The New Ride

After several years on the Trek, the hooptie was put to the trainer for a new ride - a Specialized Tarmac with a compact crank set (50/36) with a 12-27 rear cassette, carbon frame, carbon forks, carbon seat post, carbon crank arms, Look Keo pedals, and race seat. I picked it up yesterday at the bike shop. Last night was like Christmas eve for me, waiting to get on the bike and take it for a spin.

I got on it this morning and took it for a two hour spin. I learned some things today about the differences between carbon and aluminum frames. Here are the big hitters:
1) Carbon frames are much stiffer
2) Carbon frames are more responsive
3) There's less road noise and vibration
4) Better transfer of pedaling to forward momentum
5) A few pounds do make a difference

Also, the compact crank, a double, offered some distinct gearing. I was able to stay in the big ring most of the time due to the wider range of gearing. I was able to use all of the gears in both rings without the rubbing or "cross chaining" of a triple. This was nice as well. I had some fear about not having the right gears, especially for climbing. With the ride today, that all went away. I had plenty on both ends, the upper and the lower. I really liked the FSA compact crankset. For OB12OLD, it is the two piece crank with external bearings.

Another difference I noted was in the forks. On the Trek, there is a "sticking" point that helps to hold the forks in a specific place and aids in riding straight and steady. The Specialized did not have this. I believe because of this not being on the Specialized, I could ride easily without hands. I am a bit out of practice but I rode for a good ways at the end without touching the handle bars. I can remember as a boy being able to ride easily without hands, steering by shifting my weight around. I guess lack of practice and age brings some need to refigure out balance.

A note about pedals: I bought some Look Keo Classic pedals for the bike. I had heard good things about Look pedals so I thought to try them out. I like them a lot better than my Shimano pedals. They are easier to get into than the Shimano and I have less float. I have learned one thing about Look pedals that answer a question that Yoda had. There are there color cleats for Look pedals: red, grey, and black. Each color has a degree of float built into the pedal - red is 9 degrees, grey is 4.5 degrees, and black is fixed. So if you don't like the float, buy a different cleat. I got this information right off the instruction sheet. Hey, ya learn something new everyday.

The bike bottom line: I rode a route that I rode two weeks ago. I finished in a faster time and 0.6 MPH faster even with a flat (flat time removed except for slowing, finding a spot, and getting warmed up again) and going back to pick up a water bottle. I did not push real hard. I was more interested in getting a feel of the bike. When I was done, I just said, "wow, that's neat."

Maybe now I can understand Lance's quote a bit better. The quote is "It's not about the bike." Well, if you have always ridden a $10K plus bike, sure it is not. I can see the difference now. Granted, life is not about a bike. There are more important things and that is what I interpret Lance referring to but in the realm of cycling, the bike or tool being used is of vital importance. If I went out and rode the same route with some "ganas", I bet I could improve my average speed by even more. We will see how it all turns out as I get back on the bike to prep for another year of riding. This year looks a little like this: Solvang, Conejo, STP, HHH, and Coyote. There are two other that I am considering as well: Death Vally and Channel Islands. We'll see how it goes this upcoming year - where we are and what we are doing.

Here are some pictures of the bike. It has some nice lines on it. The rear stays are flared, the top tube rectangular, the down tube is shaped to fit the rear tire. I will have to get used to getting my water bottle off the down tube cage. It is a tight fit with a 24 oz bottle. It will work though. Just a thanks to Craig for helping me take the pics.