Next Road Bike - Advice Welcome

[stevey]

@Cyclone1 Yes mate it's out for delivery today so waiting patiently..... Not...lol

How's the ride now? Have you made many adjustments.

 

[Cyclone1]

Will be back out tonight. Have changed seat angle very slightly. I have also increased the tyre pressures from 60 to 100psi

Will let you know.

 

[MrGrumpy]

Well after a hectic few days I managed to get out on the bike this evening....

First impressions are mixed. The ride was a tad uncomfortable (my fault as I need to spend a bit of time on adjusting the seat height and angle - took me a few rides on the Cube) and the SRAM groupset will take some getting used to.

However, onto the positives....

It's Quick! I have more control over it than the Cube. I felt I was going faster with less effort required. My Strava time for my regular route was easily a PB, and that's on a bike where I was uncomfortable and had never used SRAM in anger before.


I need to make a few adjustments as came back numb lol (just the seat angle hopefully but took me a few rides on the Cube to get it right and stop the numbness). Easily my best time over my regular circuit this year and that's despite easing off coming home due to the discomfort.


The Brakes need tweaking as not as sharp as the Cube and early impression of the SRAM gears is not as good as expected, may improve as I get used to them though. They also need repositioning. They are not as sturdy as the Shimano 105's on the Cube. Possibly also need to reposition them as my fingers when riding on the bottom of the the drop bars aren't aligned if that makes sense.


As it was my birthday this weekend I had a heavy weekend, eating out twice, very late Saturday night out and no ride for a while, so didn't expect much time wise, but the time was fast, the bike does feel really good in principal. So once fully adjusted it will definitely be the step up I expected.

I swapped the pedals tonight and with pedals off it weighed 7.3kgs.....at this price mark for an XL sized frame it's superb...

Will be out again tomorrow hopefully with adjustments made.

Jules

Impressive weight my Raleigh is about same but a hell of a lot more cash brand new. Friend has the planet x carbon on XL and its also quite light. Weird thing it sized very similar to my Raleigh which is a small/medium..

 

[MrGrumpy]

Will be back out tonight. Have changed seat angle very slightly. I have also increased the tyre pressures from 60 to 100psi

Will let you know.

60psi!! Jezus pinch flat central!

 

[MrGrumpy]

The frame and forks are superb. I just need to get the angle of the seat right to sort out the discomfort. Position wise it feels almost spot on, but the fact that a certain precious part of my anatomy was going numb suggests the seat angle / position needs changing slightly. I went through the same with the Cube when I first rode that.

The fact that this bike is almost a minute quicker over my short 11 mile route speaks volumes......

Jules

Took me a few Rides before I got things dialed in on the new bike. Think I have it spot on now.

 

[Cyclone1]

Well no numbness tonight! My position on the bike is almost perfect, I might just try one more adjustment for my next ride.

Strava times for my last 3 rides over my short route of 11.4 miles;

Cube 37.19 (PB for the year)

Dolan 36.33 (first uncomfortable ride! An easy PB!)

Dolan 35.44 (better set up and another PB!)

The Dolan simply rides much quicker, it is certainly easier to go faster. I loved the Cube but am more than impressed with the Dolan, I even felt more reassured with the SRAM shifting tonight and am really looking forward to my next ride out on Saturday....

Jules

Ps Stevey has it arrived ?

 

[Cyclone1]

Took me a few Rides before I got things dialed in on the new bike. Think I have it spot on now.

Yes I agree that it does take a few rides to get it perfect. The geometry on the new bike is totally different so will take time to adjust. It's all part of the fun.

 

[stevey]

@Cyclone1 yes mate arrived at 3.30 this afternoon very impressed by the pickup in speed also.

Have also to adjust a few things as well tomorrow very pleased overall.

There are a few pics in the beginner's section if you care to have a look .