Titanium, Rim Brake, Elec Groupset - one bike to rule them all...
I've just turned 50 😱. I'm a long-time roadie but with a bad back and asthma and I need to get cycling fit again.
In my stable, I have a CAAD 12 Disc, a Bianchi Oltre X1 Campag Super Record (mechanical) and a Colnago Master (Record Mechanical)
I need to refresh as none of these really meet my needs. I only need one bike (don't we all?).
I prefer 'classic' flat top tubes and a fairly aggressive position. I loathe disc brakes but I do want to explore electric groupsets (not fussed if Shimano or Campag). I think I'd like a Titanium frame because - longevity, comfort and $hitty roads where I live.
I'd like to buy the bike ready to go but it seems like I'm looking for the holy grail. Maybe I need to source parts and build it up thought don't really have time, skills or toolset.
Random ramblings - maybe I'm just crap at Google. Is there an off the peg bike that meets my needs? Happy to go second hand if reasonable condition.
Comments
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I don't know what you think will suit your needs if none of those do. If you want something rim braked, second hand or custom Ti is the best bet. Or transfer parts to a frame.
But if you have crappy roads, and by crappy you mean dirty in winter, disc is the best option. With scope for mounting mudguards.
But then why one bike? I suspect that will create more hassle and the only benefit is freeing up storage.
I have two Ti frames. What do you think it will give you that your Colnago won't?
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How about this?
https://www.dolan-bikes.com/adx-internal-road/
- Genesis Croix de Fer
- Dolan Tuono0 -
Tbh, the answer to your question is in the question. Fit an electronic groupset to the Colnago and supple 25mm tyres.
The above may be fact, or fiction, I may be serious, I may be jesting.
I am not sure. You have no chance.Veronese68 wrote:PB is the most sensible person on here.1 -
yep, just put electronic on the colnago - choose wireless, so you can lose the shift cabling, campag would be good as it'll match the rest of the drivetrain
my bike - faster than god's and twice as shiny0 -
I have something similar to what you describe- a Planet X Spitfire titanium frame I fitted with the original SRAM Red Etap 11 speed.
Unfortunately that frame is no longer available.
I do also have a wet/winter bike with discs but really appreciate the simplicity, longevity and cheapness of rim brakes.
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I'm not a long term roady by any stretch but I actually prefer disc brakes,I've never had issues with changing pads or with the hydraulics.
It seems a no brainer for me just for the fact your wheels will never wear out.
After 2 blow outs from the pads over shooting the rim into the tyre downhill I also feel safer braking downhill. Hills near me are 30mph+
I know I could have checked the pads but I was unaware of the issue in general until it happened.
Flamesuit activated🔥😂
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To each their own. There's no doubt the braking is better with discs, but everything else is compromised in my experience.
I wish we still had a choice.
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30 mph plus do you live in Norfolk, that’s no speed for going down hill.
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I'm going to guess he lives in Wimbledon given the username.
30mph plus down Wimbledon hill is a situation I would want decent brakes to be fair as someone is liable to walk out in front of you or randomly pull out if a side street without looking
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The reality is that most modern bikes whether rim or disc have decent stopping power. Especially when I think back to the Weinmann 500 brakes I had on my first bike.
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I thought that too, until I encountered a proper descent in torrential rain* on rim brakes. I am now considering my bike choices for future trips.
*10% Road turned into a river and full braking still had me at 20 kmph. Didn't have to worry about heat though! 😂
The above may be fact, or fiction, I may be serious, I may be jesting.
I am not sure. You have no chance.Veronese68 wrote:PB is the most sensible person on here.0 -
I think that comparing modern road bike brakes to old road bike brakes gives a false impression of how good they are.
When I first got a road bike 10 ish years ago, I was quite surprised how bad the wet braking was having been used to disc braked mountain bikes.
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Does any any manufacturer make levers that work with wired rim brakes and electronic gears?
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Campag.
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Oh and I suspect soon some of the Chinese brands which seem hell bent on not ripping people off.
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I live in crystal palace and it's got some fairly good hills compared to most areas around here.
But yes it's London busy so not very often you can have a clear run if ever.
Always on the brakes and watching out for cars or pedestrians pulling out.
Penge cycling club is here and see some Brixton cycling shirts also.
Also in this damp/wet weather you have to go slow downhill so you don't rear end a car if they decide to slow down to quickly.
My normal route has got mostly cycle lanes now which is good.
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I did used to live in Wimbledon but was an MTB er way back then.
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Routes round here are always pretty lumpy, I had a bike with decent rim brakes that I thought stopped OK, but changed to one with discs - wouldn't choose to go back, they just seem better all round.
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Until 6 weeks ago my best bike was rim braked with carbon rims. I felt it stopped well the only down side was it sounds like a plane coming in to land when I brake, which is a bit embarrassing on a group ride. 6 weeks ago I got a disc braked bike and was Impressed how well it stopped but didn’t think it was that much of an improvement over the rimmed braked one. However due to moving house and having to put our stuff in to storage while the new house is ready. I kept my old best bike out given the time of year.
It was a bit of a shock the first time I braked I wasn’t sure I was going to stop. Clearly I did😉as I wouldn’t be writing this😀
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The brakes on disc bikes are better, there is absolutely no question. Thing is, do you think that is worth everything else that this makes worse?
Fundamentally, the braking force must go through the spokes and the fork in a different way to a rim brake bike (where there are forces transmitted around the rim to the crown). Early disc bikes suffered from brake chatter as a consequence (the original woundup forks were known for this).
The solution is to stiffen the wheel and the fork to remove this resonance. In turn this makes disc braked bike uncomfortable and ride like burned toast. To compensate, people use wider tyres.
To my reading of the technobollocks, the aerodynamic advantages of wider tyres and wheels is all about the transition between tyre and rim, rather than width per se. To think otherwise is to believe that a larger frontal area is somehow better, all other factors being equal.
Since this isn't true, my conclusion is that the current trends in wheel design work back from the need for wider tyres.
If you unravel all of this, by compromising braking a bit, you end up with a bike that can have a more compliant ride, because the front fork can flex longitudinally and provide a degree of suspension. This allows the bike to accommodate rough road surfaces better and in turn you can get away with a narrower tyre. In addition, this provides the rider with more feedback about the surface they are on.
Since I can stop okay from 85kph on Dartmoor on a rim brake bike, that compromise is acceptable to me. I use a disc bike in wet weather, because then the balance shifts towards better wheel life and better braking. But even my Cervelo rides like burned toast...
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I think for me as well is the fact I'd had disc brakes on my old MTB for a very long time so was used to that style of braking so when I got my 1st road bike with rim brakes it just felt different and maybe a bit of a backwards step.
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