Road Cycling

Lethal` said:
I wasn't being serious :p
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Haha I know, my comment was quite tongue in cheek anyway. ;)

We all know these type of brands all want to copy Rapha as they see them as an ideal business model - premium items, mass produced, totally overpriced (90% margin anyone?!) that are loved by the masses and everyone buys without comparing against alternatives or even considering. :rolleyes:

ThaReaperGuy said:
Winter cycling is my favourite so I'll be out and about, will be grabbing my bike on Friday as I'm not home this week and the training starts again this Saturday :)
I played about with a Tacx Neo a few weeks back at Evans and wouldn't mind having one for indoors, so quiet.

Also good to see that Birmingham is keeping it's great reputation by stealing Geraint's trophy from the NEC...
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Lol wut!?

Good to hear you're inspired to ride through the winter! It takes a certain mindset and dedication! :D
 
Roady said:
Gutted to hear this mate, sure it's not just the wheels/tyres? Do you have tyres you've ridden on your other wheelsets you could swap across to check how they feel? Know anyone with some better disc wheels you could borrow to try?
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The Bowman is the only disc-braked bike I have so can't easily test other wheels. I am currently running tubeless tyres that allegedly only have 15W rolling resistance. Previously, I tested Lifeline Prime Armors and Michelin Pro4s with inner tubes.

SoliD said:
Unfortunately it is the bike. My winter hack my pinnacle is exactly the same. Pretty much same fit but chuck on all the guards, rubbish wheels, draggier heavier tyres etc it soon tkaes you down a bit. I just go by power all year round and just accept if I'm out riding with others, it is going to be tougher.
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Yeah, it does feel that way! Surprised nobody said it's the engine and not the bike.:p

My intention for this bike was to be like my summer bikes but with discs and mudguards for winter riding and wet commutes. Also, building it myself was meant to be a useful learning experience instead of just buying one off the shelf. I feel like I might have been happier with an Ultimate/Endurace disc and using an ass-saver or Raceblades.:o

Getting dropped hurts.:(
 
Winter bikes are just a different mindset. After having my backside kicked all summer by my road/TT bike, it's quite nice to jump on the single speed in winter with massive tyres and cruise around.
 
Shamrock said:
My intention for this bike was to be like my summer bikes but with discs and mudguards for winter riding and wet commutes. Also, building it myself was meant to be a useful learning experience instead of just buying one off the shelf. I feel like I might have been happier with an Ultimate/Endurace disc and using an ass-saver or Raceblades.:o

Getting dropped hurts.:(
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Remove the guards and get an ass-saver! Try it out! Mine comes slightly more alive without guards and they're only an additional 0.6kg. Your PDW's might be more than that?

Mine is heavier than yours to start with, so fully laiden at around 11kg. So at a weight similar to yours (10.5kg) it's more lively than at 11kg! :o
 
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The guards were the deciding factor in the whole purchase haha.

If I opted to go without "proper" guards I could've built up a Chinese carbon disc frame instead.
 
As heavy as mine is I like my Pinnacle for the fact I ride it all winter and barely chuck any cleaner at it apart from the odd chain wipe and it just keeps on plugging away. Although I'm giving it a bit of a refresh for the winter with some new Carbon bars when they turn up. Riding without Guards in Winter is hateful. Although I do need to fix my front one where the witches hat broke.
 
Shamrock said:
The guards were the deciding factor in the whole purchase haha.

If I opted to go without "proper" guards I could've built up a Chinese carbon disc frame instead.
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I know, I'm just saying to try it without to see if it feels any better! Certainly a cheaper option than selling the whole thing without trying to find the route cause of your problem... Can tell I work in IT - process of elimination! Have you tried turning it off and back on?

SoliD said:
Although I do need to fix my front one where the witches hat broke.
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Hahahaha.... Wait. Wut!? It's not Halloween yet! :P

randomshenans said:
My winter bike weighs 6kgs, gets me soaked and makes me smile :D
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Is that only 95% soaked?

Shamrock said:
Soaked in sweat riding it indoors on Zwift?:p
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How you jest...

I recall a conversation in 'Zwift Riders' (Facebook group) where some riders where fitting front guards to protect their front rims from sweat...! Seems not many use 'bike thongs' and riders also seeing corroded BB's from sweat...! We've all seen the state of aluminium bars corroded by sweat, just imagine that happening to a BB! :o
 
light bends around my winter bike, doubly so when it's got the panniers on. just means that my summer bike feels like a rocket powered winmobile by comparison
 
BennyC said:
Yes, I saw them at the LBS @ The Excel in 2015 or 2016.

They were offering 5% (£150) and didn't budge further but did throw in free delivery (£35), free Bike Guard (£35 - the delivery/returns box), spare mech hanger (£20?) and a free display stand (£25). So, £250~.

Worth noting that you couldn't sit on any of the display bikes so as far as sizing went you would still need to use their online tool. Their newest lightweight offering you could man handle though. They were attentive & helpful.

They do have actual testing days too, worth following them on social media if you don't already.
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Good knowledge, thanks. I’m tempted to see if they do anything for Black Friday as I’m only after a frameset really.
 
I bet those Tribans are faster than my Bowman! :D

Saytan said:
light bends around my winter bike, doubly so when it's got the panniers on. just means that my summer bike feels like a rocket powered winmobile by comparison
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I'm not sure I buy into the whole "train heavy, race light" mentality. Right now, it makes me not want to ride the damn thing.
 
You will feel like that if you've stepped off a light 'race' bike onto a heavy one. Bit like getting out of an Exige into a focus etc.

The first couple of weeks on my commuter are not great, then I get used to it, and think in 6 months time or so I'll be back on the S-Works! ;)
 
The main issue isn't the commute, I can just about live with getting dropped on a 0.5mi sprint segment on my way to work.

It's more the long weekend rides when my n=1 mates are still riding their summer bikes in winter and I'm dying to keep up.:o
 
there shouldn't be "dying" between a 7kg bike and 10kg one. On the flat it's basically nothing, and on the climbs its small. I'm still sure something is not right with that bike
 
Thing is Shamrock because you're so small you will notice it more. Easiest way to check would be by power meter, but not sure if you've got one? I certainly feel the difference when I'm putting out 350W up a climb and getting dropped fairly easily. It's just something you get used to, generally ease it back a bit on the climb so that when you roll over the top can use the additional weight to fly down the otherside with a bit more power than normal, but more consistent output.
 
Unfortunately, the only bit of data I have is a climb I did in January and last Sunday.

I was 20s quicker up the climb on the bike my Bowman replaced which was similar weight, worse gearing (34-25 compared to 36-29) and at a time when I was arguably less fit than now.

Anyway, I'll stop polluting the thread with my whining. I just have to live with it unless I come across some eureka moment about a cause of the drag.:(

It's just frustrating because I built it. It's like if your newborn baby came out with a birth defect.:D
 
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