Buzzing!

[Steve H]

Well I pondered and I cogitated, but I eventually took the plunge and bought myself a road bike. After plenty of advice on this forum to get a triple (best suited for a fat bloke in hilly Yorkshire), I searched through the internet and magazines and visited quite a few shops. Eventually I took the plunge and bought a Trek 2.1 Triple from All Terrain Cycles near Shipley. I did a nice gently pootle about yesterday to make sure I knew how to use the brakes and the gears, and then today I went out for more of a blast! Just a 17 miler on a fairly flattish route, but it was simply awesome. Compared to my steel mtb bought 3 years ago from Halfords, the Trek was gorgeous. Pretty smooth and darn fast (compared to what I'm used to anyway). After just over an hour out and about, I'm now back in the house with a massive smile on my face. Endorphins must be buzzing round my body.

I'm still a fat bloke, but I'm loving the faster speed.

Avg speed on my mtb with knobbly tyres: 11.5mph
Avg speed on my mtb with City Jet tyres: 12.5mph

Avg speed on my new shiny road bike: 16mph

Mark Cavendish - look out - there's a fat Yorkshire man coming after you

 

[Banjo]

Nice one Steve Wishing you many happy miles.

just looked at it on here My link Really nice. The 30 tooth ring with 28 cog on the back should get you up the yorkshire hills. My Scott has 30 granny ring and 25 largest cog on the cassette not being the fittest rider in the world occasionally its not quite enough, not often though and after a year of road riding I am getting better up hills.

 

[Chrisc]

Great stuff Steve,
It's a revelation getting off something heavy with lumpy tyres onto a road bike eh ?
You've gained a lot from lugging the heavy one around so now you can really appreciate the trek and yep, a 28" bottom gear should get you up the side of the house, Holme Moss... no bother man!

 

[jackm]

Hi Steve, thats really encouraging to me, as a bloke with a Halfrauds MTB, have just done a 30 miler on the road with it. Have been doing a reasonable job of convincing myself that I need a road bike........................................I think your post has finally sealed the deal!!!

Jack

 

[Dewi]

Very nice, I like the idea of a road bike with a triple

 

[gadders]

Damned sexy machine...
What's it's weight dare I ask?

 

[ColinJ]

Excellent stuff Steve!

You have pretty much the same bottom gear as I have on my Basso - very handy for the steep local hills.

Keep riding through the winter and perhaps you might be tempted to join us for Spring Into The Dales in April?

 

[Steve H]

Thanks for the encouraging words.

Holme Moss... no bother man!

Holme Moss still fills me with fear! Definitely a target for 2011 to scale it without stopping, but I'm going to need a few more miles in my legs and a few less pounds round my waist first.

Damned sexy machine...
What's it's weight dare I ask?

Not sure. For some reason Trek don't quote weights in their specifications - well not that I've found anyway.

Excellent stuff Steve!

You have pretty much the same bottom gear as I have on my Basso - very handy for the steep local hills.

Keep riding through the winter and perhaps you might be tempted to join us for Spring Into The Dales in April?

Thanks Colin - yes, I've read with interest some of the threads of the forum rides you've organised and I would love to join you guys on a ride in 2011. My mileage has picked up throughout 2010, but I think I still need to improve on my hill work. I've shed the best part of a stone in weight since early 2010, so as long as this continues to go in the right direction, the hills should get more enjoyable.

 

[decca234uk]

Great buy. Enjoy the new experience. I had a mountain bike for playing on, after a few days on it I was glad to get back on my trusty road bike. My son's took it with him to York while he's at uni I'm glad to say. He asked my wife to ask me if he could take my Allez, I gave him a two word answer.

 

[Lien Sdrawde]

Did you have the choice of a triple? - the specs on the link seem to offer both.

I ask this cos I wondered if people went for the double mainly when thier legs were strong enough to cope without the need for even lower gearing? trying not to hyjack thread

Nice nice bike.

 

[asterix]

Excellent stuff Steve!

You have pretty much the same bottom gear as I have on my Basso - very handy for the steep local hills.

Keep riding through the winter and perhaps you might be tempted to join us for Spring Into The Dales in April?

Keep us posted on that Colinj!

 

[Chrisc]

Give me a nudge when you're ready to try Holme moss and I'll follow you up, out of the wind ;-)

 

[ColinJ]

Keep us posted on that Colinj!

Spring Into The Dales is an audax ride from Hebden Bridge every April. I usually start a thread about a month before the event to give people time to enter so watch out for that in March 2011. 

The past few years a couple of groups of CycleChatters have formed at the start. Faster riders such as longers, Svendo and trio25 went off at warp speed. A more leisurely group including yours truly set off at a more comfortable pace. 

 

[Steve H]

Did you have the choice of a triple? - the specs on the link seem to offer both.

I ask this cos I wondered if people went for the double mainly when thier legs were strong enough to cope without the need for even lower gearing? trying not to hyjack thread

Nice nice bike.

Yes the Trek 2.1 comes with either a compact or a triple chainset. The rest of the spec is the same. The colour changes with the model. Platinum and blue for the triple, black, white and red for the compact.

Very glad I went for the triple. 39 and 50 is great on the flat and downhills, but being able to engage a 30 is great. Especially after I'm more used to having a 42-32-22 on the mtb. On the steeper stuff I'm still missing that 22 lower end!

 

[Banjo]

Fully agree Steve. I was nearly talked into a double when I bought the Scott .So glad I stood my ground and opted for the triple. For a tiny weight dissadvantage its worth its weight in gold.