I might have to buy a road bike
I'm getting fucking fed up of swapping tyres. But I don't want to, because a)It's really gay and b)I don't know enough about bikes these days to know what bits are good or not and c)It really is supremely, arse-reamingly gay.
( the mighty badger Aphrodite, on a bar stool, by your side, Thu 4 Apr 2013, 10:05, 2 replies, latest was 12 years ago)

Go to Decathlon
Buy their budget road bike model, it's excellent.
(Bazongaloid, Thu 4 Apr 2013, 10:12, Reply)

I was actually looking at that.
Got really good reviews. I don't understand the levels of kit any more. Last time I paid any serious attention to road mechs etc it was becuase they were half the price of off-road stuff so I used to run durace mechd rather than XT on my mountain bike.

I'm sure it was Durace-Ultegra-105 (decreasing in quality) back in the day, Campag Record for the uberponce, but I don't see anything I recognise now. And all cheap frames are aluminium and I fucking hate the way aluminium rides.
( the mighty badger Aphrodite, on a bar stool, by your side, Thu 4 Apr 2013, 10:18, Reply)

I bought one of these
www.decathlon.co.uk/triban-3-red-road-bike-id_8274036.html

to leave in my in laws house in France. It's a great bike for occasional rides, it's got carbon forks,and for £300 that's a real bargain. The only thing I wasn't uber keen on was the shifters, which are the little click switches, rather than the whole brake shifter moving, but you get used to it.

I think it's got 105 chain rings, but a sram cassette, or possibly the other way round, frankly I don't care that much.

Aluminium on a road bike is a good thing, though I understand it's bad for mountain bikes, but as I've never mountain biked, I don't know, and neither do I care.
(Bazongaloid, Thu 4 Apr 2013, 10:23, Reply)

Yeah, I was in the shop looking at it yesterday.
It does look nice. And I know I've got little choice about the aluminium, and I understand why roadies like it. I just don't.
( the mighty badger Aphrodite, on a bar stool, by your side, Thu 4 Apr 2013, 10:47, Reply)

Get yourself a Condor Fratello
STEEL IS REEL etc.
(Himjim died a little more inside on, Thu 4 Apr 2013, 10:23, Reply)

It's only gay in the lycra.
You'll have to swap tyres on all bikes. It's a massive pain, especially in this kind of weather. "OH WAIT, I'M GONNA SNOW ALL UP IN YA AGAIN."
(Himjim died a little more inside on, Thu 4 Apr 2013, 10:12, Reply)

cheap-ish road bike for commuting with road tyres
Explosif for off-road fun with all purpose tyres. Why would I change tyres beyond that? I don't give enough of a shit to change tyres for conditions, even when racing mountain bikes. 95% of mountain bikers don't even have close to the ability to explore the limits of a half-decent set of all-weather tyres ;)
( the mighty badger Aphrodite, on a bar stool, by your side, Thu 4 Apr 2013, 10:16, Reply)

Get the Triban 3.
It's a whole lotta bike for not very much money. www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/tech/bikes/129441/2/bike-test-do-you-get-what-you-pay-for.html
(Himjim died a little more inside on, Thu 4 Apr 2013, 10:21, Reply)

yeah, that's the Decathlon one.
It's looking favourite.

Aluminium though *shakes head sadly*
( the mighty badger Aphrodite, on a bar stool, by your side, Thu 4 Apr 2013, 10:22, Reply)

See above, aluminium road bike + carbon fork = good.

(Bazongaloid, Thu 4 Apr 2013, 10:23, Reply)

Aluminium gives fucking awful ride buzz.
I know it's stiff, yada yada, but it's uncomfortable.
( the mighty badger Aphrodite, on a bar stool, by your side, Thu 4 Apr 2013, 10:26, Reply)

No it's not.
You're verging on the "I can tell the difference between different types of whiskey" territory here.
(Bazongaloid, Thu 4 Apr 2013, 10:29, Reply)

I've never ridden this bike. Or many road bikes, so I can't comment on this one
But I have ridden and raced a fuckload of mountain bikes over the last 20+ years and trust me on this, Aluminum frames do not absorb trail buzz because the specific difference in a couple of key modulus of elasticity properties of aluminium alloys means they cannot absorb fast paced, small surface inperfections. It's their major flaw, and it is why aluminium never caught on except in a niche sector of the market until front suspension became "standard"

It's therefore reasonable to suspect that exactly the same will be true of road bikes. However, in the road bike market, people value stiffness over comfort, hence why aluminium and carbon dominate.
( the mighty badger Aphrodite, on a bar stool, by your side, Thu 4 Apr 2013, 10:34, Reply)

NO BIKE CHAT.

( the mighty badger Aphrodite, on a bar stool, by your side, Thu 4 Apr 2013, 10:35, Reply)

See this
b3ta.com/questions/offtopic/post1922386
(Himjim died a little more inside on, Thu 4 Apr 2013, 10:36, Reply)

yeah, I know, but £600 for the frame alone.
I wanted to spend about half that on the whole bike.

Guess I'm going to have to man up and go aluminium.
( the mighty badger Aphrodite, on a bar stool, by your side, Thu 4 Apr 2013, 10:41, Reply)

It's not a problem for road bikes, because, here's the thing, you're riding it on smooth roads
not bumpy trails, so the vibration issue isn't an issue.
(Bazongaloid, Thu 4 Apr 2013, 10:50, Reply)

have you seen the bloody roads in Edinburgh?

( the mighty badger Aphrodite, on a bar stool, by your side, Thu 4 Apr 2013, 10:54, Reply)

^^ Precisely this.

(Reverend Fister "a disciplined fuckwit", Thu 4 Apr 2013, 11:03, Reply)