First proper ride on a carbon road bike

[Gixxerman]

I bought a used Trek Madone 5.2 road bike last November. However, due to weather / injuries, I have not been able to ride it. Well yesterday, the weather was decent so off I went on one of my usual 50 mile routes. Things I noticed:-
1) Just how quick the bike is and how easy it is to accelerate.
2) I was surprised how confortable the ride was given the stiffness of the frame and the narrow high pressure tyres. Even along a bumpy cyclepath (the water railway from Lincoln to Barney) it was still quite comfy.
3) How you can really fly up hills.
4) How stable it is when cornering fast.
5) It is not all good news. I got pains in my back and back of my neck. Maybe I am not used to the low riding position.
My average speed was 15.86 mph which is not that bad given that this is really my first serious ride since the winter layoff. My legs are very rusty.
Incidentally, the ride took me passed my workplace on the best commute route and my house to work took me bang on the hour for 17.5 miles. So maybe commuting is a possibility.

 

[Psycolist]

I've recently changed from a heavy old leisure type hybrid to an aluminium framed lightweight hybrid and I got alot of the same benefits you mentioned, I can imagine your experience would be much more exagerated than my improvement. Hats off to you doing a 50 miler 1st time out though. Hope it spurs you on to regular riding.

 

[Gixxerman]

I've recently changed from a heavy old leisure type hybrid to an aluminium framed lightweight hybrid and I got alot of the same benefits you mentioned, I can imagine your experience would be much more exagerated than my improvement. Hats off to you doing a 50 miler 1st time out though. Hope it spurs you on to regular riding.

Allow me to clear up a misunderstanding. This is not my first long ride. This is just my first long ride on my road bike and the first this year. I have do many long rides including a 100 miler on my hybrid, and I have do a few 50 mile off-road rides on my mountain bike. So this ride is not as impressive as it seemed . But thanks anyway. Just amazed at how much faster the road bike is compared to my hybrid.

 

[xpc316e]

I am not in your league as far as performance is concerned, but I bought a Scott CR1 last year and noticed precisely the same things. Carbon has its detractors, but I am not one of them. The ability to have a light, strong material that can be tuned for strength and compliance with relative ease is truly remarkable, especially when one bears in mind the tumbling prices of decent carbon bikes.

 

[Typhon]

I bought my first carbon bike this week and was shocked at how comfortable it is. It just soaks up the road buzz almost entirely. None of the tarmac is smooth around where I live - it's all broken up but the carbon makes it feel like it's been freshly laid. This is a bike that's designed for speed too, not comfort (Focus Cayo Evo)

I knew given the sporty nature of it that it would be much faster, stiffer, lighter etc than my aluminium bike but it was the comfort that shocked me. Originally I planned to keep using the alu bike day to day and save the focus for nice days but riding the alu bike now feels bone shaking compared.

 

[Globalti]

I had the very same experience when I jumped off my 1990 steel bike onto a 2006 carbon Roubaix. Even the first few yards up my street were a revelation and I went from uncertain road convert to certain road convert in a few yards.

 

[Andrew_Culture]

I look forward to experiencing something similar soon

 

[Cyclopathic]

I saw a carbon bike once. More than one in fact as they were in a bike shop. Unfortunately after only a very few hours the shop owner came out, told me to wipe my drool off the window and then bugger off. I was going to buy an innertube but decided to punish his churlishness by taking my business elsewhere.

 

[Ningishzidda]

I've got an Alum SWorks a few years old. Its just the right size for me. Don't want to lose that frame.
I bought new wheels which were 300 g lighter and swapped out the Conti Force/Attack pair for Conti Supersonic 20mm at 145 psi.
Its now a whole new bike.

I rode a friend's Carbon Kuoto and it went like a slug.

 

[snailracer]

Carbon bikes are built for lightness and so tend to have thinner-gauge, lightweight bars and saddle rails which are bendier than their budget equivalents, and are expensive enough not to skimp on decent, supple tyres. It is rather bold to attribute improvements in comfort to the frame material only.

Also, lots of folks rave after they upgrade from their budget, badly-fitted hybrid/MTB with agricultural tyres to a fancy road bike, but that is hardly a fair comparison.

 

[derrick]

I have just gone to a carbon frame, all the parts were taken from my ally bike, the carbon frame makes the difference, and the difference for me was unbelievable, better climbing, better descending more comfortable and handles like a dream, chalk and cheese, a good carbon frame makes the difference.

And it also looks gorgeous.

 

[Boris Bajic]

When I was a motorcyclist, a friend with a faired bike told me that once I'd ridden with a fairing, I'd never enjoy riding without one again.

I loved riding without one, so I decided there and then never to try one. I never did and I was happy.

When a friend (and jolly good cyclist) bought a C40 many years ago, he said I'd never look back after carbon. Even though he was the chap who persuaded me onto Ergo levers and clipless pedals, I decided there and then never to ride carbon. I never have and I am happy.

I accept that I am a miserable, tight-fisted Luddite, but I am a happy, miserble tight-fisted Luddite.

I see no inconsistency in the above statement.