A qualitative comparison between bikes (high end ones)

[90rpm]

Hi,

If anybody can please refer me to a good bikes test (stiffness BB/tor , weight, aero), that will be Appreciated !

Thanks

 

[alienator]

Maybe you should specify what kind of bike you are looking for. There are a lot of tests and reviews out there, albeit not so many with actual stiffness measurements. Google will find all manner of bike reviews, and just going to the magazine websites will net a bunch. Here are only a few:

• Bike Radar
• VeloNews
• Road.cc
• Cycling TipsRoad Bike ActionTour Magazine Note that picking a bike by seeing which one produces the best test results doesn't always give the results a rider desires.

 

[danfoz]

Velo News tries running objective reviews with hard numbers and on some level manage it pretty well but they're still testing brands which you'll find occupying their ad space.

My advice, choose your bike like you would a date for the prom. If you enjoy looking at it, good chance you'll enjoy riding it ;-)

 

[90rpm]

Thanks alienator,
your comment at the bottom is clear.
Specify.. Cervelo S5. Dogma 6.5.1, S-works, Scott foil / adict, Canyon Aeroad, Giant Propel sl 0..

Thanks again

Originally Posted by alienator .

Maybe you should specify what kind of bike you are looking for. There are a lot of tests and reviews out there, albeit not so many with actual stiffness measurements. Google will find all manner of bike reviews, and just going to the magazine websites will net a bunch. Here are only a few:

• Bike Radar
• VeloNews
• Road.cc
• Cycling TipsRoad Bike ActionTour Magazine
  
  Note that picking a bike by seeing which one produces the best test results doesn't always give the results a rider desires.

 

[90rpm]

Originally Posted by danfoz .

Velo News tries running objective reviews with hard numbers and on some level manage it pretty well but they're still testing brands which you'll find occupying their ad space.

My advice, choose your bike like you would a date for the prom. If you enjoy looking at it, good chance you'll enjoy riding it ;-)

I see, thanks danfoz.
There use to be a certain German Lab that did objective tests. not sure what was it's name

 

[alienator]

Velo tries running objective reviews and on some level manage it pretty well but they're still testing brands which you'll find occupying their ad space.

Yeah, but they've started doing some quantitative stuff. OP, I misread your "qualitative" as "quantitative", so mea culpa. You should keep in mind that qualitative judgements may not be worth a lot, so take those with a grain of salt. From a bike a ride or bike rides it can be difficult to ascribe a bike's behavior to any particular property, especially when human's are so easily biased in such judgements. For that matter, some quantitative bike data should be taken with a grain of salt, too. Stiffness numbers can be impressive, but how they relate to real world performance has not been established at all. Aero data collected depends on exactly how the tests were conducted and what the constants were in the test. Also the majority of test information out there about bikes and bike components is the product of testing by bike and component manufacturers. This does not mean at all that the data is suspect, fraudulent, or any thing like that, but it does mean that companies rarely report the complete test procedure and the assumptions involved in their test process. As a result, it's nearly impossible to compare data from, say, Bontrager about aero drag performance of its wheels with data from Zipp about the aero drag performance of its wheels. Lastly, it's not clear at all how different properties of bike combine to produce what a rider feels on the road in terms of performance. IMHO, the best test is the test ride.

 

[90rpm]

From a bike a ride or bike rides it can be difficult to ascribe a bike's behavior to any particular property, especially when human's are so easily biased in such judgements.
I mean LAB tests.. not human opinions..

 

[alienator]

I see, thanks danfoz. There use to be a certain German Lab that did objective tests.  not sure what was it's name

I believe you're thinking of Tour Magazine. I don't think you'll find any lab data on Giant's Propel, unless Giant put out a white paper or other test documents for it. I believe VeloNews has tested the S5, the Venge, and the Foil in an aero test they did. I'm not sure if they collected any stiffness data.

 

[vspa]

My advice, choose your bike like you would a date for the prom. If you enjoy looking at it, good chance you'll enjoy riding it ;-)

and for comparisons you need to ride both different models first !