Steel OR Carbon / Calipers or Disc

Back by popular demand, the general all-things Road forum!

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stevenak
Posts: 3
Joined: Fri May 19, 2017 3:18 am

by stevenak

Time to get an endurance style road bike.

Steel? What Kind?
OR
Carbon? What Kind? (will it crack?)

Calipers?
OR
Disc?

Too many choices. Ride for fitness. A few short trialthlons & few centuries a year. Budget between 3K and 4K....HELP!

Broady
Posts: 678
Joined: Thu Jan 03, 2013 5:02 pm

by Broady

Columbus HSS Spirit / Discs.

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nickf
Posts: 1427
Joined: Sat Mar 06, 2010 10:34 pm

by nickf

Steel with standard calipers. Chris King Cielo. No need for disc, all that added weight for not a lot of benefit. I go down mountains just fine with calipers.
Last edited by nickf on Fri May 19, 2017 2:42 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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corky
Posts: 1732
Joined: Thu Jul 06, 2006 5:53 pm
Location: The Surrey Hills

by corky

Carbon Toray........no discs

leicaman
Posts: 129
Joined: Fri Mar 14, 2014 3:55 pm

by leicaman

I recently got a steel bike. It blows my Canyon CF SLX out of the water. It's sooo smooth and just floats over rough Tarmac that I would bounce around on with the Canyon. The Canyon is a great bike but it feels very flimsy compared to the steel bike.
When I put my deposit down on the bike, I was going back and forth between rim and disc brakes. I finally went for rim because I prefer climbing and I take it easy on the descents. I'm a reasonably confident descender who used to race downhill MTB so I've never felt the need for anything more than the rim brakes I've got.

When the bike arrived in March, it rode so much better than I thought it was going to. The Canyon never gets taken out these days, although having said that, I am eyeing up some hill climbs this year so it would be brought back into service due to being about 1.5kg lighter.

leicaman
Posts: 129
Joined: Fri Mar 14, 2014 3:55 pm

by leicaman

Oh I forgot to mention, I ride live and ride in Japan. The Japanese weather is pretty stable so I tend to only ride if the weather forecast is favourable. I rarely get caught out in rain. If I lived/rode in my home country (northern England) , I might be tempted to go with discs.

stevenak
Posts: 3
Joined: Fri May 19, 2017 3:18 am

by stevenak

Yes, have been told that type of steel is lightest and strongest...now, how do I find a frame that is made with it? My current bike is 22 years old, columbus brain tubing. Everything is just wearing out. It weights 24.5 pounds or 11.1 kg. A bit heavy.

Ready for a bit of a more upright ride. No more racing or crits.

Briscoelab
Posts: 1513
Joined: Thu Jan 26, 2006 6:01 pm

by Briscoelab

I will say that disc brakes are amazing. It would be hard for me to buy a new road bike without them, regardless of that frame's material. I have Shimano hydro disc on 2 cx bikes and my wife ahs them on 2 cx bikes as well. They're simply amazing.

It's also easier to run bigger tires with the disc brakes, without going to long rear caliper brakes.

For material, I'm a fan of Life tubing if you aren't too big a rider. If you can get a builder that has OX platinum in stock still that is also a great option. Reynbolds 853.

It's hard to go wrong with modern steel tubing. I would be more concerned with the builder than a particular tubeset.

Chris King Cielo, Speedvagen, Breadwinner, all great and readily accessible.

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Calnago
In Memoriam
Posts: 8612
Joined: Sun Nov 07, 2010 9:14 pm

by Calnago

I'd take a good look at the Trek Domane, quite frankly. I prefer the simplicity, functionality and lighter weight of a good rim brake. I've never wanted for more, so the benefits I just mentioned outweigh any advantage that discs may enjoy in mud, snow and hard rain, which if you're into riding in those conditions, a lot, then have at it. I do have a dedicated rain bike for the road, and the biggest difference is that it has full fenders (far more important a feature in the rain than whether your bike is disc or rim braked), but I still chose rim brakes for it as well. It's rare that I will start a ride in torrential rain these days, but I'm often on the roads after a rain or may get caught out during a ride, and where I live the roads can often remain wet for long periods. The water and crud you get bombarded with from the road and tire spray is worse than what the clouds drop on you, hence fenders are a must, with good flaps. But if you wanted to run really big tires on your road bike, like larger than 28mm (since the new rim caliper brakes will accommodate most tire sizes up to that), then discs are really your only option. Or a mountain bike, which tires that size are probably best suited for.
Colnago C64 - The Naked Build; Colnago C60 - PR99; Trek Koppenberg - Where Emonda and Domane Meet;
Unlinked Builds (searchable): Colnago C59 - 5 Years Later; Trek Emonda SL Campagnolo SR; Special Colnago EPQ

morrisond
Posts: 1325
Joined: Thu Mar 25, 2004 8:34 pm

by morrisond

stevenak wrote:Yes, have been told that type of steel is lightest and strongest...now, how do I find a frame that is made with it? My current bike is 22 years old, columbus brain tubing. Everything is just wearing out. It weights 24.5 pounds or 11.1 kg. A bit heavy.

Ready for a bit of a more upright ride. No more racing or crits.




Enigma Elite - http://www.enigmabikes.com/bikes/fast-e ... gma-elite/

MichaelB
Posts: 993
Joined: Tue Apr 22, 2008 4:31 am

by MichaelB

Broady wrote:Columbus HSS Spirit / Discs.


+1 to this. Mind you, I'd put the preference as Discs + any frame you want.

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ProfessorChaos
in the industry
Posts: 772
Joined: Tue Dec 20, 2011 3:10 am

by ProfessorChaos

S-Works Roubaix only comes in disc, and carbon. There it seems to answer all your questions.

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

by Fixie82

You mention endurance but also some short triathlons - is the Triathlons participation (for fun) or are you looking for a bike that will be suited to fast racing and be at the pointy end of the field? I wouldn't usually put Endurance and Triathlon in the same space.

Do you want something towards the racy end of the spectrum or more towards the touring? Do you want to be able to run full length fenders or racks?

What sort of climate and weather do you ride in?

Is this going to be your only bike?

maxxevv
Posts: 2012
Joined: Wed Feb 09, 2005 4:51 am

by maxxevv

Reynolds 953 + Discs.

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wheelsONfire
Posts: 6283
Joined: Mon Jul 07, 2014 8:15 am
Location: NorthEU

by wheelsONfire

Focus Paralane
https://www.focus-bikes.com/int/road/paralane

Merckx EM-525 Endurance geometry (=higher stack shorter reach)
http://www.eddymerckx.com/products/road/male

BMC Roadmachine (02 or 01)
http://www.bmc-switzerland.com/int-en/b ... tegra_di2/
Bikes:

Ax Lightness Vial EVO Race (2019.01.03)
Open *UP* (2016.04.14)
Paduano Racing Fidia (kind of shelved)


Ex bike; Vial EVO D, Vial EVO Ultra, Scott Foil, Paduano ti bike.

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Visit starbike.com Online Retailer for HighEnd cycling components
Great Prices ✓    Broad Selection ✓    Worldwide Delivery ✓

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