Info on new "comfort" road bikes

FWIW, I just bought an '04 Specialized Roubaix 3 weeks ago. It has
inserts in the carbon forks, seat stays and seat post. Most
comfortable bike I tested. I tried a Trek 2200, Felt F-60 (my second
favorite!), a Cannondale (can't remember what it was), and a Giant OCR
something... Also checked out the Specialized Sequoia and Allez. Bang
for the buck (and the ride!), the Roubaix was noticably smoother. I did
these test rides in the same warehouse parking lot. It has many
black-top cracks that have been patched. So there are stretches where
it'll really rattle your teeth at speed. And to be brutally honest,
the Trek had the "roughest" ride of them all, and for some reason
they've gone with a longer stem than any of the other bikes. Made me
feel like I was reaching too far. I knew I could get a shorter stem,
but for that price, a perfect fit is what I expect.

Given that the proper fit is probably *the* most important thing as far as
ride comfort goes, I suspect that the Roubaix may have, by sheer chance,
been set up better for you than the others. It certainly isn't an
indictment of a bike to suggest that it should have come, off the floor,
with a stem representing a "perfect fit." People don't come in just one
size. If anything, it's an indication of a shop not willing to set you up
appropriately for a test ride.

Hopefully the shop you purchased the bike from did more than just a
standover test; even if the bike feels comfortable, it's possible it could
be even more so.

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReactionBicycles.com

In article ,
says...

The Trek Pilot this fall has a rubber compound added to parts of the carbon
fiber frame to soak up road buzz. Klein and Trek have/will have a road bike
with an elastomer on the rear stem to soak up vibration and small bumps.
Other brands are doing the same thing. These bikes seem to run from $1500
to $4000. What do we know about these? How effective are they or will they
be. Chip seal has taken some of the fun of riding out of my life and
reducing the constant buzz would be a good thing. I don't want to spend
$2000 plus only to be disappointed,however.
Alan Acock

Fatter tires at a lower pressure will be more effective than the gimicks
these companies are selling.
------------
Alex

In article ,
says...

The Trek Pilot this fall has a rubber compound added to parts of the carbon
fiber frame to soak up road buzz. Klein and Trek have/will have a road bike
with an elastomer on the rear stem to soak up vibration and small bumps.
Other brands are doing the same thing. These bikes seem to run from $1500
to $4000. What do we know about these? How effective are they or will they
be. Chip seal has taken some of the fun of riding out of my life and
reducing the constant buzz would be a good thing. I don't want to spend
$2000 plus only to be disappointed,however.
Alan Acock

Fatter tires at a lower pressure will be more effective than the gimicks
these companies are selling.
------------
Alex

Man,

Whatta rough crowd! Just sharing _my_ bike shopping
experience..... and yes, the LBS owner did do a fitting......after test
riding it around the parking lot a half a dozen different times and
deciding I liked it over the other bikes I rode _and_ was definitely
going to buy it. The owner took a bunch of measurements. At first, I
wasn't sure if I was buying a suit or a bike! He also put the bike up
on a Cyclo-Ops (I think)trainer and fitted me to the bike after
reviewing some geometric charts from Specialized. He raised the seat
about a 1/4 inch and moved it back about the same distance and he
fitted the pedals I picked with the shoes, and adjusted the shoe
cleats. I appreciate your concern that I didn't get a "good fit", but
I feel that I did. I didn't think this thread was about "what
fitting came with the price", so I omitted most of these gory details
in my first post. Not to mention I had already written plenty!

Regarding the Zertz inserts, you can doubt them all ya want, it's your
prerogative, and I never claimed to be a cycling expert. But I'm here
to tell you, I noticed a significant difference between the Roubaix and
the other bikes I rode. Maybe it wasn't the inserts, or maybe it wasn't
_just_ the inserts... regardless, the Trek was still the roughest riding
of the bunch, Felt was by far the one I like second best, better
groupset components, just too aggressive, sitting up too high and
bending over too far.... I really don't think a complete fitting on any
of these other bikes would have removed any more vibrations, or made the
other bikes feel that much better. IMHO, the Roubaix was clearly the
smoothest and most comfortable, which is why I bought it and tried to
share that in this thread.

I'm trying to understand where your sarcasm and skepticism is coming
from.... maybe its because I said I liked a Specialized bike the best
and not some Italian frame? By the way, you had me going there, so I
searched all of the cycling forums I could find and found _not_ _one_
_single_ _posting_ mentioning a Zertz insert falling out. But to my
pleasant surprise, I did find many reviews from people and magazines
praising it. For your own edification, I recommend you try a google
search for this too...... "Specialized Zertz"..... I would love to know
where you got your information regarding these slippery Zertz inserts
that need glue.

Also sent Specialized a question regarding the potential for their
inserts falling out. We'll see what they have to say.

By the way, have you checked the latest Bicycling Magazine article on
page 62? Looks like several other brands are following the Roubaix
design.


Qui si parla Campagnolo Wrote:
pixelpusher- FWIW, I just bought an '04 Specialized Roubaix 3 weeks
ago. It
has
inserts in the carbon forks, seat stays and seat post. Most
comfortable bike I tested. BRBR

May be but I doubt it's because of tyhose inserts in the carbon
sections. They
slid out really easy BTW..may want to glue them in so ya don't loose
any.

Too bad the 'fit' was a standover, ride around a parking lot. For the
$, you
should have gotten a proper bike fit. Good thing it's working for you
tho.

Peter Chisholm
Vecchio's Bicicletteria
1833 Pearl St.
Boulder, CO, 80302
(303)440-3535
'http://www.vecchios.com' (http://www.vecchios.com/)
"Ruote convenzionali costruite eccezionalmente bene"


--
PixelPusher

Thanks Mike,

I did get a fitting, and it absolutely did make the bike even more
comfortable. I think the frame geometry and the carbon (with inserts)
made the bike the smoothest for me. I was just trying to convey that
in my last post. I think my main message got lost in too much
rambling.

Anyway, I'm sure none of the bikes I test rode were set up perfectly
for me. Most likely, some might have been worse than others. But I
don't see how a perfect fitting would affect the stiffness, or the
amount of vibrations I felt. Overall riding comfort, absolutely, I see
that. But the jarring sensations? I swear, on that Trek, I thought I
was going to chip a tooth! Totally different experience on the
Specialized bike. I'm no expert, just know what I felt.

BTW, Bicycle Magazine has an interesting article regarding the Roubaix
and how the Trek family is coming out with "comfort road bikes"....
maybe I bought too soon. But I'm still smiling!


Mike Jacoubowsky Wrote:
FWIW, I just bought an '04 Specialized Roubaix 3 weeks ago. It has
inserts in the carbon forks, seat stays and seat post. Most
comfortable bike I tested. I tried a Trek 2200, Felt F-60 (my second
favorite!), a Cannondale (can't remember what it was), and a Giant
OCR
something... Also checked out the Specialized Sequoia and Allez. Bang
for the buck (and the ride!), the Roubaix was noticably smoother. I
did
these test rides in the same warehouse parking lot. It has many
black-top cracks that have been patched. So there are stretches where
it'll really rattle your teeth at speed. And to be brutally honest,
the Trek had the "roughest" ride of them all, and for some reason
they've gone with a longer stem than any of the other bikes. Made me
feel like I was reaching too far. I knew I could get a shorter stem,
but for that price, a perfect fit is what I expect.

Given that the proper fit is probably *the* most important thing as far
as
ride comfort goes, I suspect that the Roubaix may have, by sheer
chance,
been set up better for you than the others. It certainly isn't an
indictment of a bike to suggest that it should have come, off the
floor,
with a stem representing a "perfect fit." People don't come in just one
size. If anything, it's an indication of a shop not willing to set you
up
appropriately for a test ride.

Hopefully the shop you purchased the bike from did more than just a
standover test; even if the bike feels comfortable, it's possible it
could
be even more so.

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
'www.ChainReactionBicycles.com' (http://www.chainreactionbicycles.com/)


--
PixelPusher

On Wed, 27 Oct 2004 13:38:02 +1000, PixelPusher
wrote:

I'm trying to understand where your sarcasm and skepticism is coming
from.... maybe its because I said I liked a Specialized bike the best
and not some Italian frame?

I think it's a reaction to unsupported claims, claims that run counter
to logic, or claims that repeat marketingspeak..

JT

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Wrote:
On Mon, 11 Oct 2004 16:29:49 +1000, meb
wrote:


John Forrest Tomlinson Wrote:
On Sun, 10 Oct 2004 11:54:12 -0500, Alan Acock
wrote:

The Trek Pilot this fall has a rubber compound added to parts of
the
carbon
fiber frame to soak up road buzz.

Interesting idea. I wonder if using some sort of rubber or rubber
and
air cushioning between the bike and the road might work even
better.

Just a thought...

JT

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Pantour uses elastomer technology in the hubs as a suspension:

www.pantourhub.com/products.html

Dear Meb,

I peeked at that page, but I didn't see any details of
exactly how those Pantour hubs work.

What's going on inside?

Carl Fogel
Axle slides along a linear track on each side.
Travel distance is ½” or 1” depending upon rim brake vs. disc brake
model.
Track pitch is rotatably adjustable.
Elastomer serves as spring/damper.
Only 4 oz heavier than non-suspension hubs.


--
meb

What are you talking about? Unsupported claims? Now there's a firm
grasp on the obvious! Of course its unsupported, it's my own personal
opinion. Are you looking for some type of statistical analysis from
test rides? Smoother bumps per linear foot? For that matter, your
reply is an unsupported claim, as well as, pretty much every post in
the entire forum. It's a forum after all. Talk about running counter
to logic..... whew!!! BTW, what logic are you even talking about?
Vibration dampening? carbon compounds? Talk about an unsupported
comments. And I didn't repeat any marketingspeak, the thread started
by asking about comfort bikes and I feel that I test rode many very
good bikes over the same rough (and huge) warehouse parking lot. So
much for trying to share my shopping experience. I bought the one I
liked the best, maybe if you put your butt on one before dismissing my
"personal" opinion, you'd at least be able to claim you rode one and
didn't like it, regardless of how unsupported that comment would be.

John Forrest Tomlinson Wrote:
On Wed, 27 Oct 2004 13:38:02 +1000, PixelPusher
wrote:

I'm trying to understand where your sarcasm and skepticism is coming
from.... maybe its because I said I liked a Specialized bike the best
and not some Italian frame?

I think it's a reaction to unsupported claims, claims that run counter
to logic, or claims that repeat marketingspeak..

JT

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Visit 'http://www.jt10000.com' (http://www.jt10000.com/)
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--
PixelPusher