New Bike Thoughts and advice

[pjclinch]

....I have bikes with cable rim brakes, hydraulic disc brakes, hydraulic rim brakes and cable drum brakes. The hydraulics are the nicest in use but they all work......

when conditions are very bad drum brakes can out-perform anything else because they don't get contaminated so easily. The only bad points for drum brakes on solo bicycles are a) absolute power (you cannot expect to do stoppies on a 70mm front drum brake and 700C wheels) and b) modulation; they don't modulate as well as a hydro disc, but that is a bit like saying your GF isn't as good-looking as a hollywood A-list actress; it kind of goes without saying.

I have drums on my 8 Freight so I'm fairly used to at least one example, and that "they don't modulate as well as a hydro disc" only goes without saying if you've used them... If you haven't, we'll, yes, it's certainly the case!

Over the years they have periods where they tend to stick a bit and not fully release (typically solved by disassembly and careful lubing of the hinges in the innards plus a few minutes working them), and on one occasion one of the pads crumbled a little and the bits got places they shouldn't, resulting in periodic locking of the front wheel. That wasn't any fun at all (pretty much had to walk a mile holding the front wheel up) but I'm pretty sure was an outlier, since I cleaned all the debris out it's been fine.

Pete.

[PaulK]

Hi All

Sorry ive not been online for ages to reply.
Thank you all soo much for your posts.

So i "think" ive changed my mind a little \ narrowed down the options.
As the majority of my work will be road based it seems sensible to focus in that direction.

Also for an "Endurance" type road-bike not that i will be taking it on mammoth 180 mile rides...! Just based on the more relaxed position.
Just tried out a Trek Domain and wow what a ride..

It felt like one turn of the pedals and you were already going to be picking up some serious speed. And Gears super smooth one to the next to the next without any clacking or clunking as the chain drops on to the sprocket.
Seat felt a bit hard.

Not sure about the frame tho ... ? (While it was the correct overall size)
When riding in the upright \ relaxed position on top of the bars no worries
But it felt strange when going in to the stooped \ crouched downhill position (like i was cramped on the frame) I think it felt as if my hands needed to be further forwards... Not sure if im making sense on this

p

[rareposter]

Not sure about the frame tho ... ? (While it was the correct overall size)
When riding in the upright \ relaxed position on top of the bars no worries
But it felt strange when going in to the stooped \ crouched downhill position (like i was cramped on the frame) I think it felt as if my hands needed to be further forwards... Not sure if im making sense on this

Yes, makes perfect sense. Those "endurance" road bikes are slightly shorter in the top tube than more "racey" models. A traditional race bike will stretch you out when you're in the drops, it's a quite aggressive, aero, "attacking" position whereas endurance bikes are less extreme in that regard.

Domanes are really nice bikes though, good choice.

Also worth checking out the Canyon Endurace.
https://www.canyon.com/en-gb/road-bikes ... durace/cf/

[PaulK]

Ha glad its just not me then !

Did look damn good too in matt black... (im really talking myself into it now.. )

Is there an option that would "Throw me" just a tad further back but still not to be as aggressive as a full on racer..
BTW Had also seen the Canyon range but i cant find a shop with them in and i dont really want to do mail order.

P

[rareposter]

Ha glad its just not me then !

Did look damn good too in matt black... (im really talking myself into it now.. )

Is there an option that would "Throw me" just a tad further back but still not to be as aggressive as a full on racer..
BTW Had also seen the Canyon range but i cant find a shop with them in and i dont really want to do mail order.

P

Yes, Canyon is a direct-to-consumer model which cuts the cost a bit. However that does impact on test riding.
You could try one of the Cyclist Track Days:
https://cyclisttrackdays.com/cyclisttra ... /page/home

(Cyclist is a monthly magazine, they sponsor / arrange a series of track days where various manufacturers get invited along with a demo fleet).

Re the positioning, the short answer is "not really" but the geometry is kind of arranged around that anyway, it's more something that you just get used to.

[PaulK]

Well TBH

I doubt i will be doing a lot of head down, buttock up anyways.. I just getting to old to try for land speed records anymore..
Unfortunately nice tho the Canyons are i want to put hands on and have the option of both shopping around and going away thinking coming up with any questions then going back.

Was also looking at Ribbles as an option do they have much of a following.

Chap in the shop told me Trek offer a lifetime guarantee thats got to say something.

[531colin]

Chances are you will want to change the riding position on any new bike anyway.
Fitting a different handlebar stem is easy, unless the cables run inside it.

[Jdsk]

The outcome:

Indeedy....
Deposit down picking up next week.

...
So Ive got my new Trek 2023 Émonda SL 5 in a stunning blue paintjob whilst i may eventually change out the wheels to begin with they are fine.

Jonathan