Road Bicycle Buying Advice

[AndrewJ]

Panniers are the way to go, no sweaty backpack-ness.
Before I had my touring bike I had an old road bike that I'd converted to singlespeed. It was a pretty fast bike, and I could make my commute at an average of 17.5mph. With my touring bike my average dropped to 15mph. Not that big of a deal really.

[Who]

Assiming the bike is properly fitted, slacker headtube angle and longer chainstays is the key to comfort on longer rides. If you're doing distance twitchy instant handling isn't welcome, and longer chainstays helps driveline angles and permits wider gearing combos.

I'd scour e-bay over the winter for a Ti frame. Alu would be the last choice based on what you've said, although there are some nice Alu bikes out there. If you can find a cheaper Campy grouppo - Veloce or Daytona/Centaur that would be my pick...

[Gone4]

Originally Posted by Who

Assiming the bike is properly fitted, slacker headtube angle and longer chainstays is the key to comfort on longer rides. If you're doing distance twitchy instant handling isn't welcome, and longer chainstays helps driveline angles and permits wider gearing combos.

I'd scour e-bay over the winter for a Ti frame. Alu would be the last choice based on what you've said, although there are some nice Alu bikes out there. If you can find a cheaper Campy grouppo - Veloce or Daytona/Centaur that would be my pick...

May I ask why Ti is good? Why is Aluminum a poorer choice?
I know from my extensive theoretical work with metallurgy that aluminum has a cyclical limit. I would assume the bicycle manufacturers take this into consideration but knowing the lack of integrity in many industries it wouldn't surprise me if aluminum was an excuse for specific sections or components to fail.

[SVOboy]

Ti is tough and light, and you can get traditional frame sexiness with it,

[Who]

Originally Posted by GenKreton

May I ask why Ti is good? Why is Aluminum a poorer choice?

Ti doesn't corrode and rides very well. The tube thickness tends to be pretty substantial as well so it doesn't tend to ding easily. Alu is a great material but it can make for a stiffer ride which isn't great on long rides, it really depends on how the frame is made. Alu bikes are good for racers that don't keep them a long time and Alu can corrode.

Ti is nice stuff... I have a steel bike and an Alu bike. Wish I just had a Ti bike although CF impresses to heck out of me. I saw a guy try to destroy his CF bike once in a fit of anger - he failed. I think it was a Look or Time frame... I've never ridden a Ti bike but I have ridden a CF Calfee that was big enough for me (size 64 or 65) and it was very sweet!

Ebay, craigslist... watch for your frame size...

[Gone4]

I've been hunting daily for my perfect bike. Since everything is about ice, snow, and really cold temperatures I have plenty of time to spend on the hunt. However, it's looking exorbitantly difficult to find a Ti framed bike for a good price. Essayons!

[AndrewJ]

Just thought of another thing to add to my list of stuff to look for in a useful bike.

No integrated headset.
Just dumb, that's all I have to say about integrated headsets. I mean, pressing a bearing directly into your frame with no cup? Just madness! You're one wrong move away from buying a new frame. Once again a case of racing-influenced bikes not being built for durability.

[trebuchet03]

Originally Posted by GenKreton

May I ask why Ti is good? Why is Aluminum a poorer choice?
I know from my extensive theoretical work with metallurgy that aluminum has a cyclical limit. I would assume the bicycle manufacturers take this into consideration but knowing the lack of integrity in many industries it wouldn't surprise me if aluminum was an excuse for specific sections or components to fail.

It's very simple... Stiffness (the material property) et. al.

Stiffness
Steel: 30 million psi
Titanium: 15-17.5 million psi
Aluminum: 10 million psi

Density
Steel: 7.8 g/cm^3
Ti: 4.506 g/cm^3
Al: 2.74 g/cm^3

Hardness
Steel: 120HB
Ti: 330HB
Al:15HB

Ductility
Steel: 10-15%
Ti: 20-30%
Al: 6-12%

Aluminum is 1/3 as stiff as Steel - very soft and not very ductile by comparison. Titanium, while a little more than half as strong as steel is also nearly half as dense - but incredibly hard and ductile. Aluminum has no fatigue threshold whereas Titanium and Steel do - that means, as long as you stay below that threshold for steel and Ti, it will not fatigue (sounds like you know this already - just posting for thoroughness).

Al has it's place though - my bike is Al. To compensate for the low stiffness and fatigue, my frame's backbone is has a large diameter (if you can't win on materials - you can make up for it with geometry). But, both of my forks are steel (chro-mo). My roommates hybrid like mountain bike is Al (with steel fork) - and I can see what Trek did to keep stress concentrations from accumulating. He beats the living **** out of his frame - it's even crashed into a river once (hit him in the back on the way down) - so far, so good

So why not Ti considering it's awesomeness? It's freaking expensive to extract, process etc. And, it's finicky to manufacture with...

And fenders are just more money to keep me a bit cleaner/dryer...

I have a rear fender on my 'bent... And thus far - I've loved it I'm in Florida, so it rains more often. I'm also riding a 'bent - so my back gets plenty wet (but water from the front wheel gets deflected by the frame and seat ). Fenders are a local decision - if you'll be riding in the rain frequently, it may be worthwhile

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I second the comment about no integrated headsets... F'ing retarded.

Panniers are great though When I ride my road bike - I use them all the time

[Gone4]

Yeah, I was aware of the strength and machining aspects of it, but as an engineer who's only worked in the space industry and not real industry, I assume they would have effectively neutralized the negatives. Judging by some of my searches carbon fiber and aluminum can still run into some problems, which is disappointing. I will definitely try to find a titanium bike. It helps that I have a love affair for all that is titanium already

On components. Are ultegras good? I see a lot of bikes advertising they have them on ebay. Do I desire something else?

Should I consider buying a frame and piecing components onto it on my own?

[SVOboy]

Ultegra is good. I have 105 on my bike and it suits me just fine. I feel like above 105 or ultegra if you're doing something important, most bike groupsets become about have a bigger wallet than everyone else.

"I spent 3k on my campy grouppo because the carbon fiber brifters cut 30 grams compared to DA, WOOOO!"