Have things changed that much?

Gobs wrote:

I bought my partner a BTwin Triban 3 (the red one) at the weekend to try her at road biking. Granted it's the 51cm frame (with smaller 650 wheels) but it feels like a toy. I haven't ridden a road bike for 23 years, but I remember mine being far more substantial, with wider/heavier bars and larger tyres (23's on the Triban). I find the Triban very nervous steering, and hugely uncomfortable in comparison to what I remember. It was a basic bike back then but from memory was far more substantial to ride. Is this just the way things are now? I was contemplating buying a 54cm one for me but now I'm not so sure.

I'm a big fan of the Triban, I have a 520 ( alloy frame, CF forks), which I've upgraded to something more akin to a 540 over the 3 years I've had it,and a new 560 ( full CF frame and forks )You have to be aware of the specs in order to get the best out of the value of the bikes. The smaller framed bikes come with smaller bits ( generally speaking) smaller wheels shorter stems and narrower bars, the bigger sizes have longer stems bigger wheels and wider bars ( generally speaking). They achieve the value for money, by economies of scale, so there are some compromises, but if you look at the specs for each bike carefully, you can nearly always find a suitable compromise. The Tribans are also readily and easily upgradeable, so if something isn't exactly what you require, it's relatively easy to sort it, and still keep the value for money good.