The future of road bikes and it aint pretty?

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Comments

  • Cotterend
    Cotterend Posts: 73
    I have larger-than-usual steps on the cassette of my compact, on the last three gears, to enable me to manage the local 20% climbs. This is great on those rooftop-slope ascents, but otherwise a bit of a problem when standing to pedal because the chain slip over the big steps can be harsh, and certainly not good for keeping a nice flow to the cadence.

    Now I could leave the front in middle gear which would give me 10 speeds but I'd be losing my bottom two ratios and my top two, AND I have big steps already AND I'm down to 11t so cannot go any further. So to go to a single chain ring would mean losing gear ratio range OR having to cope with big steps. You cannot cover the range needed in 10 or 11 steps on a single dérailleur.

    I do love the compact bars on the second bike pictured, though, looks like a really good angle for the hands in the drops.

    Louise
  • graeme_s-2
    graeme_s-2 Posts: 3,382
    Good review of the 3T Strada here

    http://road.cc/content/review/232626-3t-strada-frameset

    3t-strada-riding-1.jpg

    Aqua Blue Sport are going to be riding these next year

    http://www.bikeradar.com/road/news/arti ... 018-51160/

    fotojet-2-1509711353645-x5duyqwd7cp2-1260-80.jpg
  • cld531c
    cld531c Posts: 517
    If one of those leaves in the background of first picture stuck to the tyre the whole thing would probably come to a halt!
  • graeme_s-2
    graeme_s-2 Posts: 3,382
    cld531c wrote:
    If one of those leaves in the background of first picture stuck to the tyre the whole thing would probably come to a halt!
    The reviewer says he rode it for 4 weeks in all conditions and deliberately hunted out crappy roads to ride on without the clearance once being an issue.

    He did admit that if a road had been top dressed he'd probably find an alternative route.
  • cld531c
    cld531c Posts: 517
    Graeme_S wrote:
    cld531c wrote:
    If one of those leaves in the background of first picture stuck to the tyre the whole thing would probably come to a halt!
    The reviewer says he rode it for 4 weeks in all conditions and deliberately hunted out crappy roads to ride on without the clearance once being an issue.

    He did admit that if a road had been top dressed he'd probably find an alternative route.

    Find that a bit hard to believe but if thats what they say..
  • graeme_s-2
    graeme_s-2 Posts: 3,382
    I've no idea, I've never ridden it.

    I guess Aqua Blue will find out soon enough. The tyres on the review bike were 28C, and measured more like 31mm on the wide rims that came with it. The reviewer suggests if you were worried about clearance you could put a 25C tyre on that would probably end up more like 28mm wide and give more room.
  • Michael-B
    Michael-B Posts: 46
    Don't mind the look of disc brakes on a CX bike at all but for some reason I think they look really, really ugly on road or TT bikes once paired with deep section rims. Not keen on the huge shifters that come with hydraulic breaks either. I appreciate that's a totally subjective viewpoint but they remind me of the horrific no-brand "bikes" you see cropping up cheap on Amazon. Through axles can be a positive in certain circumstances.

    I'm not entirely convinced by x1 set ups yet, although that's from a position of ignorance as I haven't ridden one. As everyone says they look very clean but I'd have to have a go around the roads I ride to see if the gear ratios work for me. I know at the high/low end of the scale they'll be OK but it's the lack of choice in the middle of the cassette.
  • cougie
    cougie Posts: 22,512
    cld531c wrote:
    Graeme_S wrote:
    cld531c wrote:
    If one of those leaves in the background of first picture stuck to the tyre the whole thing would probably come to a halt!
    The reviewer says he rode it for 4 weeks in all conditions and deliberately hunted out crappy roads to ride on without the clearance once being an issue.

    He did admit that if a road had been top dressed he'd probably find an alternative route.

    Find that a bit hard to believe but if thats what they say..

    Back in the days of custom Steel a lot I'd us rode very close clearance frames. The worst I recall was a few scratches from stones against the paint.
  • neeb
    neeb Posts: 4,473
    I assume Aqua Blue will be riding 25mm tubs (which should be narrower/lower than even 25mm clinchers). Will be fun to see how they get on - I anticipate some issues with gear selection and wheel changes!

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