Fast Race Frame??

saprkzz · March 2013

Wow, just wow (as grill says lol)
Once again, I am comparing two of MY bikes, same circuit, same rider, same conditions.
I am not worried about the engine.
I don't care if garmin can ride it, for me it feels crap COMPARED to my other bike.

I am not concerned about my engine, I feel quick enough and fit enough.

Adihead, thanks for the thought of going to retul with the R5, I will do this to see if it makes the difference.

Once again (for the skim readers) I am not concerned about my engine I feel quick enough and fit enough.

Once again, I am comparing two of MY bikes against each other and the R5 felt awful.

Yes I am inexperienced Dennisn hence why I am asking a forum lol.

Oh and just in case, I am not happy with the R5 COMPARING to my moda, I am not concerned about the engine, that is quick enough where I want to be at the moment.

imposter2.0 · March 2013

saprkzz wrote:

I am not concerned about my engine, I feel quick enough and fit enough.

Once again (for the skim readers) I am not concerned about my engine I feel quick enough and fit enough.

I am not concerned about the engine, that is quick enough where I want to be at the moment.

saprkzz wrote:

I found it hard to keep constant pace with the peloton, my average lap speed was noticbly down.....My legs were aching after 30 minutes, I felt like I was chasing the whole time.

Not sure about you, but I'm struggling to reconcile these two quotes...

smoggysteve · March 2013

OP

You come on here saying you are after suggestions. Nearly everyone tells you the bike is fine, change it to you. ie get a bike fit. What more do you want? Plenty of people on here know what they are talking about and I would say Grill is one of the more knowledgeable.

Would you prefer we just told you what you want to hear instead of what we believe is the sensible option that is there is nothing wrong with your bike. it is not a POS its the way its set up for you. If you want to a new bike go and buy one ffs, but don't go dismissing advice when you ask for it from people who, in my opinion , know more than you.

Grill · March 2013

You just really want to spend money, don't you? If you've had a proper fit on your Moda then translating it to your R5 is a piece of piss.

1. Did you warm up on your ride and if so for how long? Caning it cold always leads to disaster.
2. You do a lot of gym work, but how much do you actually ride your bike?
3. You do realize that your perceived lack of performance on your R5 is entirely psychosomatic? And yes, this is a rhetorical question.

I've put on a little more than a stone since last September when I did my 12. Since then I've gotten a lot faster and stronger and have been regularly smashing my PBs on all climbs. I never go to the gym, but I do ride my bike. A lot. When I get back into race shape in the next couple of months my P2W will be ridiculous as compared to last year. There is no secret to improvement, it's all about the miles.

If you have time to scour the web for hours in order to try and improve your performance through anecdotal articles, then you have time to ride your bike.

Wirral_paul · March 2013

Imposter wrote:

saprkzz wrote:

I am not concerned about my engine, I feel quick enough and fit enough.

Once again (for the skim readers) I am not concerned about my engine I feel quick enough and fit enough.

I am not concerned about the engine, that is quick enough where I want to be at the moment.

saprkzz wrote:

I found it hard to keep constant pace with the peloton, my average lap speed was noticbly down.....My legs were aching after 30 minutes, I felt like I was chasing the whole time.

Not sure about you, but I'm struggling to reconcile these two quotes...

Clearly the position on the R5 isnt working - its not rocket science now is it!! Regardless of what the Pro's can do on an R5 - if your position on the bike is completely wrong, then its going to slow you down.

The OP has already mentioned the longer head tube on the R5 than the Moda. If the bars are slammed down on the Moda (as mine are) then clearly this will mean a more upright riding position on the R5. This changes the weight distribution as well as aerodynamics - and will certainly change the handling feel - with lesss weight on the front wheel.

Grill · March 2013

Considering he runs spacers under the stem of the R5, I don't think the headtube is the issue...

saprkzz wrote:

I had a retul fit on my first road bike a couple of years ago, and was amazed the difference from buying the bike from the shop. My whole postion changed and the pains in the neck i was getting on long rides disappeared. Also I just felt right.

Now a couple of years on and buying my 2nd bike, I opted for a "Human fit" and again have been surprised how well i am now riding the bike. The Cervelo R5 had a very sit up and beg postion and to be honest wasnt feeling it like i thought i would. I completed a 110 mile ride a couple of weeks ago, and again my neck was hurting, and noticed my arms were fully streched... not right.

After the fit, I went on a 70 mile ride this sunday gone to test it, and i was totally amazed on how nice the bike felt, and making it feel like a race bike now. I feel much more powerful, maybe this is physcological, but wow, the bike feels good now, and had no aching when i climbed off.

To choose between the Retul to human fit.... i reckon i would choose human fit now.

imposter2.0 · March 2013

Apparently, the bike is 'amazingley (sic) amazing'...

viewtopic.php?f=40044&t=12868709

smidsy · March 2013

The OP appears to have 3 mountain bikes and only 2 road bikes. Perhaps if he had 4 road bikes he would be a better road rider :!:

Obviously the person riding the bike is the important thing, but if the bike is not to to their liking (set up/feel etc) then it could perceivably affect performace. :?:

Even if you are 10% slower than the others surely having another frame that provides margial gains is still relevant. I accept you will still not bridge the 10% by doing this but it may give you 2%, thus closing the gap?

Or not. :roll:

All any of us can do is strive to be the best we can be - if another frame helps to achieves that, why not.

jibberjim · March 2013

smidsy wrote:

Even if you are 10% slower than the others surely having another frame that provides margial gains is still relevant. I accept you will still not bridge the 10% by doing this but it may give you 2%, thus closing the gap?

But the frame is an excellent one, the "marginal gains" available in a different frame are absolutely tiny, nowhere near 1% let alone 2%. However there are almost certainly major gains available to it by changing the position on the frame - which will probably require buying at least a different stem.

dennisn · March 2013

smidsy wrote:

The OP appears to have 3 mountain bikes and only 2 road bikes. Perhaps if he had 4 road bikes he would be a better road rider :!:

Obviously the person riding the bike is the important thing, but if the bike is not to to their liking (set up/feel etc) then it could perceivably affect performace. :?:

Even if you are 10% slower than the others surely having another frame that provides margial gains is still relevant. I accept you will still not bridge the 10% by doing this but it may give you 2%, thus closing the gap?

Or not. :roll:

All any of us can do is strive to be the best we can be - if another frame helps to achieves that, why not.

IMHO I think the OP is the sort of person who falls for all the hype and hoopla and actually believes that he can purchase big performance gains. Much like the people who buy all the crazy products that are supposed to take 5 strokes off your golf game. It's almost like they are saying "buy this and tomorrow you'll be playing on the PGA Pro Tour". Same with cycling, and many, many other sports. We are all susceptible to this sort of thing in varying degrees, so it doesn't surprise me to see people going overboard with the ideas that are put in their heads. The old saying "sucker born every minute" has been proven over and over through the years and all of us have been that "sucker" at one time or another.

Camcycle1974 · April 2013

Agree totally. To the op,search "durianrider"on YouTube and see his opinions on carbon bikes and lightweight components. Bear in mind he races cat in aus so be knows what he's on about. Glad I bought an ALU bike now!

alihisgreat · April 2013

Camcycle1974 wrote:

Agree totally. To the op,search "durianrider"on YouTube and see his opinions on carbon bikes and lightweight components. Bear in mind he races cat in aus so be knows what he's on about. Glad I bought an ALU bike now!

And now I've heard it all

Wirral_paul · April 2013

Camcycle1974 wrote:

Agree totally. To the op,search "durianrider"on YouTube and see his opinions on carbon bikes and lightweight components. Bear in mind he races cat in aus so be knows what he's on about. Glad I bought an ALU bike now!

Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear. That guy has far too many opinions and i dont know about others - but think he's just about the biggest knob on the whole internet!!

Anybody want a banana??

on-yer-bike · April 2013

If youve had a retul for the Moda you must have the measurements that can now be applied to any bike. If the measurements cant be achieved on the R5 without a stupidly short stem etc then its the wrong size. If the headtube is too long on the R5 buy a -17 degree stem as recommended by Cervelo. The geometry on the Rs and Ss is the same.

Now its in your head that the R5 is useless you'll have to get rid of it though, or see a hypnotist.

cougie · April 2013

Camcycle1974 wrote:

Agree totally. To the op,search "durianrider"on YouTube and see his opinions on carbon bikes and lightweight components. Bear in mind he races cat in aus so be knows what he's on about. Glad I bought an ALU bike now!

Yeah cos Aluminium never fails....

All materials can fail. I've broken two metal seatposts, and had a steel frame corrode through from the inside. So far - touch wood - CF has been OK.

pkripper · April 2013

FWIW - I went for it on some strava segments yesterday on my winter / commuting bike which is set up significantly higher and heavier than my race bike. I pedalled hard and smashed last summers records that were set on a lighter, more race orientated bike.

And I thought I was quite quick last summer. Clearly more focussed riding has brought the gain. Maybe I'll be faster on the race bike, but right now I'll settle for the dominant change being my power and endurance.

Oh, and the power and endurance plummeted for a couple of days before I realised I had a random virus that took me out for a couple more days. Maybe you just had a bad day?

dnwhite88 · April 2013

Camcycle1974 wrote:

Agree totally. To the op,search "durianrider"on YouTube and see his opinions on carbon bikes and lightweight components. Bear in mind he races cat in aus so be knows what he's on about. Glad I bought an ALU bike now!

Thank god you didn't buy carbon and went with something STRONG like aluminium!

saprkzz · April 2013

pkripper wrote:

FWIW - I went for it on some strava segments yesterday on my winter / commuting bike which is set up significantly higher and heavier than my race bike. I pedalled hard and smashed last summers records that were set on a lighter, more race orientated bike.

And I thought I was quite quick last summer. Clearly more focussed riding has brought the gain. Maybe I'll be faster on the race bike, but right now I'll settle for the dominant change being my power and endurance.

Oh, and the power and endurance plummeted for a couple of days before I realised I had a random virus that took me out for a couple more days. Maybe you just had a bad day?

You know what pkripper.. you may just be right, I felt strong on the night, (Last Tuesday), but on Thursday, now got an ear problem and have had a bug all weekend, so maybe there was something there?..

@on-yer-bike, you are a star, I hadnt even thought of this, I have all the measurments from the retul fit I will be able to check out the difference.

I know on my Moda they said the frame was too small, but the 58cm would possbily too large. On the second bike fit for the R5, they said I have difficult body measurements.

The moda was fitted with a 140mm stem and the cervelo has 130mm, I have long arms.

Do you think the second bike fit could have got it worng by any chance?.. I dont know the science behind it really, but is there such a thing of a bad bike fit?

cougie · April 2013

You cant write off a bike on the basis of one ride. Sometimes you underperform. At least give it a month before changing.

limoneboy · April 2013

Thinking of taking Bianchi to the cleaners as my oltre is no where near as fast as in the pro peleton on telly

really !!! ,come on :shock:

saprkzz · April 2013

limoneboy wrote:

Thinking of taking Bianchi to the cleaners as my oltre is no where near as fast as in the pro peloton on telly

really !!! ,come on :shock:

Nice skim reading!!

limoneboy · April 2013

saprkzz wrote:

limoneboy wrote:

Thinking of taking Bianchi to the cleaners as my oltre is no where near as fast as in the pro peloton on telly

really !!! ,come on :shock:

Nice skim reading!!

nice to see a sense of humour on here

all i would say is size for size my oltre ,which is a hors cat bike,(i am not a hors class rider) has pretty much the same geometery , so i was just wondering why you thought it was upright ,mine certainly isn't. as mention eallier i thought it was the RS which was a sportive setup.

smoggysteve · April 2013

limoneboy wrote:

nice to see a sense of humour on here all i would say is size for size my oltre ,which is a hors cat bike,(i am not a hors class rider) has pretty much the same geometery , so i was just wondering why you thought it was upright ,mine certainly isn't. as mention eallier i thought it was the RS which was a sportive setup.

Best to stay away from them riding them classy hors mate

limoneboy · April 2013

SmoggySteve wrote:

limoneboy wrote:

nice to see a sense of humour on here all i would say is size for size my oltre ,which is a hors cat bike,(i am not a hors class rider) has pretty much the same geometery , so i was just wondering why you thought it was upright ,mine certainly isn't. as mention eallier i thought it was the RS which was a sportive setup.

Best to stay away from them riding them classy hors mate

Italian Classy hors mind

saprkzz · April 2013

limoneboy wrote:

saprkzz wrote:

limoneboy wrote:

Thinking of taking Bianchi to the cleaners as my oltre is no where near as fast as in the pro peloton on telly

really !!! ,come on :shock:

Nice skim reading!!

nice to see a sense of humour on here all i would say is size for size my oltre ,which is a hors cat bike,(i am not a hors class rider) has pretty much the same geometery , so i was just wondering why you thought it was upright ,mine certainly isn't. as mention eallier i thought it was the RS which was a sportive setup.

Of course, I dont ever take things too personally, especically on fourms..

Too much stress in my life as it is, dont need any more in my relax time as well (yes I come on here to relax lol)

Anyway, back on topic. When i bought the bike the sales guy spent nearly an hour going through the type of rider i am , and the type of riding i do as I went into the shop to buy a S2. He strongly advised me to go for the R5 as it is more suited for long distance and comfort saying the S series frames are stiffer and more suited for excelleration and power, hence being a better frame suited for crits.

Obviously my style of riding and goals has changed since i got it, and wanting to do racing now.

Last night on the circuit back on the Moda, storming it around and winning the sprint finish. I am going to get the R5 checked with a Retul fit though as it would be a shame to right off £6k, but at the end of the day i dont want it to become a garage queen if i perfer my winter bike!.

Fast Race Frame??

Comments

Categories