Help me! Road Bike Part Grades for Dummies

[alpinerabbit]

Seriously? That is completely bizarre... Why not just ride a heavier frame?

Usually they would stick little lead pieces to the saddle.

[rij73]

The new Astana team bikes actually have braze-ons *under* the bottom bracket where you can attach weights. That keeps the added weight low on the bike where it won't impact the center of gravity...

[KnottedYet]

The new Astana team bikes actually have braze-ons *under* the bottom bracket where you can attach weights. That keeps the added weight low on the bike where it won't impact the center of gravity...

Ok, my mind is in a whirl.... spend gazillions of dollars to make a bike lighter, then put lead weights on it for racing..... whew!

[melissam]

Correct. These are cables or, more specifically housings that allow very sharp turns.



Fine German jewellery....

<Sigh> Just when you thought there was nothing left to buy for your bike...

[KnottedYet]

Hmmm, I'll refrain from remarking that Campy makes the whole slick-cable thing extraneous...

(oops, I said it! )

(oh, man, now I gotta find a pic of my Campy Athena and the "look Ma, no cables" effect for y'all)

[Idealmuse]

OK, so if 105's are basically what I want or better... what Campy level would that translate to do you think?

[KnottedYet]

Centaur?

[melissam]

Hmmm, I'll refrain from remarking that Campy makes the whole slick-cable thing extraneous...

(oops, I said it! )

I know, I know, but my bike came Shimano-equipped from the factory. At least the slick-cable thingy is a cheaper route than switching to Campy. Or upgrading to the new Shimano group that brings cable-routing back to the aerodynamic advances of the mid-80's.

-- Melissa (who's reminding herself that the problem isn't aerodynamic drag so much as an inefficient motor)

[KnottedYet]

MelissaM -

(me and my olde worlde Campy, we get up to 20 mph on a good day!)

[smilingcat]

I had 2005 campy Centaur and I wasn't too happy. Maybe I'm too sold on Shimano. I didn't like the way it shifted. Chorus may be a better bet.

or SRAM force, which I use on my specialized transition pro '07 and on my k2 mod6.0 '06.

I really like the SRAM FORCE. Maybe Emily can chime in about the SRAM RIVAL.

smilingcat

[VeloVT]

I just tried my new bike on a trainer for the first time. It has 2007 Ultegra and an Ultegra SL crankset (which might be '08? I bought a 2007 bike but had them swap out the cranks). The shifting is amazingly gorgeous. So fast and accurate and very light touch. I had 2004 Ultegra on my other bike and shifting to the big ring required a herculean shove, and, while accurate, was a little sluggish... This is so different. Highly recommended!!!

[PinkBike]

slipstream's felt f-1 bikes are full dura ace according to team mechanic damien shanks at the tour of california

[rij73]

slipstream's felt f-1 bikes are full dura ace according to team mechanic damien shanks at the tour of california

I just read somewhere that it's only the cassettes that are Shimano 105. Just the difference in cassette weight was enough to adjust their bikes for the UCI limit.

[alpinerabbit]

I just tried my new bike on a trainer for the first time. It has 2007 Ultegra and an Ultegra SL crankset (which might be '08? I bought a 2007 bike but had them swap out the cranks). The shifting is amazingly gorgeous. So fast and accurate and very light touch. I had 2004 Ultegra on my other bike and shifting to the big ring required a herculean shove, and, while accurate, was a little sluggish... This is so different. Highly recommended!!!

Kewl thanks for letting me know my choice was good

The price difference of Chorus vs. Ultegra SL, is after all, about a Factor of 1.8 (includes the hefty addition for Campy's carbon crankset)

[Beane]

I know, I know, but my bike came Shimano-equipped from the factory. At least the slick-cable thingy is a cheaper route than switching to Campy. Or upgrading to the new Shimano group that brings cable-routing back to the aerodynamic advances of the mid-80's.

-- Melissa (who's reminding herself that the problem isn't aerodynamic drag so much as an inefficient motor)

wait, so is shimano making new brifters that don't have two cables coming out of the tops of them (bug antennae effect) ?

p.s. ditto on the inefficient motor thing, but, (according to my DH-- so this may be a "DH fun fact") something like 80% of the work you do biking is fighting wind resistance.