Got the opportunity to demo a high end carbon fibre bike today (Trek Madone 5.2). OK I know that it's probably the equivalent of giving an early intermediate tennis player Roger Federer's racket to play with; or intermediate skier Bode Miller's race skis but you're not going to turn down the chance are you?
These are my first experiences. (Bear in mind that although I'm reasonably fit, I've done no fast competitive cycling and most of my road biking experience has been on a 1980s steel framed dropped bar tourer).
Incredibly light of course. Very responsive steering- at times almost too responsive. Several times felt it twitch- almost as though the bike itself was alive (not sure if this was down to me, or whether the bike was caught by a gust of wind). Didn't really appreciate the bike while cycling back through town in moderate traffic- at this point was thinking that it was not really suited to town cycling- or perhaps I didn't have the necessary skills as the bike just seemed too responsive and found myself wanting something heavier and more stable. The fact that I was just getting used to the bike may have had something to do with this; but also the fact that never really got up much speed & kept having to stop at traffic lights meant the bike never had a chance to show off.
However once I got out onto some nice quiet country roads I started to appreciate the bike. What really came through was the speed: impressive on flats; down hills unbelievable. Going up hills was easy, particularly when out of the saddle.
I was looking forward to seeing how smooth the ride would feel. Yes it felt smooth enough, however to be honest it wasn't like the difference between night & day. To be a fair comparison though I need to go back and ride the same routes on my steel framed bike (and also maybe an entry level aluminium frame).
Got the bike for another couple of days. It will be interesting to see how I find the old tourer after the Madone.
These are my first experiences. (Bear in mind that although I'm reasonably fit, I've done no fast competitive cycling and most of my road biking experience has been on a 1980s steel framed dropped bar tourer).
Incredibly light of course. Very responsive steering- at times almost too responsive. Several times felt it twitch- almost as though the bike itself was alive (not sure if this was down to me, or whether the bike was caught by a gust of wind). Didn't really appreciate the bike while cycling back through town in moderate traffic- at this point was thinking that it was not really suited to town cycling- or perhaps I didn't have the necessary skills as the bike just seemed too responsive and found myself wanting something heavier and more stable. The fact that I was just getting used to the bike may have had something to do with this; but also the fact that never really got up much speed & kept having to stop at traffic lights meant the bike never had a chance to show off.
However once I got out onto some nice quiet country roads I started to appreciate the bike. What really came through was the speed: impressive on flats; down hills unbelievable. Going up hills was easy, particularly when out of the saddle.
I was looking forward to seeing how smooth the ride would feel. Yes it felt smooth enough, however to be honest it wasn't like the difference between night & day. To be a fair comparison though I need to go back and ride the same routes on my steel framed bike (and also maybe an entry level aluminium frame).
Got the bike for another couple of days. It will be interesting to see how I find the old tourer after the Madone.
