Technical Progress in Road Bikes

[fossyant]

Being serious for just one moment, I was always a bit of a girth snob when it came to tyres, with 25mm an absolute acceptable maximum.

My latest bike came with 30mm front and 32mm rear tubeless and I must admit they make your standard UK road surface a little more bearable. Apart from some Tufo 23mm jobs I have on my TT bike that roll like Neymar after slight contact but have the puncture resistance of a pair of tights, I’ve not felt that the extra width has increased resistance noticeably. If anything, they feel a bit easier over the ubiquitous surface dressing. I do have them up to max pressure though at 80psi. Anything much lower always makes the bike feel a bit squirrely to me.

I'l admit our roads are terrible, but 'quality' steel bikes do really zuzz out the worst vibration - it's very noticable between the two steel bikes and the alloy/carbon road bike I had. Carbon forks were harsher than the steel ones.

I run 25c, biggest I can get on my road bikes, as most of the riding I do it on poor surfaces now.

 

[cougie uk]

I'l admit our roads are terrible, but 'quality' steel bikes do really zuzz out the worst vibration - it's very noticable between the two steel bikes and the alloy/carbon road bike I had. Carbon forks were harsher than the steel ones.

I run 25c, biggest I can get on my road bikes, as most of the riding I do it on poor surfaces now.

I found it completely different.
Had a 653 frame and swapped all the kits and wheels onto a carbon frame and the ride was much much nicer. I could rode over grids and not feel them.
You can make carbon frames very stiff if you want to but my TCR was a lovely ride.

 

[Regular.Cyclist]

I have two carbon frame road bikes. Both very different. The cheaper one has less flex in the vertical but more side to side and is more harsh on rough roads than my more expensive bike

 

[Jameshow]

I found it completely different.
Had a 653 frame and swapped all the kits and wheels onto a carbon frame and the ride was much much nicer. I could rode over grids and not feel them.
You can make carbon frames very stiff if you want to but my TCR was a lovely ride.

Maybe the the longer seat post and stem smooth out the vibration?

Nice job Mike Burrows RIP.

 

[Grant Fondo]

The difference between GP5000 25c @ 120psi and 32c @ 80psi is ruddy enormous.

 

[cougie uk]

The difference between GP5000 25c @ 120psi and 32c @ 80psi is ruddy enormous.

Both those sound pretty high to me ?

 

[simongt]

I would have said frames, like the carbon/graphene Dassi?

Sorry, but to a 'steel is real' fan, that is one UGLY bike - !

 

[Grant Fondo]

Both those sound pretty high to me ?

Not when you weigh 100kg+ lol.

 

[Distorted Vision]

When I first got into cycling properly a few years ago, Specialized was the brand I was most interested in. Now. they seem to be the brand I'm least interested.

 

[Distorted Vision]

When I was a kid growing up in the 80s and 90s, road bikes were called racers or was that just a Northern thing? When did they start being called road bikes.

 

[Cycleops]

Good question. I guess back then cycling wasn't so popular so there were basic going to work bikes and those with drops which we called racers, mainly used by kids. Now there are such a proliferation of types due to people taking up cycling for different purposes we have to use new categories.

 

[Smokin Joe]

When I was a kid growing up in the 80s and 90s, road bikes were called racers or was that just a Northern thing? When did they start being called road bikes.

They were always called road bikes by cycling devotees. "Racer" was a term used by the great unwashed to differentiate between a sit up and beg and a bike with dropped handlebars.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

They were always called road bikes by cycling devotees. "Racer" was a term used by the great unwashed to differentiate between a sit up and beg and a bike with dropped handlebars.

Lol

 

[Alex321]

When I was a kid growing up in the 80s and 90s, road bikes were called racers or was that just a Northern thing? When did they start being called road bikes.

When other types of bikes became more common.

Mountain bikes were still fairly uncommon in the 80's, as were hybrids, and gravel bikes were unheard of.

 

[Distorted Vision]

I still have the first bicycle that my parents for me - a Raleigh Mustang SIS mountain bike for Christmas 1989 / my 11th birthday present in January 1990.

Its stored in the basement of a property I own and I was distraught when one of my neighbours donated it to a local bike charity as they thought it had been abandoned by a previous tenant. It held such sentimental value that I asked her to get it back which she did.

Actually, that was my second bike. My first was a blue childrens Puch. I pleasantly surprised to learn that they were still around. Funny enough these two bikes were both bought from the LBS, John Geddes Cycles which I still use for servicing my current bikes!