Frame questions + best frame you ever rode

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CanadianBiker
Posts: 98
Joined: Mon Mar 30, 2015 2:34 pm

by CanadianBiker

1) Madone 9: Extremely fast, Aero and amazing comfortable for an aero bike.
2) Tarmac Swork 2016: Very good all around bike
3) Pinarello F8: Extremely stiff and very well grounded bike. Fast bike that handles very well.

Those are my top 3 for ride experience, if I go for looks that I want to take out and ride everyday, I would move the F8 to #2 and put the C59/C60 as the #3. The Tarmac is an amazing bike but something about the look and paint jobs that just don't do it for me.

by Weenie


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topflightpro
Posts: 829
Joined: Tue Jan 13, 2009 2:35 am

by topflightpro

Cannondale System-6.

mrlobber
Posts: 1928
Joined: Sat Oct 23, 2010 9:36 am
Location: Where the permanent autumn is

by mrlobber

Cervelo S5 for speed without compromises, it is the fastest aero bike out there.
Felt AR FRD feels almost as fast (and really is very close), however, it corners worse (longer seatstays) and has the rear chainstay mounted brake, which from my personal experience I don't like. The braking is not comparable to the S5 (same wheels, tested dry & wet).

From these two aero bikes I might speculate that Canyon Aeroad CF SLX might be right up there as well (only a couple of watts slower), with better comfort, but I haven't ridden one. The Dogma F8 might be another candidate, but it is 50% more expensive :D

Cannondale SuperSix Evo Himod (pre-2016 model, haven't ridden the new one) still delivers for me as the best all-rounder frame I've ridden. Nothing aero, so you lose speed on flats, but can be built sub 6kg without any exotic parts, climbs & descends excellently, and is just fun to ride.
Minimum bike categories required in the stable:
Aero bike | GC bike | GC rim bike | Climbing bike | Climbing rim bike | Classics bike | Gravel bike | TT bike | Indoors bike

jeffy
Posts: 1325
Joined: Sun Oct 05, 2014 11:51 pm

by jeffy

DMF wrote:For instance, me 172cm trying to ride a 56cm Tarmac means folding and tucking my elbows into my armpits while in the bottom of the drops, with my 179cm friend riding a 54cm Tarmac next to ms is struggling to reach the hoods.


at first read i thought, well there's two guy who have awful bike fits ... but then you talk about borrowed bikes and the penny dropped

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Fixie82
Posts: 348
Joined: Mon Mar 18, 2013 3:45 am

by Fixie82

iliedanila wrote:
Fixie82 wrote:Will you be racing?

Yes, but not a lot. I race because I enjoy no traffic, and for those personal records :)

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I ask because it would skew my answer a little bit - I have slightly different preferences if I'm racing on the bike. For example I prioritize agility for quick direction changes and threading between other riders (or avoiding them), this can get a little tiring for longer rides or if you just want to cruise along. As mentioned by ichobi the finest frame I have ridden is the Storck Aernario - it's agile without being nervous, light but also stiff. I am a larger rider and fancy myself in the bunch at the end of races, the Aernario feels like a solid platform in these situations. The highlight for me has to be the handling, it will react to the slightest input but in a way that is confidence inspiring. It's hard to describe apart from restating that it is agile, extremely agile, without having nervous handling.

Addressing the Elephant in the room, you need to make sure that a Storck will fit you. If it does, happy days. But a lot of people find the geometry to be a very poor match with their fit numbers.

I'm not sure when it will be released, but the calliper brake version of the Velocite Syn would also be on my recommended list. I have the test disc version and that is such a solid ride which I am really enjoying. It's not quite as agile and requires a little more input in cornering but it really is world class. It's cheap too :beerchug:

Honourable mentions go to the Cannondale System6 and the BMC SLX01 - I still have a SLX01, wish I had never sold the System6.

Depending on your budget, which if you are considering a Storck Aernario shouldn't be an issue, I would look at custom for sure. You wanted something that puts a smile on your face and rides in a certain way but can't test ride. I would wager you would have better chance of getting a frame that rode the way you want by asking a builder to build it that way than listening to opinions on vastly different frames from people on the internet. Builders on this forum such as Craddock and Kevosin would be high on my list.

RyanH
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by RyanH

prebsy wrote:Most frames feel the same to me. Cervelo s5 was the only bike that felt significantly faster than other bikes. the 2016 foil has the best steering of any bike I've ever felt, I'm assuming anything with a 1.25 steerer tube should feel comparably awesome.

When isolating for wheels/tires and taking geo differences into consideration, this times a lot.

Do you like Vanilla or Chocolate, because this is kind of what this discussion is when filtering out "bad" frames. In the last two years I've spent a good amount of time on a C59, two Litespeeds, a Z5 SLI, a R5ca, Fuji Altamira and a classic 1" tubed steel frame. The differences between all of those frames is very subtle barring sprinting. The only frame I've been on in recent memory that was remarkable and I hated was the Specialized Tarmac but others I'm sure love it for exactly the same reasons I despise it.

In my opinion the R5ca is the most amazing frame that I've ever ridden but the differences are very subtle between it and my past frames. For example, I'm riding my Fuji all this week on 27mm Evo pave tubs and loving it. With this tire combo, it's an amazing bike. I can probably squeeze 30's in there too.

Long story short, what puts a smile on your face is up to you and mostly in your head. Maybe you like steel, in that case if you're on a budget you can commission a Rychtarski with a wild paint job that gets the juices flowing every time you look at it. If you're like me, run of the mill production bikes don't hit the spot. If you're unlike me; and, trust the bike rags, then the TCR Advanced seems to be the current fave.

As far as my personal pick? Outside of the R5ca since it's unobtanium, the C59 hit all the right notes and was a dream to look at. The gloss black on matte black was just something else.

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pino76
Posts: 42
Joined: Sun Sep 19, 2010 3:52 pm
Location: Netherlands

by pino76

why does nobody mention the giant TCR advanced SL. :noidea:
great handling bike, light and very stif.
the first model was not very comfy ride, but the latest models do better in comfort.

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iliedanila
Posts: 122
Joined: Mon Feb 15, 2016 7:30 pm
Location: Romania

by iliedanila

pino76 wrote:why does nobody mention the giant TCR advanced SL. :noidea:

Hi,

I like giant as a company, I just don't like the seatpost they make.
I am very particular about this, if it's not an aero bike, I need to be able to replace the seatpost.
Also, it would give me trouble when packing the bike for air travel. Really don't want that.
jeffy wrote:As mentioned by ichobi the finest frame I have ridden is the Storck Aernario

Storck is high on my list because I hear that they don't mess around and don't cut corners.
Because they're germans, they get a +1 from me.
But between Storck and Canyon (also germans) I would probably chose Canyon (easier on the wallet)..
Do you know if Storck frames are produced in Germany (like AX) or outsourced to Taiwan?
topflightpro wrote:Cervelo S5 for speed without compromises, it is the fastest aero bike out there.

I will add the S5 to the list. People tell it's a seriously fast bike. And it's a really good looking frame.
It would require a deeper set of wheels, though (starting to worry about my bank account :shock: )
prebsy wrote:Pinarello F8: Extremely stiff and very well grounded bike. Fast bike that handles very well.

Even if it's the best frame in history, I won't pay that money without lifetime warranty and a serious crash replacement program. Italians....

Kongbop
Posts: 59
Joined: Sun Nov 15, 2015 4:58 am

by Kongbop

In my case..

1. Canyon Aeroad
2. BMC SLX01
3. BH G5

sawyer
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Joined: Fri Dec 15, 2006 7:45 pm
Location: Natovi Landing

by sawyer

Canyon Aeroad SLX

Lighter than most aero frames - often overlooked when we start talking aero
----------------------------------------
Stiff, Light, Aero - Pick Three!! :thumbup:

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iliedanila
Posts: 122
Joined: Mon Feb 15, 2016 7:30 pm
Location: Romania

by iliedanila

Fixie82 wrote:As mentioned by ichobi the finest frame I have ridden is the Storck Aernario - it's agile without being nervous, light but also stiff.


One question: how do you remove the rear wheel from that frame?
Looks like the rear wheel is mounted like on a track bike...

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Fixie82
Posts: 348
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by Fixie82

Removal of the rear wheel on a Storck frame with rear facing dropouts is only slightly different from vertical dropouts. Instead of pushing the wheel downwards you initially pull it slightly rearwards, then drop the wheel downwards. It's a little hard to explain in text but there are some good little videos explaining how to do it. I find that the removal of the QR makes the process a lot smoother as the chain doesn't snag on the nut.

I also have no idea where the frames are made - I would suspect they are outsourced but I'm sure more knowledgeable people on this forum can chime in with the correct information.

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iliedanila
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Location: Romania

by iliedanila

Fixie82 wrote:I also have no idea where the frames are made - I would suspect they are outsourced but I'm sure more knowledgeable people on this forum can chime in with the correct information.

Outsourced to Taiwan. 3 years warranty.
Storck is off the list!
Outsourced frames should be cheaper than ~3500 euros, unless there is a lifetime warranty and cheap crash replacement.
Outsourced, expensive and short warranty is just a major turn-off for me.

abrown3mtg
Posts: 242
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Location: Minneapolis, MN
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by abrown3mtg

Are there any higher end fitters in your area? Being that you can't test ride any of the frames, I would suggest working backwards. Get measured on a fit bike, get frame measurement specs that are most ideal, than working from that short list determine which would offer the best performance/handling characteristics (stiffness, head tube angle, wheelbase, etc) for your intended use.

I can say my look 595 offers an absolutely incredible ride. The elastomer in the seat post transforms the experience for me. I have tried it with and without. The level of comfort it brings to such a stiff frame is remarkable. That said, ideally a taller head tube would fit me better due to my arm/leg/torso lengths.

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iliedanila
Posts: 122
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Location: Romania

by iliedanila

Very good point @abrown3mtg
There are higher end fitters in my area, but I've seen some misses / bad fit for some friends and I lost confidence.
The equipment is high end all right, but the guys using it are not the best for the job, so I decided to read everything I could get my hands on, and do my own fitting.
Now I run a 54cm Holdsworth Stelvio (I'm 174cm tall) with a 9cm stem and 1.5cm spacers under the stem.
When I will order the new frame I'll try to follow measurements from my current setup.
I already know I favor a forward position, with steep seat angle (it's just easier for my knees).
I don't have any problems with a low front end, and if I discover it to be to low for me on the new bike, I'll put some spacers under the stem.

Regarding look frames, I reckon they're very good, but the level of integration they use...puts me off. I like it as standard as possible, because I like to chose every component and have as many options possible. :)
Last edited by iliedanila on Wed Jun 15, 2016 9:34 am, edited 1 time in total.

by Weenie


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