Post your road bicycle

I was thinking that looked about like a 52. A 52 that fits like a 54 sounds good. I can fit 52 or 54. I like my 52,because it feels snappy and nimble, except coming down Mt Baldy road. Then I wish I had more stability. It feels a little too nervous approaching 50. Once again, great bike.

 

I find mountain biking to develop a different type of cardio : you mostly have to push short bursts of power to overcome short hills/obstacles. It's actually quite different than road cycling imo, even if the sollicited muscle groups are the same.

 

I recently just got into MTB and it is killing my road cycling (mostly because I don't want to do it lol) but in all seriousness it is definitely a different type of workout. My heart rate on the road bike settles in at a higher but more consistent point and on the road bike I can be smoother and just hit a rhythm and spin. On the MTB the heart rate is far more up and down and doesn't run in the same higher band. My core and upper body get a MUCH better trashing in the MTB but it doesn't work my heart and legs nearly as hard.

 

Just bought a Domane. Nice old man geometry and the ISO Speed is nice.

 

I do find myself wanting to upgrade my road bike to discs as well these days. Not enough to pull the trigger but bikes like that Domane do not help.

 

The drops are at the hoods of my venge. Don't really care about the brakes that much, but the geometry and iso stuff is nice.

 

Is the ride that much better with the ISO?

 

I don't see the point in changing bikes just to get discs. My Ultegra 6700 rim brakes are more than enough to send me flipping over the bars at will. There is just way too much hype in cycling and all the new trends we see are market driven, with little to none performance improvements, imho. That includes disc brakes and electronic shifting. Are they nice to have ? I guess so, but it won't make you any faster. Just poorer.

 

^^accurate and my rim brakes work just fine (and I won't be buying a bike just for the discs - or probably any time soon anyways) but the discs on the MTB do feel much better and seem to offer much better control (could be placebo?)

 

I agree. The one thing I do like about discs are for fast descents especially, if you’re on carbon rims. Its pretty nasty when a carbon rim heats up from braking and you blow a tire.

The alternative is to have a second set of rims that aren’t carbon for those rides. Definitely a cheaper alternative to a whole new setup!

 

No kidding on the differences between MTB and road... sheesh! I've done 4 rides for just shy of 100 miles in the last 5 days. I am getting my ass kicked.

For reference:
MTB ride - 1.5 miles, 396 feet, 4.8% average grade. Ranked 207/1,774.
Road ride - 2.4 miles, 684 feet, 5.2% average grade. Ranked 1,709 / 1,877.

I just picked 2 segments that were kind of similar. I am consistently in the top 15% on every MTB segment; I'm in the latter 85% on the road rides. I can't tell if I am just that slow on a road bike, or if the general road biking population is just that fast. To be fair, the MTB ride was done last year when I was in great shape. I just had a kid this summer, and that wrecked my workout routine for a while. I am not back in shape, yet, but I thought I had a better pace than what's shown above!

 

On an MTB, it's probably a whole different story, especially since your wheels go through mud and water often, so I could see the use for discs. I'm talking road here. My Dura Ace carbon wheels have an aluminium braking surface so I don't have to worry about overheating them on braking.

 

Here's mine. Old school. 1991 steel framed Bianchi Virata.

These pics were taken soon after I restored it - its done 3000+ miles since then. I was new to road cycling and didn't want to make a big investment up front, bought it for $250 on CL and put about the same again into it. Still ride it. Still gets compliments.



Stuff: braze-on cable guides sanded off and replaced with Campagnalo clip type, polished all the anodized parts, drilled the brake levers, repainted with 'Celeste' color (it used to be black), installed Brookes saddle and leather bar tape. Yeah.. full anorak job...

 

intervals...they just seem worse on a road bike. I do like mtbs for the wheelies and endos

 

Less vibration and less harshness going over road cracks and similar. Not exactly a suspension but better than a full on race setup for sure. Think sport tourer vs race bike.

 

I agree mostly, but depends on where you ride... I'm in Illinois and it's about as flat as you can get. Rim brakes are more than enough around here. Earlier in the spring I went to southern California for the Belgian Waffle/Wafer ride which has a ton of elevation (not to mention some dirt sections), and I rode carbon Zipps with rim brakes. Carbon wheels and rim brakes made some of the descents pretty sketchy. If I lived in an area where I regularly hit big climbs/descents, I'd have discs. Electronic shifting on the other hand is definitely a luxury, but it's pretty awesome.

 

That’s the exact bike I’m currently looking to pick up soon for the wife and I. With that said, anyone have the Trek hook’up on the beeb?

 

I don’t have any trek hookup but race pace bicycles in Columbia was excellent as far as buying experience. I believe you’re close to them.

If you ever want to ride the bwi loop let me know. I’m not fast but I’ll usually go 3 or 4 times around and each lap takes me like 45 minutes (10.3 miles)

 

What do you think of a the DeRosa so far?
I want one badly and the newer models with the rear brake relocated I just love. Or that I’ll ever need it it’s just so damn cool.


Ride safe,
AAron

 

When you're 245 pounds, and a toddler runs out in front of you because their f*cking idiot parents are not paying attention, the disc brakes are worth it.

Happened to me this Summer....there's a park on the Baltimore airport loop with a big play area for the kids...which is great. I used to take my son there.
It's got a huge jungle gym/slide play area with crushed rubber...and the approach to a runway runs along the park, so people get distracted from their kids watching the planes come in
on approach. It's cool and all...but, WATCH YOUR KIDS!!!