Help! I'm test-riding 2 Sevens

[Trek420]

sorry 'bout that.

[roguedog]

...geez. You can tell I'm new to the world of biking.... my first thought was "DAMN! I wish I was skinny enough to fit in a pair of Seven Jeans (the designer jeans)....

geez.. YOu can tell I'm new to the world of biking and a shopping geek... my first thought was "DAMN! She gets a Seven bike??" And then I read CyclChk's post, "What the hell are Seven jeans??"

[bikerz]

Sevens are lovely bikes. Oh, so lovely. That's why, my friends, the credit card stays at home tomorrow! No implulse buys. And I mean it!

I'll post my impressions after the rides, if I am at all coherent.

[CyclChyk]

Ok lets see if I get this right. A link to Seven jeans.......

http://www.active-sandals.com/seven-jeans.html

Much cheaper than the bike but VERY expensive for a pair of jeans.....

[7rider]

How did I miss this post???

I ride a Seven. I have a stock (not custom) 1999 Seven Axiom rebuilt in '05 with a compact crank and Dura Ace. I love it. Love it. LOVE it! It rides like silk on the road. It knows what I want to do before I do. It is super comfortable, stable, quick, climbs like a goat (when the old goat in the saddle is up to the task herself!) and descends like a demon!

It was major hard sell on the part of my LBS. My old bike was plainly not up to the task of hanging with the hammerheads on the shop ride (could the rack and the headlight that I forgot how to remove give it away??). He let me "borrow" this one (back in 2000) than accepted an offer when I got back to the shop and realized I HAD to have it. Talk about Eureka moments.

Incidently, the only bike I have ever ridden that comes CLOSE to the Seven was a steel Independent Fabrications Crown Jewel. If I didn't have the Seven already, I'd now be riding the IF. But how many wunder-bikes can a girl have?

So...
HOW did you your test rides go??? What do you think?? Will you be joining us in the Seven world???

P.S. When I rob a bank or otherwise have a bag o' money fall out of the sky into my lap, I'm going to get a custom ID8 or Elium. Yay!

[7rider]

Ok lets see if I get this right. A link to Seven jeans.......

http://www.active-sandals.com/seven-jeans.html

Much cheaper than the bike but VERY expensive for a pair of jeans.....

Do you have to always stick your hip jauntily outward like all their models when you're wearing them???? Oooo, my chiropractor would LOVE that!

[bikerz]

First, thanks to everyone who offered suggestions for my test rides! it was very helpful to go in there with some clear things to think about.

I rode the short route the LBS suggeted, which had rollers, flats, rough and smooth pavement, and a nice little hill to climb and descend. First I did it on my bike, then on the steel Seven, and then on the Ti. The Sevens were configured very similarly, and had identical wheels, so we just left the wheels alone. Both bikes had handlebars that were too narrow for me by about 4 cm, so that took a little to get used to, and then try to ignore.

The steel bike was so smooth and soft - it actually felt a little too smooth to me. There was a kind of delay when starting up from a stop or standing and sprinting. It was very comfortable. I liked it, and it made me realize how on my bike I really do feel every little bump. But I didn't feel much "zoom" on it.

Then I tried the Ti bike, and I liked it much more than the steel. It still felt smooth, but was more responsive somehow. Starting up and sprinting it felt much quicker to get going. My loop on the Ti bike was much faster (going by my watch only - so not super-accurate) - some of the feeling of being faster might have been being more warmed up and more enthusiastic.

I tried climbing standing up on both bikes and the steel felt really wobbly when I stood - I thought this must be the narrow handlebars, but the Ti had the same too-narrow bars yet felt much more stable.

Chris (LBS guy) suggested I compare the Seven Ti to another Ti bike he has (Habanero) just to see how the same frame material differs on two different brands. I'd like to ride the Seven Ti bike again with my wheels on front and back, and it would be great to have handlebars that are a better fit so I don't feel so cramped, but I'm not sure they go that far for a test ride.

Then I think I'll try a few other bikes at other places - just to see how all of them feel. Aesthetically, I really really like the look of Sevens - I like the tubular instead of flatter bar styles, but I think I should try a broader range of brands before deciding. It's a lot of airline miles to earn , so I want to be very informed about my decision. And I'm not in any hurry. Plus, riding other bikes is fun, I found!

Thanks again for all your help!

[DebW]

The steel bike was so smooth and soft - it actually felt a little too smooth to me. There was a kind of delay when starting up from a stop or standing and sprinting. It was very comfortable. I liked it, and it made me realize how on my bike I really do feel every little bump. But I didn't feel much "zoom" on it.

Whippy is a word often used for a bike like this. Soaks up shocks, but soaks up your pedal energy too. Not stiff enough in the drivetrain. You can't accelerate quickly.

Then I tried the Ti bike, and I liked it much more than the steel. It still felt smooth, but was more responsive somehow. Starting up and sprinting it felt much quicker to get going. My loop on the Ti bike was much faster (going by my watch only - so not super-accurate) - some of the feeling of being faster might have been being more warmed up and more enthusiastic.

Snappy, responsive, but still smooth. Sounds very nice.

I tried climbing standing up on both bikes and the steel felt really wobbly when I stood - I thought this must be the narrow handlebars, but the Ti had the same too-narrow bars yet felt much more stable.

That Ti Seven sure sounds sweet. If you like steel, you could certainly find a steel bike that is much stiffer and more responsive. But it would weigh more and probably not absorb road shocks as well. BTW, you were comparing straight-gage Ti and double-butted steel.

[KnottedYet]

My steel Waterford only weighs 1 1/2 lbs more than my boss's ti Seven. I gotta gloat over that, cuz she was giving me sh!t over buying a "heavy" steel bike.

[SadieKate]

Steel heavier? Not necessarily. My Kelly Bonestock in True Temper OX Platinum is stiffer, more responsive, snappier than my Litespeed Tuscany. It is almost identical in weight (and less than some other Ti frames I've seen) even though the Litespeed has lighter wheels and components. Deb is right though in that it doesn't absorb the road buzz as well.

The Kelly whips up hills and leaps forward under acceleration. The Litespeed absorbs road buzz far better. It rides like lugged steel from a road buzz view but without the weight and not as slow a response time.

It really comes down to the tubesets and how the builder manipulates the tubing and the geometry. Seven stocks so many different types of tubing in the different frame materials that they can really tune a ride. I'd love to see what they could do with Ti for the road buzz but a stiffer acceleration. Ti can get a little wimpy in large frames, but you don't need to worry about that. Have you looked at Roark? I seen some nice frames from them.

Bill's Seven steel/carbon is snappy fast and light. It is far too large for me to try, but I get the impression from him that it absorbs road buzz very well.

[bikerz]

The smoothness of the ride on both bikes was remarkable, compared to my Al bike - it was definitely the most notable ride aspect. And the second most notable was what felt like the sluggishness. Some of that could have been the wheels because my regular wheels are very stiff.

I'm not sure who else is reading this thread, but I guess I'm asking SK abd Deb for starters: To what degree do you guys think that the tubing and geometry manipulation that could be done to increase the snappiness (is this vertical compliance?) would be or should be affected by rider weight? (And not just snappiness, but any other ride characteristic). Specifically, I am a pretty heavy rider now, and I have about another 30-40 pounds to lose. It seems like that level of fine-tuning would be more likely to be affected by my weight than other factors like fit or componentry. Is that true?

I do plan on riding as many other bikes as I can - carbon, other steel and Ti, and so on. I don;t knwo anything about Roark - I'll look them up.

Thanks for all your thoughts - this is a really fun process!

[SadieKate]

Sluggishness in handling or sluggishness in acceleration and climbing?

For the latter, I'm guessing that the two bikes you rode have bottom brackets built for someone like me (I'm guessing you and I ride near to the same size bike - at least close enough for horseshoes). Bottom brackets are where you get that snappiness in acceleration. A good custom builder will use different tubing to tune (uh, beef up) the bike's bottom bracket to the rider's weight.

Then, there is the whole discussion of acceleration from wheels. Argg!

What do you want from the bike? If you were telling a builder in your own way what you want, what would that be? What riding characteristics do you not like about your own bike?