I've got no comment on the difference between the Truvativ and Ultegra cranks other than to say that I've done 650kms on my new BMC SL01 with Shimano R700 compact cranks and they are as smooth as... and haven't missed a gear change in that time. Very happy with them.
Halcyon1

all cranks are good when you put them on an SL01

__________________
BMC SL01
SRAM Force


thank you crank n' cycles...If you are ever in SW WA, take a trip to Crank N' Cycles.

or a streetfire (i have a thing for red bikes, thats y i dident get a SL01)

__________________
BMC Streetfire SSX +Record/Chorus +Eurus wheels
WeThePeople KHO1 (BMX)

I don't think so. My recommendation is purely based on personal preference, which is to keep a groupset as complete as possible.

King hubs, very VERY nice. Deep V rims? Though they are nice, do they rise to King hubs? (They are very nice though. It is swiss, maybe DT R1.2 next time?)

__________________
BMC SL01
SRAM Force


thank you crank n' cycles...If you are ever in SW WA, take a trip to Crank N' Cycles.

Hi - thanks for your advice
I finally got my cannondale caad 9 yesterday and guess what - with optimo 1 - the shop talked me into it - but i had allready decided on optimo 1 anyway - the extras are well worth the additional price - my new bike is awesome and I have 125 km so far

aussiepete

Glad to hear that. I'm loving my Optimo 1 as well . After 2000Ks still rides like day 1.

cheers

I'm still wondering what is so bad about a steel frame. My backup bike, which is an 80's Shogun 12-speed with friction shifters, is fast as hell, and its frame is 100% CrMo steel, and it's light. It's also uncomfortable (to me at least), which makes me wonder how bad an Aluminum bike would feel. Though I have to admit, I've never had it professionally fitted, and I usually ride a comfort bike with straight bars.

I've always ridden steel though. I take it most people here have have more $$ to throw at their bike and care a lot about weight and speed rather than comfort.

The 80's aluminum bikes were flimsy as hell, though they make them a lot better now. I bent the fork of an old 70's or 80's Motobecane Al road bike about 15 years ago, though I admit I took it off-road. Still, that should not happen. The beer-canning of aluminum has made me biased against it, and I still tend to take my bike onto dirt roads, in the rain, in the dark, as well as on the road during fair weather.

Don't know what you're trying to say, but the gist of it sure sounds like the tried and true, worn out frame material mythology.

There is no better material. Full stop. Your thoughts on aluminum are way off and bear no resemblance to today's aluminum frames. And aluminum is cheap.

Any material can ride as well as another. What really matters is the design, QC, and construction methods. Even more important is how much air you have in your tires. Last in importance is likely what material you choose.

Thanks Alienator

All I was looking for was some help on buying my first road bike - I liked the Cannondale and the price was just above my budget - I didn't need a $12,000 carbon bike - just a very good bike for my money and budget

I bought the Cannondale caad9 optimo1 last Friday ($4500) - after looking at 10 bike shops and other brands - can't recall seeing a steel framed bike in any shops - remeb]mber you only get what you pay for !!!!

I am very happy with my bike and still getting used to it - rides beautiful and the shop owner spent 2 hours with me setting it all up and giving some very good advice (he raced in Europe) - excellent service from a genuine guy !!!

The shop - Cycle Sports at Thornleigh in Sydney, NSW Aust

$4,500 seems like a huge investment for a "first road bike." That's scary. Start small, perhaps? I'd be afraid of even taking such a bike down rougher terrain, such as dirt roads, because I wouldn't want do damage something that was as valuable as precious jewelry; and would be afraid of it getting stolen. I have been happy with a $260 steel hybrid bike for nine years (now with road tires), and go just as fast in my local bike club as the ones with their thousands-dollar bikes. I don't worry about theft and damage.

I however recently found out that my dented rims are unfixable and that there seem to be no companies which make double-walled wheelsets that can take freewheel clusters, because the industry is now strictly uses cassette clusters. My freewheel cluster was replaced new just a few months ago, so... it might be time for a new bike. Anyway this is off-topic, but I had to comment, since the $4,500 for a first road bike really stuck out like a sore thumb. Add the bicycle to your homeowner's policy and register it with the police department, and buy one of those beefy $100 U-locks. I'm probably going to get flamed again for these opinions, but I don't care, let the flames come.

Who says you have to buy a $4500 bike? And for the record, did you take the time to figure out how much those oh-so cheap bikes of yester-year would be in today's price? As far as value goes, most of today's bikes are priced very well. And the fact is that if anyone expends any effort at all (read: uhm, like they fall off the couch, onto the open yellow pages, and call the bike shop under their nose) they can easily get an excellent bike for well less than that.

Your view is also bunged up because even the expensive bikes aren't frighteningly fragile as you imply. As for your bike, your purchase: good for you. It's good to see the freedom of choice still applies. I guess it's good to see that you weren't tricked by evil ruses into buying a more expensive bike than you wanted.

Well, you apparently haven't looked very hard for a fix to your wheel issue. There are scads of folks still runnng freewheel clusters and getting their stuff fixed. As for your wheel killing dents......no pics, no argument. For all we know, your wheels were destroyed, and you're whinging because you didn't get a freebie or two out of it. Why not post pics of your wheels so we can see the damage, eh?

For the record, it wouldn't take much effort for even the most housebound, lethargic vegetable to find one of the many, many people still selling steel frames. You also might try learning a bit more about the bikes and equipment of today before whining and complaining about them. Invariably, an honest and sober analysis finds that the salad days of old--no matter the topic--were rarely, if ever, so carefree and wonderful compared to today. In fact the usual finding is that memory--and selective memory--dulls or omits the "unpleasant" memories and embellishes the semi-pleasant ones.

Be careful with the road salt. I have found pitting on a 6061 frame and that alloy is supposed to be more corrosion-resistant than the 7-series. It's mostly a problem where there is no paint and it doesn't corrode nearly as fast as steel, but it can lead to a crack. Just keep an eye on the paint chips and clean the frame at least every once in a while

__________________

Well said!