Hivemind needed....

rick_chasey

Last time I float this.

Took it out for a reasonably hilly 100km odd ride with the Kingston Wheelers on Sunday.

Loved it to bits.

Couldn't believe how good it was. Could go into specifics, but, in short, everything was WAAY better.

keyser__soze

So when do I get my finder's fee?

the_fuggler

Good to hear Rick - looks like a great bike.

rick_chasey

Keyser__Soze wrote:

So when do I get my finder's fee?

Buy you a couple beers next time you're at Morpeth .

Green Brompton

I hope I don't get too many people :roll: their eyes at me... but other than £££, what can you get from a pro Carbon bike that you don't get from a standard aluminium frame... I mean really what's the difference with the function and feel... I understand that the components are better etc etc... but what does it 'feel' like in comparison?!!!

I love my Ridley, but it's not a carbon frame... but I really enjoy riding it. I've read reviews, but I want to understand more about the 'feeling' that an expensive carbon bike gives you to warrant buying one...

No prizes for the first person to tell me to go and ride one - I guess I just want to see what everyone 'gets' from it!

coopster_the_1st

Rick Chasey wrote:

Last time I float this.

Took it out for a reasonably hilly 100km odd ride with the Kingston Wheelers on Sunday.

Loved it to bits.

Couldn't believe how good it was. Could go into specifics, but, in short, everything was WAAY better.

Have missed the updates to this thread over the last week or so :oops:

You have made a fantastic choice. I have been riding the 2011 version of your bike that you have since August last year and it is a great bike. Specs look the same.

The compact will not be a problem as I have spun easily to over 40mph on a decent.

bigmat

Green Brompton wrote:

I hope I don't get too many people :roll: their eyes at me... but other than £££, what can you get from a pro Carbon bike that you don't get from a standard aluminium frame... I mean really what's the difference with the function and feel... I understand that the components are better etc etc... but what does it 'feel' like in comparison?!!!

I love my Ridley, but it's not a carbon frame... but I really enjoy riding it. I've read reviews, but I want to understand more about the 'feeling' that an expensive carbon bike gives you to warrant buying one...

No prizes for the first person to tell me to go and ride one - I guess I just want to see what everyone 'gets' from it!

Mine is lighter and just feels a bit more "alive". My alu bike is probably a bit stiffer, not too heavy, quite good in a sprint, but you never get that feeling that its taking off like i do on my carbon bike. Of course, the best bike generally has better wheels / tyres, better all round kit and I'm more likelyto be in race gear rather than commuter gear. Also, both alu and carbon frames can cover a wide spectrum, so its hard to comment definitively.

Green Brompton

BigMat wrote:

Mine is lighter and just feels a bit more "alive". My alu bike is probably a bit stiffer, not too heavy, quite good in a sprint, but you never get that feeling that its taking off like i do on my carbon bike. Of course, the best bike generally has better wheels / tyres, better all round kit and I'm more likelyto be in race gear rather than commuter gear. Also, both alu and carbon frames can cover a wide spectrum, so its hard to comment definitively.

Cool - One of the noticeable differences I felt with my Ridley when I first rode it was it felt like it had a lot more to give than than I could pump into it, a bit like its power and performance was waiting to be unleashed. Was an awesome feeling.

Headhuunter

Green Brompton wrote:

BigMat wrote:

Mine is lighter and just feels a bit more "alive". My alu bike is probably a bit stiffer, not too heavy, quite good in a sprint, but you never get that feeling that its taking off like i do on my carbon bike. Of course, the best bike generally has better wheels / tyres, better all round kit and I'm more likelyto be in race gear rather than commuter gear. Also, both alu and carbon frames can cover a wide spectrum, so its hard to comment definitively.

Cool - One of the noticeable differences I felt with my Ridley when I first rode it was it felt like it had a lot more to give than than I could pump into it, a bit like its power and performance was waiting to be unleashed. Was an awesome feeling.

Carbon is also better at absorbing road buzz than aluminium or other materials. When I get on my carbon at the weekend I often think I've got a puncture as the ride is noticeably smoother than on the aluminium commuters...

notsoblue

Green Brompton wrote:

Cool - One of the noticeable differences I felt with my Ridley when I first rode it was it felt like it had a lot more to give than than I could pump into it, a bit like its power and performance was waiting to be unleashed. Was an awesome feeling.

Thats a pretty good description actually. Thats how I feel on my carbon bike.

bigmat

Headhuunter wrote:

Green Brompton wrote:

BigMat wrote:

Mine is lighter and just feels a bit more "alive". My alu bike is probably a bit stiffer, not too heavy, quite good in a sprint, but you never get that feeling that its taking off like i do on my carbon bike. Of course, the best bike generally has better wheels / tyres, better all round kit and I'm more likelyto be in race gear rather than commuter gear. Also, both alu and carbon frames can cover a wide spectrum, so its hard to comment definitively.

Cool - One of the noticeable differences I felt with my Ridley when I first rode it was it felt like it had a lot more to give than than I could pump into it, a bit like its power and performance was waiting to be unleashed. Was an awesome feeling.

Carbon is also better at absorbing road buzz than aluminium or other materials. When I get on my carbon at the weekend I often think I've got a puncture as the ride is noticeably smoother than on the aluminium commuters...

I just put an extra 20 PSI in the tyres to compensate!

Green Brompton

Headhuunter wrote:

Green Brompton wrote:

BigMat wrote:

Mine is lighter and just feels a bit more "alive". My alu bike is probably a bit stiffer, not too heavy, quite good in a sprint, but you never get that feeling that its taking off like i do on my carbon bike. Of course, the best bike generally has better wheels / tyres, better all round kit and I'm more likelyto be in race gear rather than commuter gear. Also, both alu and carbon frames can cover a wide spectrum, so its hard to comment definitively.

Cool - One of the noticeable differences I felt with my Ridley when I first rode it was it felt like it had a lot more to give than than I could pump into it, a bit like its power and performance was waiting to be unleashed. Was an awesome feeling.

Carbon is also better at absorbing road buzz than aluminium or other materials. When I get on my carbon at the weekend I often think I've got a puncture as the ride is noticeably smoother than on the aluminium commuters...

I don't like that feeling!

Anonymous

GB - carbon will give you the feeling you felt on your aluminium bike all over again, in short.

In long, it depends on the bike itself, but thats what I felt after feeling the same about my Alu bike then borrowing a friends Ribble.

Green Brompton

coriordan wrote:

GB - carbon will give you the feeling you felt on your aluminium bike all over again, in short.

In long, it depends on the bike itself, but thats what I felt after feeling the same about my Alu bike then borrowing a friends Ribble.

Nice! I will get one one day, not that I'm looking, just read RC's posts about loving his new bike and wondered what everyone else feels when they ride theirs.

rick_chasey

Coopster the 1st wrote:

Rick Chasey wrote:

Last time I float this.

Took it out for a reasonably hilly 100km odd ride with the Kingston Wheelers on Sunday.

Loved it to bits.

Couldn't believe how good it was. Could go into specifics, but, in short, everything was WAAY better.

Have missed the updates to this thread over the last week or so :oops:

You have made a fantastic choice. I have been riding the 2011 version of your bike that you have since August last year and it is a great bike. Specs look the same.

The compact will not be a problem as I have spun easily to over 40mph on a decent.

Argh. I don't have a compact!

53/39.

But thanks .

daviesee

Rick Chasey wrote:

Argh. I don't have a compact!

53/39.

But thanks .

So how do you do your make-up on a night out?

rick_chasey

Green Brompton wrote:

coriordan wrote:

GB - carbon will give you the feeling you felt on your aluminium bike all over again, in short.

In long, it depends on the bike itself, but thats what I felt after feeling the same about my Alu bike then borrowing a friends Ribble.

Nice! I will get one one day, not that I'm looking, just read RC's posts about loving his new bike and wondered what everyone else feels when they ride theirs.

I can be a bit more specific.

The main thing is probably the weight, I suspect. It's a good 3-4 kilos lighter than anything I've ridden before. When you're 55 odd kg, that makes an enormous difference.

That and the apparent stiffness, though probably mainly the weight, makes it feel so quick. When I accelerate I feel like I'm hanging on to the bike rather than driving it it - feels that fast.

The ride is definitely less harsh than any bike I've ridden before. A lot less buzz. Couldn't believe how fresh I felt after the miles I'd done. Not so much the legs, they were sore as you'd expect, but the rest ached a lot less. It also seems to float over the bumps a little more, and doesn't seem to get bogged down so quickly when the road gets quite rough.

I used to watch pros climb out the saddle and couldn't believe how fast they'd turn the pedals. Doing that on my old bikes felt very slow - like my effort wasn't going anywhere. Couldn't have been more different on this bike. Really motored along when I got out of the saddle.

That's just the ride. Never had so much choice in gears before. Now I don't have to soft tap a good two pedal strokes to change gear, and once I have, I'm not immediately either struggling like a mad man or putting effort in to get ontop of it. Those smaller gaps and superfast changes are very useful when you're trying to get a good rhythm going uphill.

Also, speaking of shifting, having a 53/39 means you shift a fair bit more between the two chainrings when you're out in the hills - good job the front shift works so quickly. Never had a bike that had such a crisp shift at the front.