That's one reason CAAD's are so popular - they're cheap, strong, relatively light, and they put the wheels and the rider in the right place. If I were in your shoes, I'd think hard about going back to something with a better reputation before trying another S3.

If you want to play with some numbers and compare frames, check out this frame comparitor spreadsheet: GearInches.com » Bike Geometry Comparator. A few minutes of copying some numbers from some geo charts into it could save you a lot of money in the long run.

hustler

iTrader: (6)

Thanks for sharing.

My first bike doesn't count, second was a CAAD10, now the Evo; when I ride dick-around on my buddy's Venge if feels janky, like I'm driving a car with too much toe-out, have to lift the bike out of the corner. I also rode a $10,000 Propel and I don't know how to describe it, felt like driving a 4000lb Miata with 10x too much caster.

The Evo "comes back to you" in the corners if you just relax. I still might be too green to understand bike handling, or feel like the Evo is "home base". Do you know anything about the CAAD12, which is slightly different from the CAAD10? I ask because I'm considering piecing together a cheap travel bike like a CAAD10/5800. Need to ride with the Cali bros and I'm not driving out there.

hustler

iTrader: (6)

Aluminum frame + DA = diesel

emilio700

iTrader: (3)

Cadel gets to ride whatever he wants and have more class than just about anyone else.

hustler

iTrader: (6)

World champions obtain carte blanch with their stripes.

For once, I was being serious. I told a junior on the team in our last race that if he sees a dude on an Al bike with DA going off the front to always go with him. lol My next bike will probably be Al with 6870 or eTap.

emilio700

iTrader: (3)

Funny. I never factor in what somebody is riding to assess their ability. Nor how much muscle definition nor how thin. Many years being dropped by riders that "looked slow" taught me that. Only common denominator I notice is the strongest riders always make it look easier than it is, because it is for them.

Savington

iTrader: (31)

The CX bikes have far slacker head tubes, but the CAAD and the S3 are identical IIRC.

Same 100mm on everything. I don't have the arm/torso length or flexibility to go longer.

One of the big things I like about the S3 is the stack/reach ratio. I am not a spider-limbed pro cyclist so I like a lot of stack and a moderate amount of reach. My biggest complaint with the CAAD was that it always felt a little bit long (394mm reach), to the point where it would give me lower back pain on longer rides (50+ miles). The Stigmata is 388 with a more compact bar (70mm reach) and it feels perfect, but I don't think I can be as comfortable on a bike with 390+mm of reach. I can drop down to a 54cm CAAD12, but the headtube on that bike is so low that I'll end up with 2" of spacers under the stem to get the bars where I want them. The CAAD12s also have shorter wheelbases than the 10s did - the 54cm CAAD12 only has 980mm of wheelbase (56cm S3 is ~982mm).

The idea of something like a Synapse or a Roubaix has crossed my mind too. I know I can get the position I want on something like that.

TurboTim

iTrader: (9)

"Hydroforming triple-butted tubes minimizes weight while being able to really dial in both stiffness and comfort. Cadel Evans, BMC’s recently-retired Tour de France winner, is riding this ALR01 as his main bike, and he finds it as stiff and comfortable as the Teammachine SLR01 he raced until recently."

Yeah but still, why aluminum over CF? Durability for transportation, crashes, money? or because he's so boss that he can ride their inexpensive 105 (red) aluminum bike, with DA upgrades, and dominate just cause.

hustler

iTrader: (6)

I agree with you that the equipment means little in terms of fitness but there are a few that stick out. A dude with a CAAD10 or Allez and a $1500 group-set either works at a bike shop or is diesel is the only one that comes to mind.

My Evo is not much better than my CAAD10 was in terms of comfort, which I still miss. I think there is a bigger difference in ride quality going from 23mm tires to 25mm. If my Evo were mortally wounded, you'd see me on a CAAD10 or Allez, maybe another cheap/used Evo.

This is the beautiful part about road racing bicycles, it's not like you can bolt-on a set of Hoosiers and cut-off time. There is a bit more debate when it comes to crit racing.

hustler

iTrader: (6)

You'll be the first employed person to put Campy on an inexpensive frame.