PX London road on club runs

seanorawe

I have this post on another part of the forum
viewtopic.php?f=40042&t=13032296#p19646346

But was wondering if anyone has actually taken a London Road for a club run? if so, how did it hold up?

pippi_langsamer-2

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19646418#p19646418]seanorawe[/url] wrote:

I have this post on another part of the forum
viewtopic.php?f=40042&t=13032296#p19646346

But was wondering if anyone has actually taken a London Road for a club run? if so, how did it hold up?

I'm guessing it will hold-up as well as the other guys Trek/Scott/Specialized/Colnago etc etc etc....?

iPete

It will hold up like any other bike as long as you can ride it safely at the groups pace.

seanorawe

Sorry by hold up, I mean, could I keep up with road bikes without a significant change in the power id have to produce. Reviews have commented that its quite fast.

iPete

Depends entirely on the club run and whether it's a chain gang. If this is your first outing you'll find most are social affairs, not races and nearly all will re-gather if you do get dropped or struggle up a climb.

Either way, the PX London won't slow you down. I took a fixed bike on my first club outing.

ai_1

Any cyclocross or "gravel" type drop bar bike will be fine for club rides unless you've got big knobbly tyres it. They should perform very similarly to a road bike in terms of pace . The rider will be far more important than the bike.

seanorawe

Cheers

All these comments are really pushing me towards it, its hard to see past the pro carbon for a carbon bike with shim 105 for 900 quid but as in other posts, I need a more relaxed steed to stop my gammy hands and wrists from hurting

MountainMonster

It's a damn good bike, and is a very capable road bike with 25mms on. I wouldn't go for 23mm tyres as that negates the comfort too much in my opinion for no real gains.

iron-clover

It won't hold you up on club runs except for the most brutal race training.
Put 25-28mm road tyres on it and you'll be almost as quick as a road bike. If your position is a bit taller on the LR then you won't be able to reach the top end speed you could on an agressive road bike due to drag- but if you're behind someone then there's no problem.

I've dragged out my Carrerra Subway hybrid out to a couple of club runs which weighs a heck of a lot more than the LR ever will, and has flat bars to boot, and could still keep up. Sure, the accelerations were harder and I was more tired at the end as a result but even when the rides did turn into a bit of a race for a couple of miles I could still keep up with pretty much anyone, and could even still beat virtually everyone to the top of a hill.
The added weight of the LR will make almost no difference to your overall climbing when you crunch the maths- unless you are talking about a TT up Aple d'Huez or similar.

As has been said before, the rider makes most of the difference- and on club runs (rather than real races) where you all stick more or less together if you get on fine now, you will get on fine with a CX bike.

Have fun

seanorawe

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19647093#p19647093]MountainMonster[/url] wrote:

It's a damn good bike, and is a very capable road bike with 25mms on. I wouldn't go for 23mm tyres as that negates the comfort too much in my opinion for no real gains.

25mm? Interesting, might depend on what rims they are willing to give you. The px man on the phone said he wouldn't put smaller than 31mm on? I was actually going to run 28mm on it and purchasing 32 proper grippy boyos for when the temps drop

seanorawe

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19647126#p19647126]iron-clover[/url] wrote:

It won't hold you up on club runs except for the most brutal race training.
Put 25-28mm road tyres on it and you'll be almost as quick as a road bike. If your position is a bit taller on the LR then you won't be able to reach the top end speed you could on an agressive road bike due to drag- but if you're behind someone then there's no problem.

I've dragged out my Carrerra Subway hybrid out to a couple of club runs which weighs a heck of a lot more than the LR ever will, and has flat bars to boot, and could still keep up. Sure, the accelerations were harder and I was more tired at the end as a result but even when the rides did turn into a bit of a race for a couple of miles I could still keep up with pretty much anyone, and could even still beat virtually everyone to the top of a hill.
The added weight of the LR will make almost no difference to your overall climbing when you crunch the maths- unless you are talking about a TT up Aple d'Huez or similar.

As has been said before, the rider makes most of the difference- and on club runs (rather than real races) where you all stick more or less together if you get on fine now, you will get on fine with a CX bike.

Have fun

Thanks for the lengthy reply. Sounds good, and my mind is made up, just need to get used to sram shifting now.

reformedfatty

You might want to read this thread http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/psa-planet-x-london-road-frmaeset-for-150

Raises a ? over quality control, although the issue itself is easily addressed with a shim

ex-pat scot

I've done plenty of club rides/ chaingangs with a Tricross CX bike. the 32mm tyres did slow me a bit, but it was plenty fast enough to keep up.

ai_1

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19647373#p19647373]ex-pat scot[/url] wrote:

I've done plenty of club rides/ chaingangs with a Tricross CX bike. the 32mm tyres did slow me a bit, but it was plenty fast enough to keep up.

Me too on a 2009 Tricross Sport.
I found the original tyres a major compromise but after installing a pair of 28mm slicks the difference was eliminated and I wouldn't say there was any significant performance difference compared to a similar quality road bike.

roger_merriman

I have found that tracer pro tyres are within the same ball park.

In that lapping Richmond Park and the like, folks who overtake are faster guys/gals ie it's not the bike!

Adamgt

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19647180#p19647180]seanorawe[/url] wrote:

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19647093#p19647093]MountainMonster[/url] wrote:

It's a damn good bike, and is a very capable road bike with 25mms on. I wouldn't go for 23mm tyres as that negates the comfort too much in my opinion for no real gains.

25mm? Interesting, might depend on what rims they are willing to give you. The px man on the phone said he wouldn't put smaller than 31mm on? I was actually going to run 28mm on it and purchasing 32 proper grippy boyos for when the temps drop

I have 28mm fitted on mine, px put them on. PX have an issue with some staff not knowing their products very well. They perform very well by the way, go for it.