Bicycles? The latest, The Best?

[RustyIron]

I'm wondering what you all might think of these carbon fiber frames. Yeah it's been a while since I did any serious biking.

Carbon has been the defacto standard for nearly a decade: frames, bars, rims. You can save cash by going with aluminum. The argument in years past was regarding durability. But aluminum will fatigue LONG before carbon fiber. If you had two frames and a concrete wall, you could pretzel the aluminum frame pretty easily. With the carbon frame, you'd probably end up hurting yourself before breaking the frame.

[Evil D]

I'd recommend you find a decent bike shop and have them help you out. There's a lot to be said for being properly fitted to a bike, choosing the right seat and such. What really sucks about buying a bike is compromising, there are price brackets and you get what you pay for but the price goes up fast. It's not hard to spend motorcycle money on a bicycle.

[Ankerson]

I'm wondering what you all might think of these carbon fiber frames. Yeah it's been a while since I did any serious biking.

Carbon has been the defacto standard for nearly a decade: frames, bars, rims. You can save cash by going with aluminum. The argument in years past was regarding durability. But aluminum will fatigue LONG before carbon fiber. If you had two frames and a concrete wall, you could pretzel the aluminum frame pretty easily. With the carbon frame, you'd probably end up hurting yourself before breaking the frame.

I remember when Carbon was almost untouchable for anyone outside of those with sponsors or were very wealthy. :eek:

Just the frame alone was like $15K or more and that was over 25 years ago. :eek:

[Ankerson]

I'd recommend you find a decent bike shop and have them help you out. There's a lot to be said for being properly fitted to a bike, choosing the right seat and such. What really sucks about buying a bike is compromising, there are price brackets and you get what you pay for but the price goes up fast. It's not hard to spend motorcycle money on a bicycle.

Not hard at all to spend that kind of money on a bicycle these days from what I have been looking at. :eek:

Used to be able to get into a very nice bicycle for around $1,000 or $1,500, not these days however.

[Woodpuppy]

The bicycle world has passed me by for sure. When I was working in a couple local shops in the late 90s, everything was poised to change. I attended a cannondale training workshop to learn how to service hydraulic brakes.

Well, finishing college and working for a living, a marriage and 4 kids later; all my stuff is suddenly vintage and collectible. And I still like all that old stuff. The craftsmanship was better. The finishing especially was better. 20 years makes a difference in bodies and outlooks too; I still have the Selle Italia Ti Flite I rode back then, but I’m rockin a Brooks Flyer Special now :D I care less about counting grams and a little more about my backside!

My current favorite is a ‘97 Ibis Mojo set up rigid and single speed. A hodgepodge of Chris King, White Industries, XT, XTR, and XC Pro. Favorite stuff from back in the day. So much fun, so simple, and so light. Steel’s still real baby! And cantis still stop :p

Good luck to you JD! I probably can’t offer you much advise on all the new stuff out there. Funny how the good stuff all changed and the Walmart stuff still looks the same.

[z4vdBt]

I like steel. I've had my Gios since the late 1990s when I was overseas in Japan and had it sent to a LBS (local bike shop) for assembly. My brother helped me pick out components and bike fit - which worked out perfectly. This bike has had rides in Australia, Indonesia, Japan, and various other ports in the far east, and finally back in the U.S.A. in 2004. Bottom color pic is older: currently has yellow tape, no saddle pouch. Components are Shimano 105 (bulletproof).

Last pics on the bottom is of one of my last rides (Garmin Edge 500 GPS cyclometer).