Pondering A New Bike

[bboston88]

I never finished my point about the Madone...
I think you can get a comfy set up on the Madone as you did the Reno. If it were me, I'd probably just go w/the Ultegra as I'm not super obsessed with grams of weight and I think the diff b/t the Ultegra and DA would be negligible. But that's just my opinion of course!

[7rider]

I know two folks who just recently purchased Madone 5.2's.
Both found the compact crankset required a bit of adjusting to. One came from a standard crank, the other from a triple - the former wondered about hill climbing, and as someone who used to mark him up hills, I can tell you he know FLIES up them! The latter is training for a tri and is worried about top-end (and may replace the cassette with an 11).
Both are delighted with the fit and performance of the bikes. Of course, I never see them anymore, because they are now at the front of the group!
So....there's some experiences of others...for whatever that's good for you.
RE: Ultegra SL vs. DuraAce. Both are awesome groups. The SL is nearly on par performance-wise with the DA, a whisker heavier and cheaper to boot. If you are dropping nearly 6 pounds (wow!) with a new bike, I'd say you can save a few bucks with the Ultegra SL components and still be quite happy with the increased performance and lighter weight, relative to your older bike.
My $0.02

[Mr. SR500]

Madone of course! The geometry differs from LeMond, but I'm guess your LBS could set one but nearly identical to your LeMond. From my limited rides on Kim's 5.1, the frame is AWESOME! Keep your Reno for a rain bike, I'm guessing you'll love carbon.

That said, there are tons of great bikes out there. Even though I've never ridden one, I would have a Cervelo R3 near the top of my list. The new Specialized Roubaix is suppose to be killer - see lastest Bicycling Mag. I also like the idea of custom and TI. We have Roark near Indy, building some beautiful TI bikes, also LiteSpeed has a custom group now (I forget the name).

Your RAIN performance was EPIC, and it's not about the bike, but it's what you do and enjoy, if you have the means why not ride a great bike. I still enjoy my Madone, I like to clean it and very much enjoy riding it. Yes it cost 3 times the Cannondale it replaced, but why not. I loved the Cannondale as well, but almost always grabbed the Madone when going for a ride.

Bike Shopping = BIG FUN! Take your time and have a blast.

[kelownagirl]

Re: racing geometry. I don't know anything about the Lemond geometry so can't give you a comparision between that and the Madone but I will add this. My hubby bought the Madone 5.2 because it was LESS aggressive than some of the other bikes he'd tried. It was similar to the Roubaix and the Cervelo RS (or was it the R3? - I can't remember but one of them is less aggressive than the other.) My understanding is that the women's Madone 5.1 is a more aggressive bike than the Madone 5.2. My DH didn't want a bike that had him bent over so far because of back problems and that's why he liked the fit of the Madone, whereas I wanted a more aggressive bike.

6 lbs is a LOT of weight imho.

[smilingcat]

Dear Mr. Silver,

The bike choices youare looking are all very wonderful. Madone is a good bike so is Tete de Course. You do have to keep in mind of Le Monde, as they are breaking their relationship with Trek and what will happen to them few years down the road.

Ultegra SL and D/A will perform about the same. Since you are not racing, go with SL. Its just as good. Some race teams use SL cause, well its cheaper .

At your weight and amount of riding you want to do, keep in mind about the wheels. Don't go for the16 spoke (or less) wheels. They are meant for race use only and not for daily training ride. Go with 28 hole or 32 hole wheels. Front wheel with 2x or even 3x crossing and rear shoud be 3x. They are stonger, last longer and have better compliance over rough surface. meaning smoother riding.

6 pounds lighter that is a lot... I think we have a making of new bike weight junkie.

Its always fun to dream what you are going to buy so enjoy and make it last as long as you want.

personally, I'm looking at Storck(CD 1.0), Ridley(helium or Damacles), Look (585 ultra), Colnago (C50), Pinarello (sp?? new on my list dogma or prince), and few others. I'm rather euro-centric lately

smilingcat

[Mr. Bloom]

6 pounds lighter that is a lot... I think we have a making of new bike weight junkie.

How appropriate...I'm married to one of those!

Of course, she weighs about what she did when we met 25 years ago...so bike weight really matters to her!

[pll]

I have no wisdom to share, but please keep us posted on the shopping (a "shopping diary" post?) so we may all shop vicariously through you.

Last night a friend was telling me about the new Shimano Dura Ace gruppo (Dura Ace 7900). If that is placed on a new bike, the price will soar: it is listed at $2600, over $800 above DA 7800 or Campagnolo Record (Competitive Cyclist has a good summary table and Cycling News has a review).

I know this is not true in the Silver household, but I have a certain aversion to Trek (may have to do with excessive TV hype). If you have a chance, look at Scott bikes. I have two friends who ride Scott, one a Scott Addict, the other one a Scott CR1, and love their bikes.

[spokewench]

I never finished my point about the Madone...
I think you can get a comfy set up on the Madone as you did the Reno. If it were me, I'd probably just go w/the Ultegra as I'm not super obsessed with grams of weight and I think the diff b/t the Ultegra and DA would be negligible. But that's just my opinion of course!

I used to think that the difference between Ultegra and Dura Ace was negligible, but that is not true. The Dura Ace does perform better; but the question is does it perform enough better to justify the cost? I got my Dura Ace for a considerable discount so that is why I bought it. Before I had a deal, I always bought Ultegra.

spoke

[spokewench]

Woops didn't see the last posts where you bought and decided on Dura Ace. You will love it Mr. Silver.

spoke

[Mr. Bloom]

spoke, I agree...but since the 5.2 wasn't available in my size and I risked a price increase and delays, I went ahead...

Patience is a virtue that 6billion people on earth have more of than me...