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Sayonara to road bike?
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dan emery
Joined: 11 Jan 2004
Posts: 6884
Location: Maine

7/3/19 1:17 PM

Sayonara to road bike?

I've posted about how much I'm liking my Checkpoint gravel bike with 1x11 SRAM drivetrain, discs, 40 mm tires. I'm starting to think I really don't need a road bike.

I took a 40 mile ride on my Domane RSL over the weekend, it's a great bike, but I felt a little beat up afterward (even with its suspension features) and at this point for some hills I could use a lower gear than 34x28 (every route I ride has some steep hills). I think it's a little faster than the Checkpoint, but the Checkpoint is definitely more comfortable (tires mostly I think) and I enjoy riding it more. I ordered the Domane before I started getting hurt and accumulating medical conditions, and I am not in as good shape as I was then, though I am not in bad shape.

The speed and closer gearing of the Domane would be an advantage mostly in fast-paced group rides, but I seldom do those. Plus a quite good local rider whom I know slightly just sustained a very serous injury in a group ride; from a third hand account I heard, there was nothing he could have done to avoid it. Why would I want to put myself in that situation? No reason I can think of.

The road bike would also be a bit faster in a road century, but gravel events are more fun for me anyway, plus I could ride a road century OK on the Checkpoint, particularly if I don't want to sit in a pack. And I could put different tires/wheels on the Checkpoint for road riding, but not sure I'd bother.

The high-intensity riding I enjoy most is riding up steep hills, particularly dirt, and that's what the Checkpoint's for.

Plus the Checkpoint is a great commuting/errand bike.

Now I could soften up the rear suspension on the Domane and put on somewhat bigger tires, but I'm not sure it would be worth the effort. At 68 without competitive goals or any desire to ride in packs or maximize speed, I'm just not seeing a need for a road bike, even though I still like to ride hard.

Of course I may change my mind tomorrow. And I'll never get rid of the Sachs.

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dfcas
Joined: 11 Jan 2004
Posts: 2815
Location: hillbilly heaven

7/3/19 1:28 PM

I have not had a road bike for 3-4 years now. My thoughts are similar to yours. Our main problem is we don't have any good roads to ride these days. There are sections in PA across the state line that are good but that requires either a pothole strewn ride to get there or a commute by car, and i just don't want to do either these days. i don't see well and downhills are terrifying to me, as I can't tell a pothole from a rock from a shadow from a wetspot.

So all I have is a gravel bike.

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lrzipris
Joined: 04 Mar 2004
Posts: 532
Location: Doylestown, PA

7/3/19 2:03 PM

I conjecture that a combination of climate change and economics is at work. The roads around here are worse than I've ever seen--pitted and potholed. And roads are being repairing the cheapest way possible, either with bumpy patches or with chip & seal.

I enjoy riding my Spectrum immensely, but with roads conditions as they are, I find myself climbing on my wide-tire Surly instead.

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Sparky
Joined: 08 Dec 2003
Posts: 19068
Location: PDX

7/3/19 2:04 PM

For the rides I do on "road" bike I could easily do on a 'gravel/disc' bike. I have and do with smoother 35-38 fatties, for comfort.

I also don't ride group rides very much if at all anymore. They are always on roads with vehicles and my last year of riding with the club I watched too many leave ride in ambulances. Often from mis-judgements as a result of close calls or stupidly battling with a 4 wheeler and loosing. So away from 4 wheelers with pilots multi tasking on GUI devices for me.


But I do like the road bike for 40 plus mile rides, it is just faster. And all pavement, so no need to drag more than 28mm tires for more than 25 miles. Winds up about same time out, so sometimes you wonder. ;)

I did a 20+ mile ride on a by-ways ride Sun. A PDX event w/all blocked off roads inner city, nice. Plan was to meet some friends, but it never happened we never found each other.

Beautiful day, 100% paved, but I took a file tread 42mm tired bike with wheels/tires so heavy you would not believe. ;) Something I;d not have to guard so much once we meet up and rest stopped etc. My friends are slow leisure riders, so I figured it would not matter. Most of the 20+ was getting there the loop itself is 8 miles. So the return I pushed the fatties to get back to the car faster which I left at a transit park/ride end of the line.

I wound up hammering twice to the next stop twice instead of waiting for the train. ;) And rode the return sans train. Train from start was all timing for a time/meet that never occurred.

Not ever finding them and winding up pushing the heavy wheels at a faster pace than planned. ;) The approx 21-2 miles felt like a 50 mile road ride leg wise post fatigue.

It is all good to me. ;) And as usual that was a lot of jabber on my part to say what we all know. We like getting out on the bikes, any of them. I enjoyed the day a lot.

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Sparky
Joined: 08 Dec 2003
Posts: 19068
Location: PDX

7/3/19 2:14 PM

"Sayonara to road bike? "

I forgot to add, good luck selling off a non disc road anything anymore...

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dan emery
Joined: 11 Jan 2004
Posts: 6884
Location: Maine

7/3/19 2:26 PM

Selling

Yeah I doubt I could sell it for anything much, and probably won’t try other than maybe asking around to see if anyone wants it. I have a nephew who is my size and rides mountain bikes, BMX, fixed gear, anything but road bikes. If I decide to renounce it, I’d give it to him if he wants it, which he probably won’t. Likely I just won’t ride it. C‘est la vie.

I don’t even know how to sell a bike. Of the many bikes I’ve owned, I’ve sold one, for $25, in 1975. But don’t bother giving me instructions, I’m too lazy to bother.

BTW, who’s the national team rider in the picture? :)


Last edited by dan emery on 7/3/19 2:34 PM; edited 2 times in total

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lrzipris
Joined: 04 Mar 2004
Posts: 532
Location: Doylestown, PA

7/3/19 2:31 PM

Just stay away from downtown Portland, Sparky. There are, apparently, enough sparks already.

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Sparky
Joined: 08 Dec 2003
Posts: 19068
Location: PDX

7/3/19 3:27 PM

I have 4 similar retro jerseys. My fav being the 1956 Worlds Jersey. I wear these every day out for about a 45 day window starting a week or so before the 4th.

Dig em... #Poserdom

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dfcas
Joined: 11 Jan 2004
Posts: 2815
Location: hillbilly heaven

7/3/19 3:38 PM

I have 2 local bike shops and they no longer stock road bikes. About the closest they get is a Domane or Synapse type bike. They said they had to give the last road bikes away. Also there is a major gravel/offroad race here that has warped the market for skinny tired bikes.

In the last 2 years 3 local riders have had major crashes and 2 are paralyzed. This is swaying me off the road too.

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dfcas
Joined: 11 Jan 2004
Posts: 2815
Location: hillbilly heaven

7/3/19 4:03 PM

There is a video of the local race if you want to waste a few minutes. Quite the mudfest.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyVwSzCZSUQ&feature=share

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Sparky
Joined: 08 Dec 2003
Posts: 19068
Location: PDX

7/3/19 4:08 PM

"This is swaying me off the road too."

I fuc-in guess...

I am glad there is such a nice MUTT network here. Crossings I can deal with more than splattering...

When we went down to Sacramento for the TOC, the bike rental day has me yearning to take the AMTRK/Startlight down next spring for that American River bike trail system!!

A week of that while it is still cold and wet here....

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sanrensho
Joined: 20 Feb 2004
Posts: 835
Location: North Vancouver

7/3/19 4:48 PM

Went the opposite way

Broke my femur while MTBing a few years ago and never rode trail again. I'd much rather run/hike if I'm going off-road..no inclination whatsoever to gravel ride.

I'll probably get rid of my carbon monstercross (gravel) bike, as I no longer need it even as a trainer bike.

For me, nothing makes me want to ride more than a lightweight climbing bike. My Scott CR1 still has a few upgrades in it.

However, I am definitely more choosey about when and where I ride. I have no desire to ride in heavy traffic, rush hour or groups.

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henoch
Joined: 12 Jan 2004
Posts: 1690

7/3/19 8:51 PM

Hybrid.....

Well not a hybrid bike :)
But I think I am a hybrid of all of the above, I ride some rocky rooty trails and I have a full on Full suspension mt. bike, I bought a cheap gravel bike just to try it out, I did indeed like it, sold it and am in the process of building up a nicer gravel bike.
However I still enjoy getting out on my road bike as much as ever, still have the "need for speed" nothing quite matches doing a super fast group ride, or carving a sweet descent at 45mph and feeling like the bike is just riding on rails...
In fact the next bike I buy will in all likelihood be a pure road bike.

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Sparky
Joined: 08 Dec 2003
Posts: 19068
Location: PDX

7/3/19 9:13 PM

"Broke my femur while MTBing"

How deep in and how'd you get out? Or non displaced hopefully???

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Brian Nystrom
Joined: 26 Jan 2004
Posts: 5096
Location: Nashua, NH

7/4/19 5:33 AM

We just did a couple of rides with friends who both ride Domanes, with us on our gravel bikes. The first was a dirt road ride and they handled it just fine on their road bikes. Yesterday, we did a road ride with lots of steep climbing (extended sections of ~15%) and we were glad to have our off-road gearing. We still like our road bikes and group rides, so we'll keep them for now. The lines continue to blur between types of bikes, so who knows what we'll be riding in the future...

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dan emery
Joined: 11 Jan 2004
Posts: 6884
Location: Maine

7/4/19 8:39 AM

Well yes

The Domane absolutely handles dirt roads fine - just not as well as the Checkpoint. I’ve ridden the same washboard dirt roads on the Domane that I’ve ridden for years on the Checkpoint, cross and mountain bikes. I felt the Domane, with 26mm tires, was as good as a cross bike with 33s.

Took another ride on the Domane this morning. Softened up the seat tube suspension a bit (it’s so easy even I can do it!). Thought about putting 28s on, but the Grand Bois I had lying around didn’t look much different than the 26 Bontragers. The suspension made some difference, but I was also just more used to the feel after riding the CP for a couple months. Felt pretty good on the ride.

I may see if the shop can put on a bigger tubeless tire (I have tubeless ready rims, and I’ll let them do the initial setup). The bike spec says largest 28mm though it looks to me like it can take more (though I generally hesitate to go outside design parameters). I noticed that Bontrager is coming out with a 32mm tubeless ready road racing (their words) tire. Doubt it would fit, but interesting nonetheless.

As to the absence of disc brakes, I have to say that the SRAM calipers are the best I’ve used and I don’t see that as a drawback for my own use (and I’m not going to put 650 wheels on the bike).

I am signed up for a road century in 2 weeks and I think I’ll do it (maybe a shorter course) on the Domane and see how it goes. I agree with you guys that there is something nice about rolling on a road bike.

Then I plan to to do something at D2R2 (thankfully I’ve done the 180 so I don’t have to do that!) and maybe be ready to ride a good road century at Dempsey in late September.

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Sparky
Joined: 08 Dec 2003
Posts: 19068
Location: PDX

7/4/19 11:28 AM

Domane Tire fit observations.

The series 6 58CM I got was a 2014 and biggest was a 25mm GP4 rear and a 28 GP4 front. But these both run large on 19x622 rims [open pro being 15x622 for comparison]. Actual inflated was near 30.8mm front and 28.5mm rear. Both those like the 25mm Michelin casings are fat for size. A 25 Michelin busts 29mm on the right rim [width like 21x622 disc rim]

There was decent clearance, not so tight as to worry if a flat would cause tire to touch paint before getting stopped.

Now, RSL SegFred I almost bought for 50% off. This had the dual mount rim brake caliper, and to my surprise dashing my hopes of 32mm tires... We fitted some tires/wheels off other bike in the LBS to test size capacity.

The RSL, the bulge in the calipers for the double mounting bosses was the limiting factor. lot of height clearance, but 32mm tires touched. So same tires capacity as the 2014 with the single bolt mount calipers. Although perhaps a 32 on a 15x622 would light bulb the inflated shape to be narrower @ the caliper dual boos width limits. Why you'd do that make no sense.

Quick note: My Madone got a Works CGR seat post, Tranz-x anti-shock stem and 28mm Hutchinson tubeless Sectors and rides as nice as the Domane did. So that was enough for me to let the Domane fly.

Also I think the GP5000 are now out in 28 tubeless. I'd trust the Sectors off pavement more though.

With the ISO decoupler front and rear adjustable, [a soft 80 PSI] 28mm tubeless ought to be plenty as to not push size IMO. If you are under 160 lb 70PSI? AT least when off piste...

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sanrensho
Joined: 20 Feb 2004
Posts: 835
Location: North Vancouver

7/4/19 5:51 PM


quote:
How deep in and how'd you get out? Or non displaced hopefully???


Front wheel washed out on a (normally) harmless S-curve, not more than one-third through a downhill trail. Had to be rescued out using a mono-wheeled off-road basket stretcher. The rescue team decided to get me out by going downhill through most of the trail.

It sucked.

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Brian Nystrom
Joined: 26 Jan 2004
Posts: 5096
Location: Nashua, NH

7/4/19 7:18 PM

We did another road ride on the gravel bikes today that had some serious descending on smooth roads with fast curves (yesterday's steepest descents were on dirty, crappy, tight-twisty roads that limited our speed). I definitely feel more comfortable and confident on my road bike, and the gravel bike with 35mm tires and a more upright position was definitely slower. It was fun and secure, but the ride was not as flowing and exhilarating as on the road bike. Considered as a dual-purpose machine that can switch disciplines with just a tire or wheel swap, I really can't complain.

However, I'm definitely keeping both types of bikes in my stable for the foreseeable future. Heck, I already own them...

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April
Joined: 13 Dec 2003
Posts: 6593
Location: Westchester/NYC

7/4/19 8:51 PM

What’s in a name? It’s just a label.

I have a road bike which I routinely take to unpaved roads. Admittedly, it’s not as smooth as the fat tire Cross-hare.

On the other hand, my Crosshare has a pair of dedicated road tired wheelset. All I had to do is to swap the rear wheel, which takes a better part of 90 sec! (Front wheel is always off during transport. So no “swapping”, just choose which one to put in)

But still, each time I used the road tire wheelset, I inevitably regret it because I always managed to find a detour or extension that involved some rough dirt roads. (A lot of roads around me are unpaved). So it’s been a while since I bothered with the road tired set any more.

To me, it’s mostly boiled down to tires. Road tires for GOOD paved roads. It just feel sooo smoooth! But a lot of rough dirt? Wides tires rules.

Gearing is still more to do with terrain, only a little to do with surface.

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dan emery
Joined: 11 Jan 2004
Posts: 6884
Location: Maine

7/5/19 7:44 AM

Yow

Having busted a femur myself, it hurts to even think about that descent in the stretcher....

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Brian Nystrom
Joined: 26 Jan 2004
Posts: 5096
Location: Nashua, NH

7/5/19 9:33 AM

Yeah, I remember when I broke my hip that I was OK as long as I could stay perfectly still. Getting jostled around on the trail descent must have been excruciating!

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Sparky
Joined: 08 Dec 2003
Posts: 19068
Location: PDX

7/5/19 10:27 AM

I can't even imaging having to be transported with a displaced fracture, especially of hip/legs etc. Out of 'terrain' whew! Well for that matter ribs. My clav ribs boarding and ambulance ride I was numb, and not much pain.

I got sledded to the lodge with my non displaced tib fib and wheel chaired to the ambulance. Stood to get in the chair, stood to hop in the ambulance...

Also numb as first but boy 1-2 hours later, my word! Shock works pretty good I guess for this.

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sanrensho
Joined: 20 Feb 2004
Posts: 835
Location: North Vancouver

7/5/19 1:44 PM

They set my leg right there on the trail, and afterwards gave me morphine for the descent. Now as far as getting my leg set, that was easily the most painful experience I have had to date.

Last edited by sanrensho on 7/5/19 2:46 PM; edited 1 time in total

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Sparky
Joined: 08 Dec 2003
Posts: 19068
Location: PDX

7/5/19 2:39 PM

The only set displaced fracture I have had the privilege of experiencing was a boxers fracture. Let's skip how punching shit harder than your bones is a bad idea...

The tip of my 5th metacarpal was a bump in my palm side, and my pinky was a bit short for a few hours. Now the tib/fib was deep severe pain. But when the doc set that hand bone, he said I'd be better in the log run if no local was used. He did say it would be a lot of pain. He shoulda said severe eye tearing teeth clenching pain like it was, I'd have taken the local. But residual pain nothing like the tibial plateau fracture, days instead of weeks...

Sounds like a pretty horrific day you had, to be sure! Only x-ray showed my fractures, your may have been slightly more obvious starting out. ;)

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