Holdsworth Stelvio

Sharky999

So i spoke to the guys at PX regarding this frame as i was going to buy it to set up as a sportive bike and not an out and out race bike, they tell me its a race bike. However on reading the reviews it's been quoted on saying its as happy on a sunday club/ sportive run as it is in a race situation.

Im totally confused

Any help is appreciated, especially if you own one.

ugo.santalucia

It's a frame... it will do what you want it to do... unless you have to do a 24 h time trial or win the world track championships or ride to Ulan Bator fully loaded, it's just a bike, they will all do the same thing

I did a famous Welsh Sportive on a commuting/cross bike, it should have melted and self destroyed as it was not meant to do that, but it did just fine at a few seconds out of a gold finish (it would have been gold with a stronger bladder)

MisterMuncher

In all truth, outside of extremes of geometry, you can fit a correctly sized frame to most disciplines. And you can do it yourself, too.

wishitwasallflat

OP if you want a Sportive bike because your body needs an upright position for physical reasons then it matters. If the only difference between Sportive and Race, for you, is race is a word which means priority speed over comfort and Sportive means priority comfort over speed and your body is sound with both, then it won't matter.

Following this forum for a fair while now it seems clear to me that some of us have bodies which are much more sensitive to and affected by bike geometry than others. Wish I could just jump on any bike that basically fits and ride but sadly my old bones need genuine upright (sportive style) geometry and i fear a genuine race (stretched out flat back) position just ain't in my realms of possibility. If that rings any bells with you take care with your decision and try before you buy - if it doesn't jump on and ride any bike and enjoy (you lucky bas£&@d )

cougie

A lot of club runs turn into races anyway. Nobody stops to swap bikes.

imposter2.0

Race bike / sportive bike are just marketing terms. Like Ugo says, a road frame is a road frame.

dwanes

Well put imposter. There is a lot of sense being spoken on this thread, which makes a change.

ugo.santalucia

dwanes wrote:

Well put imposter. There is a lot of sense being spoken on this thread, which makes a change.

Wait, the brigade of the 1 cm of headtube / half a degree angle makes a world of difference is still to arrive... plus someone has to mention "light"and "stiff" or it's not a discussion about road frames

Sharky999

Thanks for the replies, interesting points of view.

Cheers

keef66

viewtopic.php?f=40004&t=12956469&start=140

Have a read about a fellow forumite's experience building one up. He wouldn't mind me saying he's no racing snake

DiscoBoy

I was in the shop last week looking at these. The head tube is pretty short IMO.

This new trend of sportive bikes has lead a lot of people to think "It has a tall head tube, it must be really comfortable. I couldn't possibly ride something with a more aggressive geometry because I am *insert nonsense here*." Rather then actually giving a proper thought to bike fit.

mroli

One of the renowned "bike fitters" that comes highly rec on here says the following about fitting people to their existing bikes:

If your bike cannot be made to fit you, we will tell you at the outset (& we won’t charge you) – don’t worry, this has only happened a couple of times

Playing around with different stems/seatposts/saddle positions/spacers etc gives you a massive amount of flexibility on a bike. Sure you may lose a couple of % of "prime performance", but you'll never notice it.

wishitwasallflat

mroli wrote:

One of the renowned "bike fitters" that comes highly rec on here says the following about fitting people to their existing bikes:

If your bike cannot be made to fit you, we will tell you at the outset (& we won’t charge you) – don’t worry, this has only happened a couple of times

Playing around with different stems/seatposts/saddle positions/spacers etc gives you a massive amount of flexibility on a bike. Sure you may lose a couple of % of "prime performance", but you'll never notice it.

Playing around with different stems/seatposts/saddle positions/spacers etc gives you a massive amount of flexibility on a bike - Yes undoubtedly true - but - If your bike cannot be made to fit you, we will tell you at the outset indicates that certainly whoever said this believes there are limitations which cannot be overcome. If you buy a bike and find yourself in that position you would notice it. That's the point I was trying to make - there is flexibility but the notion that anyone can buy any bike as long as it fits it will be fine is not applicable to many people. It is to some but not all.