What would you do?

[smilingcat]

I think you made a right choice by not getting the old bike repaired. It may be sound but it doesn't ride the same.

A person I know has cracked the chain stay. I still don't understand but what the heck do I know? Having a second bike for training or a backup for a race is always a good idea. I don't like training on my aluminum frame (my Specialized Transition Pro '07 model). Frames do wear out. So I prefer to use a beater bike for training.

As for your choice I would go with what feels better. Same out of the pocket cost for choice #2 or #3. So its a matter of taste and what feels right.

And personally, I would love to have a backup bike or a training ride to have the same feel as the bike I use to race. You don't get the funny feeling and feel little more confident about those sharp turns in the crits. You don't think about the machine when someone wants to jump out of the corner. You know the feeling of pushing your machine to the limit "can I turn any tighter or will it lose it?? or I can feel its ready to lose its grip. or your rear tire braking loose. If you are on a machine you're used to you can recover sometimes. On a machine you are not used to then you are more likely to go down.

BTW, I think both machines are fantastic. Roubaix is very nice It may have less of a jarring ride than a Tarmac.

just something more to think about.
Smilingcat

[kermit]

If you are racing and training alot, you need a backup bike. For what its worth, I just replaced my 04 roubaix comp frame with the 09 roubaix sl and yes it made a HUGE difference. Lighter and a little stiffer, but still the roubaix that can ride on old pavement and be comfy all day. My lbs guy, who I love and trust, told me they changed the geometry to make it a little more towards the tarmac. Me and my broken back did not want to go super aggressive, I ride for fitness and the occasional, century and sprint tris. The frame for me was 1600 plus labor for my ultegra to be put on. Sounds like your getting a good deal for either. Tough choice!
Oh I got the other paint scheme on the roubaix with the red/silver. I do love the white Tarmac!

[kermit]

Sorry to be a pest, but I got to thinking, did you call your auto insurance co.? I'm in Florida and here I believe that anything attached to the vehicle in transit should have some coverage. Just a thought. Fault doesn't matter you just have to eat your deductible. Try talking to an independent claims adjuster.

[aicabsolut]

Sorry to be a pest, but I got to thinking, did you call your auto insurance co.? I'm in Florida and here I believe that anything attached to the vehicle in transit should have some coverage. Just a thought. Fault doesn't matter you just have to eat your deductible. Try talking to an independent claims adjuster.

Yeah I did. My teammate's bike was also on the car. Luckily, my bike cushioned hers and she only had some mild cosmetic damage, but while she was waiting for her shop to do the inspection, I had to talk to my company about everything. They said that her bike would be covered b/c of my liability coverage, but that my own property attached to the car was not at all. The hitch rack, if it had been damaged itself, would be covered, because I think it's a "permanent fixture" on the car. The bike on the rack was not. There was a lot of nitpicking language, and I tried to work around it, but no dice. Sporting equipment in my vehicle is now protected from theft or damage under my renter's policy through the same company.

[aicabsolut]

If you are racing and training alot, you need a backup bike. For what its worth, I just replaced my 04 roubaix comp frame with the 09 roubaix sl and yes it made a HUGE difference. Lighter and a little stiffer, but still the roubaix that can ride on old pavement and be comfy all day. My lbs guy, who I love and trust, told me they changed the geometry to make it a little more towards the tarmac. Me and my broken back did not want to go super aggressive, I ride for fitness and the occasional, century and sprint tris. The frame for me was 1600 plus labor for my ultegra to be put on. Sounds like your getting a good deal for either. Tough choice!
Oh I got the other paint scheme on the roubaix with the red/silver. I do love the white Tarmac!

I was thinking that I could race the "cheaper" Roubaix and then ride the other. They'd have some different purposes, like different gearing. So whichever one got the climbing gears would be the one I'd take to this really hilly RR in the summer or maybe I'd attempt a hill climb TT.

The new Roubaix may be snappier (I'll have to see), but the turning is still pretty limited by the same long wheelbase. So the LBS suggested that for my purposes, now that I have 2 seasons of racing under my belt, that I might like to have the tarmac for more confident cornering in technical crits, and a little more response in accelerations. Technical crits are probably my strongest format of racing, so an extra edge there might be fantastic. The Roubaix could still be my road race or long distance bike. Gearing might get more complicated between the two, but since I only do serious climbing a few times a year, it might be worth it to have the 34T little ring just sitting around and get rings swapped for those special training trips. Otherwise, the terrain I'm on is fine for the 36T.

I was comfortable enough on my BF's tarmac on the trainer (we have almost exactly the same setup for saddle height and reach). It was just when I moved from the tops to the hoods that I felt so stretched. Adding 1.5cm to the HT would help with the new geometry. As would putting on narrower short reach bars and setting up the hoods like I have now on my bike.

I guess I'll see how I like the rides on Saturday. I know I liked the tarmac comp in 06 when I was shopping, but it was too aggressive at the time compared to the Roubaix. I'd never had a road bike before. My fit on the Roubaix has changed a ton since then.


Then again, I might find more utility out of a TT bike. Unless I can go down to a 52 in the tarmac, the top tube on these bikes would still be too long for me to get the right TT position. I have done a lot of TTs in collegiate racing, but when I'm done with my grad studies, I expect that to fall off a lot (maybe 3 or 4 a season max?). I could really have used a TT bike last year, and they do have a good purpose for me (I love TTs) but I would probably ride a second road bike more. But...a TT bike might be an even more expensive build..

I just can't think straight. I need to win the lottery and have money to burn .

[kermit]

Okay, one more option. If you go looking for a TT bike, my husband got the Cervelo P2C, quite nice. Very adjustable and not too pricy. Now that the P4 is coming out, nytro had some great sales. Must now go check my lotto ticket.

[aicabsolut]

Haha...yeah the P2C is exactly what I was thinking about.

[aicabsolut]

I sat on a 52cm Tarmac Comp. Hated it. It felt really uncomfortable--I kept wanting to sit off the back of the saddle--and the ride wasn't so great. It rode, well, like a Comp-level frame, though they put me on it more for sizing. That made me feel a lot better about getting my comp frame back from Calfee. It's just not worth the repair cost when I'd much rather be riding my S-works.

They didn't have any of the new Roubaix in my size. They wanted to put me on a Ruby Comp next. I said no. They said it would be for sizing (it may have been a 52 also--waaaay too small--my Roubaix is comparable to a 56!). I said no, I have tried WSD bikes. They don't fit. I don't like them. It is a waste of time. So then one of my buddies in the shop said, hey, I'll bring in my new Tarmac (the Pro SL) tomorrow if you want to come back and ride it. His is a 54.

So I went in today to sit on his bike. We just swapped out seatposts and pedals. It was awesome. I thought his gears would be too hard for me, because he has a standard crankset with a 12-23 or 12-25. It climbed this one steep hill right by the shop pretty well. On the flats, I felt like I was FLYING, especially on the way home after I'd gotten used to it. He had no spacers on it and a 120mm stem. I felt really comfortable except for his 44cm bars. They were so wide! I ride 38s. I think the bars made it hard for me to find a sprinting position, but with some practice powering up some short inclines (rather than going all out on the flat), I found a good rhythm. I just couldn't get in the drops and have any sort of support, so I stayed on the hoods.

It was the ride I was expecting. It accelerated like a dream. So responsive. It felt snappier and accelerated better than my bike. Some of that I can attribute to his better wheels. Overall, the ride was fairly comparable, just less relaxed. I was not uncomfortable at all. I think that it wouldn't be worth it to buy another Roubaix--it would feel the same despite some design changes. I can't sit on one, but the ride quality of the Tarmac led me to believe that the differences in the new Roubaix wouldn't be noticeable enough *to me.*

Now I am leaning towards the Tarmac IF the shop manager can ever give me a straight answer about quotes on builds. He apparently thinks I ask too many questions and hates that I like to take control of my purchase decisions, but you know what? I cannot accept his deal on this frame if I can't be sure I can put parts on it! How obnoxious. I wish my other friend still worked there so he could run a quote for me real quick instead.

Then there's the other manager who spent forever the past 2 days trying to convince me I want a 52 based on my size. He said I'd just gotten too used to the other bike and that for racing I ought to go down a size and put a ginormous stem on there. I think he doesn't like how I don't have gobs of seatpost showing. However, my measurements from saddle nose to bars was less than 1cm different than my friend's before we swapped saddles, and he has a 1cm longer stem! I obviously need the same reach even if my legs aren't as long as his to have the saddle jacked up high. It's not like I'm sitting right on top of the top tube or anything. I felt really comfortable on the 54. Isn't that what matters? I don't want to put a bunch of stack on the headset and find a huge stem and then still be unsure about my comfort.

It was easier to stand up and accelerate on the 52, but I hated nearly every moment sitting down. I bet just putting narrow bars on the 54 would give me better stability. Maybe my sprinting would improve on a 52, but would it still if I got the front end set up where I was as comfortable the rest of the time? I think I have a lot farther to go in just learning how to sprint better before I get to a point where the bike setup is going to be holding me back.

[kermit]

It sounds to me like you know exactly what you want and what will perform well for you. Don't let anyone else drop you down a size with a lower front and huge seat post. It sounds like you intimidate them. Oh no, a girl racer that knows bikes! You must post pictures when you get it set up. I do love the white!