BICYCLES

Sweet!! That's is exactly why I wanted it. I absolutely hate when I'm climbing hard and miss a shift. The whole climb might as well be shot-to-he11 at that point. I also detest trimming the front deraileur because of noise. I hope this eliminates it entirely.

 

Wait - a cycling thread on a Ferrari forum!?! Oh, this is perfect! I love my cars and motorcycles, of course, but the bike is where my heart truly lies. This Serotta is my current favorite ride. Image Unavailable, Please Login


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Picked it up this morning, and took it for a quick shakedown cruise with my son. (Tomorrow, I'll do some real miles).

[size=+5]WOW[/size]

Between the Di2, an Ultegra wheelset, and about 30 minutes with the LBS using a protractor, bobbin, carpenter's level and a really knowledgable fitment tech, it is like a whole new experience.
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I wasn't in the market for a new bike - very happy with my current stable but that new spesh has gone right to the top of my father christmas list :0)

100% yay from me

happy xmas,Bob

 

Nay, although I generally like the Specialized brand and do use several of their top end saddles.

IMO, while some riders may like riding around on funky-looking gear, most don't; so Specialized could probably go about doing the wind tunnel thing with a bit more elegance and flair. Sometimes I think some bike manufacturers, just like some car makers, run out of good ideas and just make lazy half-baked stuff instead of great stuff, just to come up with something new every year, simply to keep (some) people spending money.

Amateur and recreational riders have a lot more latitude in choosing equipment. Top end Specialized gear is very expensive and at those prices they need to look as good as they function. The aero concepts in this Venge are also not at all new and other makers do manage to produce much better-looking aero bikes. It's like buying a new Fcar, very few owners race their cars so just how many prospective buyers would prefer an ugly one over a great-looking one, if the cars also performed equally well?

I think they can clean up the awkwardness and have a much more polished product.

 

I look at these slammed bars, and while I absolutely understand the functionality, all I see is a seriously aching back.


On another note, I've been working to measure my FTP accurately via a Tacx trainer, and some Trainer Road/Sufferfest workouts (and some fun Zwift riding too). Before I post any numbers... I'm just curious what the more experienced riders think I should work toward.

* 46 years old (but getting older every day)
* 144-147 pounds (stable, over the course of 6 months)
* Believe my resting HR to be ca. 43 bpm.
* VO2max 68-72 (tested with Polar HRM, so keep that in mind)

I am a rank amateur, by all measures. These days, a normal ride is 40-50 miles with average pace of about 17-18 mph and climb of 1500 ft.

So.... guess the FTP? I'm curious.

 

You've made a ton of progress in a very short amount of time - congrats!

I don't put a lot of stock in FTP numbers gauged by indoor trainers. It's just not real world.

Do you have a power meter on your bike? If so, read up on the FTP Test protocol and get yourself outside to do the test.

Of course, FTP isn't that indicative of how badass you've become...you want to take one more (math) step and calculate your W/Kg where W(atts) is your FTP number. If the result is > 3, then pat yourself on the back.

 

I like the new electronic training aids but I generally hold a more traditional (old-fashioned) view of the training process. Your personal FTP (functional threshold power) is a useful quantity to gauge and monitor one's performance potential but as we all know your "current FTP" is not an exact quantity and is subject to many factors and conditions that can easily affect your performance.

You haven't provide a full set of your personal physical metrics but I think you look very fit and possess a very good athletic physique. Of course, we all get older and you will need to develop a sense of what sort of physical model to strife for at each latter stage in your life.

I'm not an expert but my understanding is that FTP is about sustainable power output over a period of about 1 hour. So you can gauge that more or less when you analyze suitable indoor training sessions if you use power meters.

 

Lol... Rick, you're quite charitable with your post. I'm a rank amateur, for sure!

Here's what I reported from the ride this morning (20.2 miles, 1293 ft climbed). I can hit that big 3 watts/Kg, but only for very short periods of time. I'm not sure how to handicap the indoor trainer vs. outdoor power meter (I don't have one).... so this is all I've got.
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The Watts approximated by your ride analysis SW are also pretty susceptible to error unless you traveled on a constant grade, with no wind, no stop signs, consistent cadence, etc. etc. That said, I've found them to be within reason of what kind of power you were pushing out.

Find a stretch of pavement or bike path with a constant slight incline (1%) that you can ride all out for 20 minutes without interruption. Record just that segment and see what your SW says the Weighted Power is and then subtract 5% - that will give you a reasonable real world FTP...until you splurge on a power meter and find out *da truth*.

There's nothing magic about 3 W/Kg. It's just what some folks consider the line between a recreational cyclist and someone with respectable cycling fitness - for men anyway. A woman over 3 W/Kg is probably a competitive Cat 3/4 rider.

I'm at 3.3 W/Kg. Pro riders are ~6 W/Kg. Then again, I have both of my testicles and don't do EPO.

 

I just picked up the Kestrel Talon, great bike for the money, great bang for your buck.
Light and handles very very well.

 

A big yay

I've ridden Specialized for about 5 years, 200 miles/week, about to switch to Trek with a new sponsorship but not something I wanted to do. Current main bike is an SL4 S-works with DA9000 (I tried Di2 but prefer mechanical for some reason). This was from the Palm Desert Century.
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Not much love for the MTB on here.
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Most of the posts here are focused high end, high tech bikes. While I have a nice road bike sitting in the garage, I've become fascinated with the old 'path racer' style bike. A new build version is the Pashley Guvnor. I think they look cool and am tempted to build up an old school wood rim bike (preferably based on an Iver Johnson Truss Bridge frame). However, I suspect it will just end up being a display piece. Has anyone ridden one of these? How much comfort and practicality is given up in the quest for style?

Regards,

Art S.

PS. No, I've never been called a hipster

 

Art, you must be a hipster riding an old school bike to the local microbrewery with your bushy beard and funky tats!

Indeed some of the stuff in this thread is crazy expensive. As a total newbie, I'm struggling to find ways to enjoy this sport without spending large chunks of money. My frame is about 10 years old, so I got a very nice deal on it. But the upfit with new wheels, shifters, cassette, etc. has been tough. Add to that, a good helmet and some riding gear... it is all a bit silly.

On the flip side, there is nothing like the experience (in my area) of a beautiful Sunday afternoon ride with friends through the countryside with almost no traffic, rolling hills, and the friendly banter of kicking each other's tail on whatever particular hill/segment/route we're riding.

 

Daniel, normal road bikes aren't that expensive; you should see the one-offs and prototypes in my basement. Some of those are ridiculous. I would usually test them, maybe race them, send my notes to the factory, and sometimes get to keep them .
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What's that one?

 

It's the prototype of what is now the Parlee ESX.

 

The production bikes are less expensive that the prototypes and one offs. I takes a lot to make molds or tubes for just one bike that may never go into production.

I raced the UCI World Cups and Six Days on one off track bike that cost the company something like $20k to produce. After I won on it, they got calls to make some for customers. It was so time consuming they didn't want to make another so they put a price of $30k for the frame. They still had a couple of people insisting on one but company steered them into their z1 custom bikes instead.
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Correct by that's relatively new. In the run up to London Olympics, we were all on very custom one off bikes and that's what brought about the rules.

I'm trying to find other pics where you can clearly see the frame.
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