[Dorian Gray]

Cager!

[Phoenix]

Just wondering what all you knowledgeable people think about the Felt f55? I can pick one up second hand for basically nothing and just thought i would see what you guys thought of the bike. I've ridden it and it seems fantastic. It's been ridden a total of 4 times! And in that 4 times it's only gone about 150km's. I'm getting it off someone who is moving and can't take it with him.

So I'm pretty excited about getting it. Any thoughts?

[billybobsky]

Um... Given that it is normally a $2000+ bike, and you are getting it for 'basically' nothing... it doesn't matter if it is crap. Someone will take it off your hands for profit.

[AWR]

Felt has a good reputation as far as I know. And if it cost 2,000 bucks, it should have decent components. BUY.

[Phoenix]

Oh I'm definitely taking it. I more wanted to hear if people had used one before, had any thoughts, would change something on it, etc.

[beardedmacuser]

If that's the same 2007 Felt F55 that's on their website then it looks a fine bike! Just so long as it fits you properly...

[Eugene]

The one place here I saw that carried Felt bikes was clearing them out and not ordering more, so I don't know what to make about that. They seem to be very, very inexpensive. $2400 for a carbon frame and mixed Dura-Ace/Ultegra component group... light bike too. And when I looked them up I found some comments about the top tube being too long and the seat tube being too short, which is music to my ears.

I'd definitely like to know more...

[beardedmacuser]

It was a sad day today . Biking home from work tonight was the first time I had to use the lights on my bike since before summer. Summer is now officially over for me...

[Dorian Gray]

A small tragedy indeed, beardedmacuser.

RIP, UK summer 2007. We hardly knew you.

[gsxrboy]

On a brighter note, it's getting nice and sunny in Australia now. Almost time for the commute to begin again into work

[InactionMan]

I fucking hate it when people park their cars in the bike lane. There's not that many bike lanes in Toronto so it really sucks when there's a bigass delivery truck stopped in them. There's a website where you can post pics of offending cars but that seems like the most ineffective way to get them to stop so I was thinking of getting a big red sharpie and when I see some douchebag parked in my lane I'll just drag the sharpie across the car as I zip by. If there aren't any cops around to ticket the cars then logically there shouldn't be any around to ticket me for scribbling on their car.

Right?

[beardedmacuser]

Originally Posted by InactionMan so I was thinking of getting a big red sharpie

Surely you've got keys in your pocket? They do a pretty nice job of gouging down the side of a car.

[Eugene]

Don't believe in karma, I take it.

[beardedmacuser]

A fuckwit driver getting a key down the side of their car sounds like karma to me?

[Eugene]

So you think causing property damage is the proper reaction to an illegal parking job?

[beardedmacuser]

Oh no, I wouldn't recommend such action just for parking. Only when drivers physically endanger you would I suggest letting them know you're there. I was just wanting to highlight that keys are a useful item in a cyclists defensive arsenal.

[Bryson]

Or metal pedals - they work pretty well, too.

[AWR]

Originally Posted by Dorian Gray AWR: looking forward to seeing this BMC dream machine. I didn't know BMC made mountain bikes. I vaguely remember you were thinking of getting an American handmade bike. Did that change for practical reasons (e.g. availability in Switzerland) or did you just change your mind?

DG, you've probably given up on this one! All I can say is, I've been busy.

Anyway, for a while I was considering an Ellsworth Truth, a handmade American beauty http://www.competitivecyclist.com/za...RODUCT.ID=1806. I had read many good things about Ellsworth, especially their rear suspension set up, and coming from a hardtail, I was slightly concerned about "the bob" on a full suspension bike and the attendant loss of power. Unfortunately, it is not available in Switzerland or neighboring France, and I had no plans to go to the States where I could pick one up. That said, set up with the components that I wanted, it was going to cost about USD 4,500, which was about USD 1,000 more than I wanted to spend, I mean invest.

Lo and behold, the Swiss bike manufacturer BMC. Yes, they are known for their (unbelievably sexy) road bikes, but they have some very nice mountain bikes too. I read a review in a mountain bike magazine of this guy testing the 2007 FS03 over 1,000kms of French trails, and he loved it. A real rave. Locally, I also checked out Specialized, Cannondale and Trek's nice cross-country bikes and nothing bowled me over. So I ended up with the BMC. I have been very happy with it, although I have only had time to put it through some decent paces two or three times. But I have logged over 800kms just fucking around, and everything is as solid a rock. Since I bought the bike in (June?), several magazines in France and Switzerland have put the FS03 up against competition and it has emerged the favorite in each test I've seen. (Lucky guess on my part, it seems, and I saved that USD 1,000.) That might explain what the bike shop owner said to me when I was there last week: "do you see that FS03 (pointing to one on the wall), that's it, there are no more, BMC has sold out of the model and there are no more coming this year - not here not anywhere." (Perhaps BMC didn't make enough in the first place ).

Sorry if this doesn't make much sense; it's actually a long convoluted story, but I wanted to get back to you, and I'm a bit harried these days.

[beardedmacuser]

Ooh... very nice!

(is it this bike?)


It's been so long since my cross country racing days (which admittedly didn't last very long) so I'm kind of out of touch. But I was wondering, is everyone riding tubeless tyres off road nowadays? I fancy reviving my mountain bike so may be on the lookout for new wheels & tyres...

[Hassan i Sabbah]

http://copenhagengirlsonbikes.blogspot.com/

Totally self-explanatory url.

If you can get past the slightly creepy, stalker-esque thing of looking at pictures of very attractive women riding bicycles, er... you're probably OK with being a bit of second-hand creepy stalker.

Actually, that's bollocks. In Copenhagen, people ride in high heels, and that's cool.

[Koodari]

My old hybrid's improvement project is now underway. The front derailleur failed climbing a small hill. I lifted the chain back on the chainrings and rode on with my gears reduced to seven from 21. Yesterday I went to the club workshop equipped with a new front derailleur to fix things. However, it seems the store mistakenly sold me a bottom pull derailleur, while the bike needs a top pull derailleur, so now it is sitting at the workshop. Best case I can get the parts and remedy the situation tomorrow.

The effort didn't go to waste. I'm considerably more confident about messing with the bike now that I have removed the chain, crankset and derailleur and seen that isn't a big deal. I pondered the derailleur and pulleys enough that I also have a much improved understanding of how they work.

The folks at the store were a little cranky and hard for a newbie to deal with. I think they'd prefer to do the work, not sell parts. However, the place is bustling with business, a lot of which comes from what look like seasoned bikers with nice bikes, and the prices - both of the parts they sold me, and their quote for work - seem reasonable. This was a place recommended by the folks at the biking club.

Together with the derailleur, I was going to put in a new chain and a Sunrace crankset (with more teeth than in my old one, so I won't run out of gearing if I get slightly more speed from lock pedals). The construction and finish on the parts looks pretty coarse and cheap, but there's no point in getting anything expensive before I have a good grasp on alternatives. If the stock Nishiki parts have survived for seven years now with light use, I doubt I have the ability to break or wear these new ones out under a few years' time.

I'm now planning to get the kind of lock pedals that are balanced to turn upright when you lift a foot off, and you always get the non-clip side if you put your foot in from the front, and the clip side if you put your foot in from the back - or vice versa. A friend told me his pedals do this. Sounds like something that makes sense for conditions where you need to make many full stops, like in our city centre. I'll have to go to a different shop for these and biking shoes/clothing.

[ThunderPoit]

went for what may be (god i hope not) my last big ride of the summer.
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UT...da5c36fbb&z=13
here is an apporoximate route i took. i think i accidentally took a walking path somewhere around the theodore wirth golf course, so im not exactly sure of the route, but it was about 15 miles.
between being hot as hell and rainy lately, i havent really gotten much riding done in the past month, and now the sun is setting so early, it makes me sad to think that ill be stuck with my coat hanger (exercise bike) for the winter

[InactionMan]

Originally Posted by Eugene So you think causing property damage is the proper reaction to an illegal parking job?

Yes. Yes I do.

[AWR]

Originally Posted by beardedmacuser Ooh... very nice! (is it this bike?) It's been so long since my cross country racing days (which admittedly didn't last very long) so I'm kind of out of touch. But I was wondering, is everyone riding tubeless tyres off road nowadays? I fancy reviving my mountain bike so may be on the lookout for new wheels & tyres...

Yes, it is that one, but a 2007 model (I think that your picture is of the 2006 FS03). And as you can see the components for the most part are different. Although, the Scor stem and seat post are the same. [BTW, I fixed the link to the Ellsworth Truth.]

I don't think everyone is riding tubeless (although perhaps that's different in competition). Mine aren't tubeless, but I kind of like it that way (at least I know how to fix it 30 miles from home ).

Originally Posted by AWR I've enjoyed seeing all the nice bikes the ANers hit the roads and trails on - some impressive and just fun specimens. I love cycling and wish I could do more of it! I bought my first road bike about 6 years ago (always a "mountain" biker before that) after becoming obsessed with Le Tour de France, and have enjoyed learning about road-riding. Now, I've just received a new (self-selected ) mountain bike from the wife and kids as a birthday present to compliment my road miles. This is my first bike with any type of suspension, and it's been a blast. So here she is just after the presentation, a BMC Fourstroke FS 03. Specs include: lightweight aluminum/aluminium frame, Shimano XT component set (with the exception of DT Swiss rims and Crank Brother pedals), Fox F100 front shock, DT Swiss SSD 190L rear shock.... The riding position is great for me, very comfortable on long rides, and yet I don't feel vulnerable on steep decents, or like I'm the main sail of Alinghi when riding into the wind.

[Eugene]

The original Outland VPP take on the 4-bar link is still my favorite... the design is now owned by Santa Cruz, which also makes probably the best single-pivot rear-suspension bikes out there. Other than that though, the Truth and other Ellsworth bikes are revered as well.

The Monolink system is also intriguing with the BB on its own bridge element...and the fact that the suspension path is angled back like the front fork would be.

[AWR]

Originally Posted by ThunderPoit went for what may be (god i hope not) my last big ride of the summer. http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UT...da5c36fbb&z=13 here is an apporoximate route i took. i think i accidentally took a walking path somewhere around the theodore wirth golf course, so im not exactly sure of the route, but it was about 15 miles. between being hot as hell and rainy lately, i havent really gotten much riding done in the past month, and now the sun is setting so early, it makes me sad to think that ill be stuck with my coat hanger (exercise bike) for the winter

Google Maps ... what an application. I enjoyed looking at your circuit, and then zooming out. Just wicked.

[Dorian Gray]

Cheers, AWR. Was just curious (i.e. nosy) about what happened. That's a nice pic you took of your bike too, backlit and all. Good going. It's hard to beat the feeling of slogging up a long hill in the great outdoors, heart thudding in your ears. I love it anyway.

[Eugene]

Bikes tried:

2007 Lemond Triomphe Buenos Aires... It felt more like a tourer than a racing bike. The ride was plush for carbon, I guess, but I think the wheels just didn't have enough tension in them. Not going to buy a package bike only to toss the Bontrager wheels for Mavic Ksyriums...

2008 Madone 5.2... Out of my price range, but I figured I'd give it a try until the Madone 5.1s came in. Because this wasn't the Madone 5.2 Pro, it had similar slack geometry to the Triomphe. The only advantage the bike had was weight savings and a more complete Ultegra package. Not worth it, IMO...and I doubt the Madone 5.2 Pros will be available to demo anytime soon. Every Trek shop here sells their 54/56s as soon as they get them, Pro geometry or not.

Rocky Mountain Solo 50ST... I tried very hard to like the bike. It had the aggressive angles the Trek-co bikes lacked, but it was probably the heaviest bike too. This is the only bike that winded me while in a flat out sprint. Not good.

Look 565 Ultegra... Nice bike. Just not $4000 nice.

Specialized Tarmac Expert... I have some kind of predisposition against Specialized from the early 90s because everyone had Rockhoppers and Stumpjumpers. Despite this, it did ride very nicely and was probably the least expensive of all the bikes I've tried. Minus points for being ugly.

Orbea Onix, Bianchi 928, Cannondale Synapse SL 2... None of these bikes made much of an impression on me at all.

Felt F3... Based on the comments in the thread, I decided to find a Felt dealer and give one a try. I don't know if the bike wasn't dialed in correctly, but it felt horrible. Not as bad as the Rocky Mountain, but it was mushy out of the saddle...probably due to lateral flex? Also the shop owner pointed out that the in house "carbon" bars were actually carbon-wrapped aluminum. Very, very disappointing for a bike that looked great on paper. All the talk about long top-tubes also didn't pan out. The bike has a fairly standard geometry, so the top tube is almost almost level with the ground. I could barely stand over a 56 and a 54 felt too cramped. The Dura-Ace components didn't amount to anything in the end.

Scott CR1 Pro... The shop owner pointed me at the bike after I commented about the Felt. ...Holy shit, this bike felt good. The bike was officially listed as Medium (54cm), but it was noticeable taller than a 54cm Felt F3 at the head tube. Despite this, the bike was amazingly responsive and very fast. I can only imagine what the Scott Addict frame is like. I think most of it comes from the fact that the center of gravity on the bike was noticeably lower than any other bike I tested. The cranks are almost dangerously close to the ground at full extension.

Compared to a 54cm Madone, it has a shorter chainstay, the same seat/head angles, and almost an inch longer effective top tube (yessss).



Not exactly the boutique brand I was hoping for, and it's not much to look at... There's still a bunch of 2008s that aren't in yet that I'd like to try... namely the Addict F4, but I think the CR1 Pro is the sweetspot in terms of comfort vs performance vs price.

[AWR]

Do you have any shops nearby that carry BMC? You might like what they offer.

http://www.bmc-racing.com/road_racin...637b1e38d.html

I like the look of their Cross bike

http://www.bmc-racing.com/popup-view+M590003ec418.html


What Serotta's line like these days?

[Eugene]

Originally Posted by AWR Do you have any shops nearby that carry BMC? You might like what they offer. http://www.bmc-racing.com/road_racin...637b1e38d.html

Palo Alto Bicycles does carry BMC among other very high-end brands (Look, Seven, I.F., Ellsworth, ), but I doubt they even order the more affordable aluminum BMC road frames. Those are niche products for discerning buyers, not the Atherton/Palo Alto crowds that'll end up buying 595s, BMC SLC1s, or Madone 6.9 SSLs.

What Serotta's line like these days?

Not going to go out of my way to hunt down a steel Serotta (the only one I could afford) at this point.