Quote Originally Posted by Veronica View Post
Okay, my two cents Which bike is more fun to ride?

I've ridden GTTS and just got back from mountain biking in CO. First off - my knees need a compact double and I have 34 in the back on my Cervelo S3. Based on published road gradients, it would seem the two roads are very similar and I would take my Cervelo to ride in CO based only on the published gradients. It fits me better, it's lighter and I've ridden up 18% grades on it.

However, elevation does affect everyone differently. I was fine to 10,000 feet on our trip but really struggled to go up another 400 feet. IP is 2,000 feet above that. I certainly wouldn't want to tackle it on my first day.

Are you doing this trip on your own or as part of a tour?

Veronica
The cervelo is much more fun--light, stiff, racy, responsive, but with the effect of harder gearing on the standard double, hill climbing in Atlanta is not quite where it should be. I too have significant knee issues, so it would be wonderful to have a compact with the Cervelo in the mountains. I'll have to check with the LBS to see if switching out could be a possibility. I ride SRAM Red and it's going to be hard to go back to Rival.

This is a WomanTours group, "Ride the Rockies". Independence Pass will be on day 7. I've never ridden 18% anything! Routinely do 10-12% in Atlanta, but we have hills not mountains.