Matt Posted February 23, 2017 Posted February 23, 2017 My theory on road bikes is that like Lance said - its not about the bike. Once you have narrow tyres, reasonable weight and good geo, you can hang with the fancy bikes. I cracked a sub 3 Argus years ago on a hi tensile steel frame bike with downtube shifters and a very wonky rear wheel by the time I got to the end. In fact I nearly didn't reach the finish I reckon. I have a 125kg relative who insists on riding the lightest Cannondale he can find. He is very slow uphill but that mass translates into nice downhill momentum... I've always shared a similar view on road bikes - hence me still cruising around on a 10 year old Tarmac when not testing out something new. I'd agree that you can certainly still hang in there with the "fancy" / newer bikes on any road bike meeting the basic weight & geo criteria you've described. BUT the geometry, improved carbon layup, stiffness and general improvement in groupsets, wheels etc. do make a big difference in the feel of the bike. This bike feels a whole lot faster and more efficient than my old one and many of the newer bikes I've tested. Just how many seconds or minutes advantage that translates to I couldn't say, but for those at the pointy end of any race or just wanting to better a PB those might be the seconds that make the difference. Unfortunately my bank balance wouldn't support an S-Works, but if money wasn't an issue I'd happily spring for one.I would be quite happy with the Expert Ultegra at R56k and expect the gain over my old bike would still be significant... Mongoose!, nonky and Patchelicious 3
Matt Posted February 23, 2017 Posted February 23, 2017 how much worse can a Swift ultravox rs1 with eTap and force be for R86,100 less? ... However, I question the pricing of this beast - it makes the Swift look like a bargain! To be fair here you'd need to compare the the price on Tarmac Expert eTap with the more closely specced Swift rather than the S-Works: https://www.specialized.com/za/en/bikes/road/tarmac-expert-etap/128746 That Tarmac has an RRP of R 82,400, still more expensive, but a fairer comparison when you consider the overall spec and frame level. Patchelicious 1
Mongoose! Posted February 23, 2017 Posted February 23, 2017 I've always shared a similar view on road bikes - hence me still cruising around on a 10 year old Tarmac when not testing out something new. I'd agree that you can certainly still hang in there with the "fancy" / newer bikes on any road bike meeting the basic weight & geo criteria you've described. BUT the geometry, improved carbon layup, stiffness and general improvement in groupsets, wheels etc. do make a big difference in the feel of the bike. This bike feels a whole lot faster and more efficient than my old one and many of the newer bikes I've tested. Just how many seconds or minutes advantage that translates to I couldn't say, but for those at the pointy end of any race or just wanting to better a PB those might be the seconds that make the difference. Unfortunately my bank balance wouldn't support an S-Works, but if money wasn't an issue I'd happily spring for one.I would be quite happy with the Expert Ultegra at R56k and expect the gain over my old bike would still be significant... wheels also make a huge differencePut those carbon wheels on your old bike and it is a different bike... nonky and Matt 2
LOOK695 Posted February 23, 2017 Posted February 23, 2017 How much worse can my Spez Crux with 105 mechanical be? Seeing that I am beating all my old KOMs with itI have improved two Koms this week on my Wolverine with 38mm gravel tyres and entry level 10s gruppo???????????????????????? Patchelicious and Mongoose! 2
LOOK695 Posted February 23, 2017 Posted February 23, 2017 Concerning buying in that price range my money would go towards this Madone69, Kalahari Vegmot and nonky 3
Patchelicious Posted February 23, 2017 Posted February 23, 2017 I have improved two Koms this week on my Wolverine with 38mm gravel tyres and entry level 10s gruppoI have 40c!! Im telling you, CX is the new Roadie Mongoose!, Danilo and LOOK695 3
LOOK695 Posted February 23, 2017 Posted February 23, 2017 I have 40c!! Im telling you, CX is the new Roadie Love it, especially now with all the rains the roads have stones, sand, glass all over and the tyres just shrug it all off
Duane_Bosch Posted February 23, 2017 Posted February 23, 2017 Love it, especially now with all the rains the roads have stones, sand, glass all over and the tyres just shrug it all offI googled this "rain" you speak of. Apparently it's when water falls from the sky! I'm calling BS on that. BlinkFan, Mongoose! and Kalahari Vegmot 3
Mongoose! Posted February 23, 2017 Posted February 23, 2017 I googled this "rain" you speak of. Apparently it's when water falls from the sky! I'm calling BS on that. eish - will bring my own water when coming down for the CTCT
LOOK695 Posted February 23, 2017 Posted February 23, 2017 I googled this "rain" you speak of. Apparently it's when water falls from the sky! I'm calling BS on that.Duane, my heart goes out to you guys down in the cape having experienced it as well. Mongoose! 1
nonky Posted February 23, 2017 Posted February 23, 2017 If you purely base it on speed, you have such a valid point. Most SA pros are racing on Ultegra group sets, few frames are top of the line etc... But there are other factors that other people might find more important than you do personally.Desirability, exclusivity, status etc... these don't make logical sense immediately, but when we realize that we deal with humans being, it does, sort of. Yip, a quick look at the bikes at the end of any road race in Gauteng will have you decidedly underwhelmed by your own steed... Bike porn as far as the eye can see.
Jase619 Posted February 23, 2017 Posted February 23, 2017 Yip, a quick look at the bikes at the end of any road race in Gauteng will have you decidedly underwhelmed by your own steed... Bike porn as far as the eye can see.You can almost guarantee when a GP car pulls up at registration it's gonna have a nice bike on the rack behind. . . Presumably it's cheaper there than for us mortals in the platteland
Patchelicious Posted February 23, 2017 Posted February 23, 2017 You can almost guarantee when a GP car pulls up at registration it's gonna have a nice bike on the rack behind. . . Presumably it's cheaper there than for us mortals in the plattelandJoburg my chyna, it's where the bucks is..... Pure Savage 1
G e r h a r d Odendaal Posted February 23, 2017 Posted February 23, 2017 This is an awesome bike. Love it Patchelicious 1
LOOK695 Posted February 28, 2017 Posted February 28, 2017 Walked into Bells cycling in nelspruit today. I drooled over their bikes; ok only the road bikes
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