I have always been a "spin a smaller gear faster" kind of guy. So I'm not hard on my equipment. But even I would be scared of that bike.

That being said my watt/kilo output right now is truly laughable. Seriously. Even back in the day it was only good enough to be "in with a shot" at a CAT 4 race. When I moved to the 3's I was just another rider in the group. As one of my racer friends says "It's hard to win a bike race. Even if you're the strongest guy in your race."

 

I would not recommend tubulars unless you are racing and even then only if you enjoy fighting the tires and glue and making an incredible mess while you learn how to glue them yourself. Having the shop do it is way too expensive. Your talking about at least $100 every time you get a flat for tire and mounting and a couple of days turnaround if you have a shop do it. With all the great carbon clincher options out there, unless you have a personal mechanic I would explore those. Not worth the hassle.

All carbon rims need special pads.

 

No

 

Ok guys, school me on bikes. I'm looking to buy one to use this summer on the extensive trail network in Ohio. Based upon my research, I'm leaning towards a cyclocross style so I can have decent performance on paved paths, gravel roads as well as the potholed roads on my way to work. Is a cyclocross a reasonable compromise from a pure road bike? What features are most important, carbon vs CrMo folk, disk brakes, compact vs triple crank, SRAM vs Shimano components, ect? My budget is <$1000 but I'm looking for the sweet spot in the cost/benefit curve and something that will last a while. I stopped by a bike store after work and they recommended a Giant Revolt. I'm also looking at the bikesdirect.com bikes. Thanks.

 

'cross bike is a lot more comfy on the road if you ever intend to cover any distance. General rule of thumb for choosing a 'cross bike for of road is you wouldn't want it for any terrain that to steep to easily walk up or down or across. So normal hiking trails, dirt roads are great on a cross bike. Get into steep, rocky stuff and you quickly get out of the cross bikes domain unless you a a fit and expert rider.

Flipside is mountain bikes suck on the road. Discs on the 'cross bike are nice for the dirt where cheap canti brakes will run out of power fairly quickly. Ask Joe about that. If a canti brake bike is a good option for you otherwise, just plan on potentially needing some better quality brake pads for off road.

Most fit racers that have ridden a lot of different bikes will tell you that they'd choose a cross bike if they were forced to keep only one bike forever. I have done some pretty fast training rides with local Cat 1-3's on my cross bike, race cross and also raced full cross country mountain bike races on the same bike with nothing more than a tire swap. Nothing is more versatile.

 

I seriously dislike you for comments like this, lol.

 

For your stated purpose, commuting, Cross sounds like the way to go. It's definitely a compromise but it is also the most versatile. As for the components, it's like asking should I build a turbo, supercharged, or high compression NA car? Everyone has their own preference. IMHO today's components are all pretty awesome compared to where things were 10-15 years ago. Ride bikes with different the component manufacturers stuff on them and see what you prefer.

 

from a totally non technical perspective- go to your bike shop, test ride a bike and make sure its comfortable for you to ride, you like the way it handles and shifts and go from there.
No point in getting a bike that is totally the wrong size or feels funny even though its the right type.

You have defined how you plan to ride it, look at the terrain and you can know if your going to need a double or triple front ring. Components on a factory bike within the same price range will more or less be the same thing.

I would recommend disc brakes if your not worried about 0.3lbs of weight in return for flawless braking.

 

Another bike noob question...

Short of buying 10 saddles and using them, how does someone choose a seat?

I have been riding on a freebie on my steel bike and the factory saddle on my MTB (which I really like for mtb use, but I assume wouldn't be nice to use on the road with the change in body position)

I feel like with my type of riding (casual, road use with short to long rides) the saddle will make or break the feel. I have lots of time with this one- My saddle/post from my MTB will fit my new frame until I figure out what it is that I need/want

 

A lot like buying high performance, usage specific shoes. Best to try them on. At a shop, I'll take the seat and sit it on a chair or ledge. Sit on it with hips/femur in same position as on bike. Specialized (blasphemy!) actually makes their seats in three different widths. This is a big deal for me since my Ischial Tuberosities (sit bones) are a few mm farther apart than the median. So most seats are a tad too narrow. Never would have figured that out without trying out like 10 different seats at Rock N' Road Cyclery here in Mission Viejo.

 

None of the LBS have anything like that setup. :(

 

I ordered $1200 in saddles from Art's Cyclery and Specialized, kept two. They are all way, way different. I ended up with a Romin Evo (which is way different from the Romin). I had to do this because all the shops around here wanted easily double what Art's charged and none of the local shops seemed to keen on me returning a saddle after a couple days if I didn't like it. Two of three weren't willing to let me try the test saddles on my bike at all.

Your tuberosities, show me them.

 

This?



Nvm, got it.

 

Speaking of cyclocross, anyone looking for this?

The one I have (frame) is a 56cm in last years Black/Gray. It was built and ridden twice. I will sell it for crazy cheap.

 

Uh oh. Home - www.neuvationcycling.com

I was about to post a positive review of my M28 Aero's and went to get the link to copy in here... and he's closed up shop?

 

I just got a trek crossrip- pretty much same bike as the giant revolt, and it seems to be same as you are looking for. I use it mostly for commuting and occasionally road rides. I've got bags and fenders on it, and it can handle knobby cross tires or skinny road tires- you choose what you want/need.



This type of bike is pretty versatile and seems to be what you want. A true cross bike has some funky geometry and stupid brakes due to ridiculous UCI regulations. Unless you're gonna race cross, get a Revolt/CrossRip/non-cross cross bike.


To answer your questions- I like disc brakes and prefer Shimano over Sram, spending between $1000-2000 gets a really nice, durable bike. As others have said- Shimano 105 is a sweet spot for performance/price.

 

I got this last fall. Love the bike. Not quite <1k but the little stuff is nice. Only complaints is the fork flexes more than I'd like and thinking of going 1x10 gears. I'm a NOOB! but it's a huge upgrade and I tend to want to do stupid things above my skill level. One wreck and bike 1/ me 0
Specialized Bicycle Components

The small jump in price made it worth it to me.
Not mine, but just like it.

 

Also recommend these. Way better than stock, cheap ish, and never had an issue. Take a beating.
deity Compound Pedals

 

what makes a flat pedal so much better than another?

I have "stock" aluminum flats on my mtb and they are great. bearings are great, replaceable pins etc.







Seatpost for my TCR is in the mail. Ritchey WCS carbon.

Next up I need to find a clamp on front derailleur and head to the local bike shops to see what they have in stock for best prices.
I think after looking at the budget, Im going to look around for a true wheelset that will take 10speed shimano to keep initial costs down and then upgrade later.

 

Interested in that as well. Is it just because they're lighter? I mean how much lighter could you get than the nylon flats on my mtb. Or do they grip your shoes better in the wet/mud.