No Ride, Quick Question
Could someone explain the difference between a road bike, cyclo-cross bike, and a triathalon bike? So far, all I can tell from looking at them is that road bikes seem to have curled handlebars, Cyclo-cross straight, and triathalon bikes seem to have these huge frames. And I probably have that all wrong.
Also, I don't understand anything about all the stats and measurements of this angle or that angle, this diameter or that length. I mean, I know what they are talking about there (pretty pictures all over the place), but nothing about why one particular measurement would be better than another and for what circumstance. Also trying to come to terms with some of the other terminology, like "cassette" (is that what the rear gears are mounted to, or where the cranks?). I remember the old days when all you needed to know were how big around the wheels were and how many speeds did it have, and the debate over whether Shimano was better than Bendix. Nowadays it appears that every single little detail can be different, from the length of the cranks to the angle of the forks to the number of spokes on the wheel. Hell, I'll have to study for six months just to know what a salesman is talking about!
2 Comments:
A cassette is the back set of sprockets. The front is called the bottom bracket, or "rings".
Trathalon bike= designed for speed, you sit far forward, ass higher than arms. BAD for bad backs, comfort, and long rides. Great for speed.
Road Bike = couple different kinds. Comfort, like Rich has is less angle forward, more upright position. More comfortable, less aerodynamic, less speed.
Race/Road bike is like what I have. More forward position on the bike (this is created by the angle of the top bar and seat tube. if the seat tube is angled back, its more road than comfort)
Cycle-cross = Marc's new bike. Basically a road bike with a mountain bike rear cassette (different gear ratio that way). Its designed for comfort and some light off road capability. Not good for speed at all. Its kind of like a hybrid, but designed more road bike than mountain, where a hybrid is more mountain than road)
Cat (with Marc's assist)
I asked a question on the Tandem@Hobbes mailing list about helping to set up a bike for Charlene, my stoker on the huge beast, and was directed to Peter White's How To Fit A Bicycle.
I'm no expert at bike buying, but some things I've noticed recently:
1. Talk to the older guys, but make sure that before you buy you have a session with the kid who works in the bike shop. He hasn't yet found his place in the flow of things, so he'll happily take more time than he should helping you work through all of the combinations. No experience, but a lot more patient.
2. I recently replaced the rear derailleur and front chainrings on my mountain bike. In doing so I upped the components by a level or two. While you might end up with a $500 bike, take the $2500 one out for a spin and understand what the difference is; true, you won't really know in a single trip around the block, but you'll get a feel for what parts shift more smoothly, and know what trade-offs you want to make. Remember too that it's much easier to say "I want this bike with an XT derailleur rather than the LX" when it's new, once you take it out of the shop you'll be trying to push that low end component on the used market.
For me a lighter frame on the more expensive bike would probably be wasted, but that smoother rear shift is nice. And it's nice to have those better components on the front, but if I had to make a choice between one or the other I'd take smoother on the rear. On the other hand, on the tandem I'd take smoother on the front, because on that bike I don't anticipate shifts as nicely as I should and there it's more important that the "oh crap I need a different range" shift work more smoothly than the "let's up the cadence by 7RPM" shift.
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