Comparing 2 bikes

Garry71

I have 2 bikes; a Carrera Virtuoso road bike, and an old Raleigh Nitro 26".

The road bike isn't very comfortable at times, I've changed the saddle which has helped a bit.
The Raleigh is really comfortable, I feel safer on it, and more confident.

The road bike is dead easy to pedal, even uphill, but the Raleigh is a real leg burner, even on the flat. It feels like cycling through treacle. It has Schwalbe City Jets at the moment, and the road bike has Gator Skins.

Even allowing for the tyres, why is the Raleigh so hard to shift?

I've combined a double exposure photo of the 2 bikes if anyone wants to compare them and give me some advice on how to make the Raleigh easier to move, as thats the one that can better take the bumps and kerbs.
I cant work out how to put pictures on here, so this is a link to them on Flickr.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/gvp1/sets/ ... 903282730/

Thanks a lot
Garry

Anonymous

Easy. Melt the raleigh down into a brick shape. Throw melted down raleight through bike shop window and steal a road bike.

Seriously, I dont know, maybe put slimmer slick tyres on the raleigh ?

ilm_zero7

Looks to have a longer wheelbase and strange frame geometry - like a good smaller bike stretched, that cant be efficient for your pedal power - but getting some decent wheels would be my advice

sheffsimon

Garry71 wrote:

I have 2 bikes; a Carrera Virtuoso road bike, and an old Raleigh Nitro 26".

The road bike isn't very comfortable at times, I've changed the saddle which has helped a bit.
The Raleigh is really comfortable, I feel safer on it, and more confident.

The road bike is dead easy to pedal, even uphill, but the Raleigh is a real leg burner, even on the flat. It feels like cycling through treacle. It has Schwalbe City Jets at the moment, and the road bike has Gator Skins.

Even allowing for the tyres, why is the Raleigh so hard to shift?

I've combined a double exposure photo of the 2 bikes if anyone wants to compare them and give me some advice on how to make the Raleigh easier to move, as thats the one that can better take the bumps and kerbs.
I cant work out how to put pictures on here, so this is a link to them on Flickr.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/gvp1/sets/ ... 903282730/

Thanks a lot
Garry

'Cos it's s****??

skyd0g

Neither bike looks to be set-up particularly efficiently. Saddles need to be alot closer to level plus the bars look way too high on both bikes.

Garry71

Thanks for the replies.
I'll look at levelling the saddles tomorrow, and see how it goes.
I've got the handlebars high as it feels better to me like that. I think a flat bar road bike woud have been a better choice for me, I haven't taken to the drop bars very well at all.

skyd0g

Take a look at the bikes in the OCP thread - http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=12618247 - these are more conventionally set-up.
Why haven't you taken to the drop-bars? Lack of flexibility?

Garry71

Just lack of confidence as they're a bit narrower than flat bars, and a bit more twitchy. I also prefer a more upright position as I'm basically a casual cyclist, and like looking around at the view. Also I'm constantly thinking about the brake levers as they don't seem as instinctive to grab at quickly, if you know what I mean.
I'll set it up closer to a more conventional setup anyway and give that a try for a while.
Cheers.