Road cyclists: titanium vs. steel frames

[RickC]

I rode a friend's carbon Softride, but I'm pretty sure it wouldn't be legal in road races.

I couldn't say whether the plush ride was the beam or the material. A little funny to get on the thing though - the bar sits up high and sinks as you sit on it and the tube/beam makes it hard to throw your leg over.

[JavaBrewer]

Re: Softride - their web site states that USCF and USACycling have allowed the bike but UCI still bans it. To me that's a bit strange since the sport is all about innovation (and a butt load of training). Remember the 1989 Tour de France where Greg LeMond beat Laurent Fignon on the final 15 mile time trial. He put 58 seconds into Fignon (who ended up collapsing in a sobbing heap -- French) to end up winning by 8 seconds. A lot of people, myself included, attribute the win to his aero bar setup:


Overall I thought Greg was the stronger rider that year but 50 seconds on a flat 15 mile course is nearly impossible to makeup at that level of competition.

Always wanted to try out the Softride bike. There's a high end bike shop in Encinitas called Nytro that might have some. Man nothing like a bunch of cycling talk to stoke the fire!

[RickC]

Had some mail order dealings with Nytro - they're well know in the Tri world - and they treated me well.

In the Chicago area there're a number of good shops. Two I've had good luck with are Village Cycle downtown and Mission Bay in Elgin. Mission Bay sent me some very unusual bolts and things free of charge when I needed them in a hurry. Very cool guys.

[nostatic]

btw David, did you watch the race on TV? I remember I was working at a bike shop part time and we pretty much shut down to watch the tour. That ride was absolutely amazing...one of the greatest moments in sport I've seen.

[BlueSkyJaunte]

Originally posted by nostatic
...one of the greatest moments in sport I've seen.

I'm partial to that "agony of defeat" guy launching off the ski jump ramp, myself.

[SidVicious]

It seems like a lifetime ago I rode seriously. I always favored steel. I have a Pinarello hanging in the garage made from Tange Prestige tubes. At the time the only Pinarellos with Prestige tubing were Levi's team bikes. Full Chorus group, Cinelli bars and saddle, Mavic wheels and hubs. There's something about Italian bikes...

Sadly my riding days are over. When the thyroid quit it altered my universe. On my first test my TSH was 148.

[JavaBrewer]

Todd, yes I watched the race and I also bought the video. I still have to go for a ride every time I finish watching it

For me Greg's finishing TT in the 1989 tour is probably in my top 3 most memorable sporting finishes. That journalists criticized SI for giving Greg the Sportsman of the Year award was unbelieveable. I heard comments like -


"I can't hit a home run in the World Series, I can't throw a touchdown in the Superbowl, I can't drive a race car 200 MPH inches from a wall, but I sure as hell can ride a bicycle up a hill."

Who ever thinks that way knows nothing of the sport. These guys are at the absolute pinnicle of fitness and strength/weight ratio's and truely love the sport cause unless you're a Lance Armstrong caliber rider the money/endorsements just isn't there. Other than the Ironman I can't think of a sport that requires a greater personal and physical commitment by the individual.

I think it was also Letterman or Carson who asked Greg on TV if he ever had to get off and push his bike on the big hills.

[tabs]

How interesting...the interest in thing that pedal. I started riding back in 82...I bought an Araya Aero...Shimano AX group, 14 speeds. That bike always whispered in my ear..."FASTER...FASTER".....At the time I weighed about 240 lb on a 6'5" body...so I was always heavy for that bike. I stopped riding afte my Dad passed away in 1988...I had Dump trucks going by me 18" away at 45 mph with nowhere for me to get off the road except for the gravel.

Later I bought a Klein Mountain Bike...but I almost never used that bike...by the time I bought it my interest had largely past and I put on 40 or so pounds...now it's tough to break lower than 300 lbs...

[nostatic]

part of the attraction for me was building/working on bikes. I still haven't quite graduated to cars, but for whatever reason I found working on bikes therapeutic. Building wheels required a dash of zen and a splash of voodoo along with being able to follow directions.

I think it has to do with the fact that I can build a bike up in an hour or so, but the car is just too many parts in too many tight places...

[ronb]

Agree w you on the working on bikes vs cars...it's meditative for me to work on my bikes (columbus tubed cinelli frame from the late 70s, mostly upgraded to recent campy stuff; cannondale r900 w ultegra; and old school (early 90s )cannondale mtn bike). I ride approx 130 miles a week including just getting around town (SW massachussets - the berkshires). Working on the bike is intuitive; cars require a lot of manual reading, and system analysis that is a different head than building wheels etc. Somewhat manic rather than contemplative (although I am FAST with working on the bike (although not that fast a rider, even when I was doing serious mileage)).

[BGCarrera32]

Even more impressive of LeMond was the fact that he got mistaken for wild game in late '86 while grouse hunting and got blasted by a shotgun at close range. Came back to win the tour just 3 years later. Ultimately retired due to a rare blood disease they figure was triggered by the lead shot still lodged in the lining of his heart from the gun blast...

Seems like if you're an American and want to win the tour, you need cancer, have to get shot...I think I'll pass...

[Bill Verburg]

My vote is for Ti

I suggest that you also look into Serotta for a really nice custom frame.

I put 2-3K mi. a yr. on mine, coming off a 20yr love affair w/ steel. My brother is far more serious, we swap bikes occasionally. I find that his Carbon frame(Lemond) is plenty stiff but also plenty uncomfortable, no thanks. For racing and hills I am sure it's the best but if you put on a lot of milage Ti is the best.

[Jdub]

Hey all:

I built bicycle frames for 13 years here in Seattle - Erickson and Rodriguez.

Steel frames, fillet or lugged, silver or brass, take your pick. With the velodrome close by but mountains all around we'd build pretty much everything from MTBs to 76parallel track frames. My mongrel frame uses El, 753, and Pista .06 straightguage, all oversize. It is under 19lbs and is a 60cm! I am trying to break it but I don't have the hill legs I used to!

That said, I recommend you speak with Dave Levy at Ti Cycles here in Seattle. A very good builder and his bikes are top notch.

Fignon was such a wuss on that TT. He fell over for the cameras at the end of the TT with showmanship and victory in his head. He got up awful quick when he was informed he had lost Le Tour. I had to laugh.

I also thought Hinault was a prick to break free on the Alps (d'huez?) and try to wrestle the win from Lemond. That after Lemond was in a position to take the Tour the year before but brought back to the peleton via Director's orders.

Go Armstrong!

John

[nostatic]

There was a 61cm Rodriguez on Ebay recently that I missed out on (was busy in a meeting during the end time). Seattle has some great builders. My Davidsons (Stiletto crit bike and a road tandem) were great bikes.

[dd74]

I looked at Seven on Saturday, in the flesh down here in Hollywood.

What a bike! The ti frame was so light, when I picked it up, I nearly threw it to the ceiling.