[divve]

Not much to add to the above.....just whatever you get go Campy Also, note that crazy light frames (1kg or less) often share common features such as, flexy and fatigue with-in a few years, very thin tube walls (dent easily or get holes knocked in them if made out of carbon), or are extremely bone jarring stiff in order not to fold under the light build.

 

[Hecubus]

I have a Look Kx carbon bike. Its one of their stiffest frames which makes it quite durable for training and is still light enough to race. I currently have it with 9 speed Dura Ace drive train and Ksyrium SL wheels. The whole bike weighs in at just a bit over 17lbs. I currently use it for conditioning only but am hoping to get to do a few road races as well this year.

 

[Chilito]

Felt F35

 

[thejuru]

what about de rosas??????

yes - most will say i'm "a bit" biased but once again german roadie magazine TOUR did a test on 20 different high-end carbon roadbikes and the overall winner is....SCOTT CR1 Pro!

now remember - this not the top of the line CR1 Team Issue but the 2nd highest in the lineup.as a complete bike it's official price is 2950 Euro but check with Tilo from tilosshop.com about best deals on the Scott.

here's the bikes that they tested:
Basso Diamante
Calfee Dragonfly Pro
CKT COR 15
Corratec Carbon Flight
Daccordi Race Fiber
Eddy Merckx Carbon MXM
Frank Roccolana
Kestrel Talon SL
Look KG 461
Moser MX Karbon
Orbea Orca
Red Bull Pro Carbon
Ridley Damocles
Scott CR1 Pro
Simplon Pride DA20
Specialized Roubaix pro
Storck Scenario C1.1
Time VXR
Trek Madone 5.9
Wilier Karbon 2 Deluxe

here's a graph that shows the overall points (in the grey dot), price in Euro (yellow) and weight of the frameset incl. fork in grams (red).
criterias that were noted:
weight of frame/fork
stability
lateral stiffness
power transfer
comfort
finish/laquer/service

the whole test is about 10 pages long so don't aske me to print every bike.let me just note a few comments:
Eddy Merckx: weakest stiffnest in the headtube of all tested bikes (48 N/mm against 83 N/mm of the Scott and Basso).unacceptable! the handlebar shakes when going down...

Kestrel: also pretty soft in the headtube (61 N/mm) only acceptable in the bottom brackett stiffness (91 N/mm against Frank 123 N/mm or Scott 106 N/mm)

Simplon: austrian bike.lightest frameset (1269g incl. fork in size 57cm against 1392g of the Scott).it gets good notes all over!

Specialized: NO effect of those fancy dampening inserts!! who wonders? - once again some marketing BS just like all that Bodygeometry hype.it rides decent as are his stiffness measurements.

Trek: rides great.expensive.good quality but no lightweight at 1542g and the measurements are also decent at best: 88 N/mm in the bottom bracket and 66 N/mm in the headtube.

Scott: the little brother of the CR1 Team issue has excellent stiffness numbers paired to a record weight.the price of the complete bike is even lower than some other framesets in this test!it rides great...
the Team issue has different carbon fibres,is over 100g lighter and you can get it with a 270g superlight fork.all with even better stiffness numbers - no comment!price? no comment either - ouch! the frameset is 2300 Euro...

here's the Scott CR1 Pro out of the dealers catalogue.complete weight is 7.6 kilos.

and the CR1 Team issue:

I can only rave about this years Team Issue which had a scandium frame (980g in size M) and also got highest numbers in last years tests.it rides awesome.I always though on roadbikes the difference woouldn't be that big from one to another frame...man i was sooo wrong!

I can't wait for my new CR1 Team Issue frameset...

Hi Nino,
I have never seen any kind of test posted by you or anybody else about De Rosa frames. Have you ANY info regarding how they would stack up against the competition? I would imagine the Eddie Merckx would be closest as they used to be partners WAY back, but would love to see any kind of info on the Merak, Dual or King made by De Rosa. I have a special bond with that brand I guess because I used to race as a junior many many years ago on one and wished I had kept it.

Thanks in advance,
thejuru

 

[Feideaux]

Saw somethnig a few years back on Sheldon Brown...

...they tested all the top brands. The Titanium De Rosa cracked after 80000 cycles or something. I'll track the link down for you if you want.

F.

 

[scrublover]

my fixie....

15.5 pounds of fixie love. 2000 giant tcr team frame, no name alu steer tube fork.
i've ridden my geared roady once since i got this together. the other is an 18.5# steel interloc frame/fork with dura ace-ultegra mix, hugi-240 hubs, use carbon post, ti stem, and lots of ti/alu bolts and so on. pics of it later.

no name carbon post with alu clamp bolt; hope seat collar with alu bolt. no name cages and tires from performance. lunar light tubes. now has a ti cycles ti stem, and serotta ti headtube extender, and a real nitto moustache bar. no new pic yet, though.

campy record carbon headset, campy front wheel off e-bay. campy mirage single pivot caliper, with ti/alu bolts. modolo lever, jagwire carbon look housing. generic bartape. generic pedals.

white ind. eno eccentric rear hub. velocity aerohead rim, 15-16db spokes/alloy nipples, 32 holes. 18T surly fixed cog and lockring. the two large hub fixing bolts, and the two inner bolts of the hub are now ti.

ritchey road crank, with generic 46t ring. srp alu ring and crank bolts. action-tec ti bb.

it's light, it's fast. frame soon to be replaced with a 2003 bianchi eros steel frame picked up off of e-bay. should add about a pound, maybe a bit more. but i'd rather have the steel ride!

 

[Explosif98]

Hey everyone..

I have seen the road bikes on light bikes, but I am sure many more people on this forum have road bikes. I am slowly starting to work out what road bike to get and whether or not to buy one built up or to try and build one up on a really tight budget.

I would like to see what people are riding and to get some input on how they find their road bikes, and also what sort of millage they are covering on their bikes.

FWIW, I am eyeing the following contenders:

• Bianchi XL Carbon (The frame price is good in Ausralia)
• Giant TCR Composite 1 (Best bang for the buck frame and carbon too)
• Avanti Corsa Elite (Good frame and great specs for good price)
• Orbea

So post pics, comments, ride time spent on the bike and weight if you wish...

Cheers
Trevor!

I've just been going through the same thing. Have a serious look at the Scott bikes, if there is a dealer for them in Hobart and also Jamis seem to be very good value here. The latter I'm probably (meaning definitely) biased on as I've just put an order down for a Jamis Eclipse so impressed was I. The Jamis Comet was another I considered. You can get an idea of prices and spec at: http://www.melbournebicycle.com.au/. Again I'm not sure whether there is a Jamis dealer in your locale. The site also lists Scott and Trek road bikes.

Giant make great bikes at a great price but I could never get one to fit me as well as some of the others with a larger range of sizes. I'm afraid I know sweet FA apart from their name about the Bianchi and Orbea. Everyone I've talked to have stressed fit of the bike so I guess it's important . Have fun in your search.

 

[gatechMTBer]

Trek 5500. 15.67 Pounds

Trek 5500

 

[ThaFurnace]

I'm the only one with a softride? Full dura-ace. Pretty heavy at just shy of 20lbs. Softride riders might not be the fastest, but we sure are the most comfortable!

 

[danK]

I did

When rehabbing from a back injury. Very comfy, but I did not like how the seat height changed depending on how much weight I gained or lost, or even what I had in my jersey pockets. But for the long haul on rough roads, they are great!

 

[KMan]

I'm riding just a stock 2004 Cannondale R2000

Parts are pleanty fine for a light enough road bike. Pretty much use it for training only and hopefully some centuries this year. Bike is stock except for a SLR saddle and some Eggbeater pedals.

KMan

 

[Didier Carpentier]

I'll be more than happy to sponsor you Trevor

hello trevor,
please check on my website.
I'll be happy to sponsor you with a road bike.
check on my website at: www.greybicycle.com
I'm also looking for a distributor in Australia.
contact me off the board at: dc@greybicycle.com
if interested, I'm sure we may find a deal that suits us both.
soon. didier

 

[WuJJ]

Anyone know anything about how the 2004 Lapierre Ultimate Carbon X-Lite 995 rides? My friend overseas can get one for me relatively cheap.

http://www.cycles-lapierre.fr/web/produits/995.htm

 

[Go Kart Motzart]

2004 R3000

Just bought a new 2004 R3000 full Dura-Ace.

 

[divve]

I see yours has the latest fork with carbon drop-outs. Sweet.

 

[Mike T.]

Here's my roadbike. New this past fall - my first new roadbike since 1986. I hope it will re-kindle my passion for the road which has taken a backseat to mtbs over the last twelve years. I got re-enthused while at the world road championships in October.

.

 

[Go Kart Motzart]

I see yours has the latest fork with carbon drop-outs. Sweet.

Yea, I hope that not a concern. I am not a light guy and I'll be interested to see how it holds up for jumping.

 

[¶å©øß]

Trevy:

check out this frame
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3658148912&category=22681

seems like a decent deal, and if it really weighs 2LBS then you could build a really freaking light bike.

 

[cruzmissle]

Felt F25R

I got this last summer as a training tool, and darnit if I don't find myself gravitating more toward the roadie dark side these days. I've always has a skinny tired bike, and I've followed the European racing season since Lemond's heyday, but it took having a new ride really to bring me into the road fold. There's a good local roadie culture. By the end of last season I was probably doing 200 miles/week pre peaking, and racing the weight-weenied Blur on weekends (and doing one hard mid-week off-road ride).

Here it is the day I picked it up, before the silver Tacx cage. ~17 lbs:

Now cyclingnews.com is my homepage, I subscribe to Cycle Sport, and at Charles de Gaulle airport recently I bought Cyclisme 2004, le guide complet de toutes les equipes, a guide to all the Div I teams (which I am translating using my halting French). Holy Geek-a-thon, Batman. Oh well.

Cruzmissle

 

[markom]

www.efbe.de

...they tested all the top brands. The Titanium De Rosa cracked after 80000 cycles or something. I'll track the link down for you if you want.

Here's another ruthless test site by those beer-loving folks:
http://www.efbe.de
If this has any value when road bike I don't know?

Here is Damon Rinards' website preserved by Sheldon Brown:
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/rinard/

For more information ja huge flame wars you can google rec.bicycles.tech newsgroup for subjects like "shimano vs campy", "greasing bottom bracket axle", bike fit, wheel building etc.

Fit on a road bike is critical, you really need good shop for fitting you on a bike. Upward angled stems are not pretty IMO but most bikes today have really low front ends... I've had to give up and use rising stem because of my back problems..

oh well, cabin fever seems to be getting me - I must have half million cycling web sites bookmarked but can ride or train only occasionally due work and sh!t weather...