Hippie has a new ride

[rchippie]

This is my new ride. If there is anyone else into Road bikes, please chime in. It is a full CARBON FIBER frame & fork, with shimano 105 componets. I had a Trek 1.1 for 2 weeks. Then i traded it in for a Trek 2.1, which i had for 2 weeks before trading it in for this today. it will be here Wensday.

http://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/bikes...done/madone45/

[bigboi146]

Very nice bike... must weigh as much as a feather.

[pinkpanda3310]

That's a misleading title, I thought it was a trade in and tune up of the missus

My Dad has a couple of bikes and every once in a while he try's to convince me to go riding with him. My brother did for a short time. I would really like to but haven't really got the time.

Do you ride in a group, or vellodrome, or just yourself? These bikes are great (obvioulsy) for keeping the speed up. When I was a little younger I preferred mountain bikes 'cause I was always pullin' wheelies and going over jumps. Other tricks not so much.

[JERRY2KONE]

Thats a nice bike. When we were in Brussels a couple of years ago one of my co-workers at USNATO had one of these. He even installed carbon fiber solid wheel hubs to reduce even more weight and create less drag. Then one day while he was out on a "spin club" run his peddle hub shattered, which sent him into a loss of control and both wheels shattered and he was pretty badly cut up from all of the fiber shrapnal. He was always trying to get me into his hobby, but that would have taken money away from my R/C hobby. Still it is a good way to stay in good health, right? That is as long as you don't crash and burn...

[rchippie]

Thanks guys.

When i was younger cycling was allways more of a passion for me than rc. I worked in bike shops when i was younger as well.

bigboi146
It's light, but not as light as the next model up from this, very noticable difference between the Two.

Panda

Jerry
Thank you. Disc wheels are really meant for time trials & Triathlons only. Plus it is a lot safer to only ride with a RR disc wheel & not a FR Disc. Because a gust will take control of the bike, & then it's all over

[reno911]

Yummy carbon fiber. Nice bike. What speeds can you get yourself to in something like that?

I always wanted to take up biking, but every time I bought a bike I would use it for a while than go back to running. I could never stick with it.

However if I ever get the chance I would love to try downhill.

[rchippie]

Originally Posted by reno911

Yummy carbon fiber. Nice bike. What speeds can you get yourself to in something like that?

I always wanted to take up biking, but every time I bought a bike I would use it for a while than go back to running. I could never stick with it.

However if I ever get the chance I would love to try downhill.

That depends on how steep the down hill is . I have gotten up to 25 on the flats, but not for very long . I can keep it around 15-18 on a 10 mile, depending on the head wind. I have'nt rode this bike yet. It will be here wensday. I trade in a 2 week old Trek 2.1 for this.

[magman]

I looked into road bikes a year or so ago...but the price tag of a good one astounded me. I do understand that the components are top notch on some of the models but, wow....pricey

Best of luck with yours!

[JERRY2KONE]

I hear ya magman. I looked at options a while back and could not figure out why I should buy a $3K or $4K bicycle, when I could get a great deal on a motocorss dirt bike or an enduro for the same price or even less and have a blast with it instead of killing myself peddling my a$$ off. Just couldn't see it.

well like our batteries... the chinese are doing wonders for the entry carbon road bike!...

Im into biking, mainly Mountain Biking, but i just picked up a full carbon frame and fork from ebay for $400 shipped. Ill be putting a Ultegra group set and shimano wheels on the machine.

We should do a weigh contest when im done and see how much heavier the China carbon is compared to the Trek carbon.

i use to keep a parts blog here www.tripxamerica.com

and here is the latest video from our bike trip to new hampshire highland bike park:
http://contour.com/node/106763

Btw here is my mtb ...

[Serum]

Cool!

Bikes!!

I didn't knew you bike Mike? (and a poet was born)

I recently bought a cannondale supersix roadbike, and i love it. some upgrades, 3ttt parts. Nice bike. matte black/white..

I used to do a good 7500-10000 km on my atb a year, and suddenly saw the light. (bought an on-road after 5 years of off-road)

For my atb, i have also have an oldschool cannondale, which is still going strong after all these km's i put through it. (chris king hubs, which are very durable) last year i picked up a Gary Fisher superfly 29er. To be honest, i am faster on my old cannondale than on the 29er! the 29er is a bit too soft for my likings. It's okay for a long comfortable ride though.

The china-carbon bikes;

My cannondale supersix came with a tiny sticker at the bracket-pot; made in china. (or thailand, can't remember)

Most frames are produced there, as long as there was good engineering involved and a proper quality control, there is nothing wrong with that. Some china parts are best to be avoided though.

If i may suggest a groupset for the roadbike, get a sram groupset. It shaves off a good 500gram, and the best part is that its shifting performance is way better. Sram uses twice the amount of cable travel than shimano. The ultegra 2010, with the cables router through the handlebar are having issues. If you are stuck to the ultegra, get some proper cables, because the stock cables are absolute poop with their plastic end-stops. Way too flexible.

With ATB as well, stepped up to sram, shifting is flawless since then. I am critical when it comes to smooth shifting. Sram took a bad step with their gripp shifts, which where absolutely worthless IMO, but their latest and greatest is perfect.

[JERRY2KONE]

A few years back the difference was obvious between one countries engineering and anothers. When you purchased a product like a carbon fiber bike that is made in the USA, or a real swiss watch, or some kind of one off German machine you knew you were buying something that has been made to percision by someone who is passionate about what they do. From thought to design, to production was maticulasly overseen to the smallest detail, and every item was true tested for performace. Now that the competitors are selling so cheap everyone has to cut corners to stay in the game.

The alternative was to purchase a copy cat product made in China or whoever, by people who had less than a quality product in mind. Their idea was to mirror another high dollar product and make it look just like the real or original item and sell it for half the price. Making a huge profit because their was no R&D to worry about, and once the item was sold who cared on their end if it worked right or not. What could anyone do about it?

Today China and others are turning out some pretty incredible copy cat items that not only look like the real item, but are exact copies to the "T" in quality and performance. Of course even today this is not always true and there are still allot of goof balls out there who could care less about what the product can do as long as it looks like it came from the original manufaturer.

We are begining to see allot of like items here in Korea that look very impressive up against the high quality American products, and also perform just as well or even better in some cases. The foreign competitors are getting smarter and gaining ground on all of their competition. This is just another reason why our economy is falling apart. The US has driven prices up so high because of compensating its staffing that we can no longer compete in allot of markets that we used to make a good amount of money from.

[Serum]

It only takes one smart man to make a change in this! it's not generalized in an entire country. If a top-notch personal driven engineering team from China with the right contacts has the best idea, it will out-preform every single product in the world. It's not a matter of being produced in a certain country. In china Man can get the best materials /machines just as well.

I'm gonna have to differ on the group selections mentioned earlier.
SRAM shifting is not as great as you make it seem nor is that much
betters. For starters not everyone is a fan of their push/push
shifting system and shimano offers both push/pull and push/push on
their shifter pods.

Also I'm not sure where you got your 500g less number from but I can
assure you no similarly priced SRAM group compared shaman is 500g
less. The SRAM x-0 vs shaman xtr is def not 500g lighter. Not to
mention the price tag alone on a replacement x-0 cassette makes the
SRAM system pointless in my book.

From an AM/DH perspective I laugh when you see bikes running the same
lightweight compents as cross country bikes ... SRAM has yet to come
out with a SAINT rival group.

And sure the XX group from SRAM might be the lightest group put there
and the only 2x10 for mtb but the new xtr will change that ... And
still let users decoded between 2 or 3 gears up front.

[Serum]

I'm talking about the road group. (as a reply to the previous post)

ultegra vs force. same price here, 500 grams difference.

It's plain obvious we are totally different type of bikers. for my cross-country/on road habits sram rocks/rules. It's proven to me over quite a lot of hours i spend every year on a bike that it's a proper quality as well.

It's not a matter of 'being fan' (push-push shifting) it's a matter of getting used to it. Principles are a lousy way to defend.

And what exactly is your point with the x-o cassette? it's not that expensive. XTR is more expensive. (over here anyway) I guess you mean the XX cassette?

I advised you on the road-group since this is superiour to the ultegra in terms of shifting, and since you mentioned weight as a factor i mentioned the group with the better weight.

Me personally, i am a fan of good products. For some parts shimano rules, and others Sram rules. Step over the fact that it's not 'your brand'
Don't follow, decide self what suits you best. I know i did, and for a fact i hate srams red front deraileur with titanium cage. I like the force better.

Go out, pedal and have fun, on your own way. That's what counts. The smile you put on your face when you enjoy driving it gives a better satisfaction than laughing about other people's bikes..