So I got my first road bike this past weekend. I went from a Diamondback Edgewood LX Hybrid to a Specialized Secteur Compact Sport. Here is what changed between them:
1. Position - Even in the hoods of an "Endurance" road bike, the sitting position is a LOT different on the Secteur. I like it, but it is different.
2. Weight - The Secteur is Aluminum, but it's still around 11 pounds lighter then the Edgewood (35lbs down to 22-23, haven't weight it yet).
3. Crank Length - Edgewood had 170mm cranks, Secteur has 175mm (58cm bike). I'm a tall guy, so I wanted longer cranks anyway.
I generally try to spin around 90RPM to keep my back healthy, but I may occasionally drift down to the 85 range if I'm not thinking about it. I don't have a cadence meter right now on either bike so I can't really tell you if that's changed.
Same pedals, FWIW, PowerGrips that I transferred between bikes.
On both rides I'm also 0.9Mph faster. I'd actually expected around double that improvement, but I'm not complaining and that is not the crux of my question.
After two rides, one hillier than the other, I'm noticing the same thing on both: My legs aren't hurting half as much, but I'm REALLY winded on the new bike. Am I more winded then the Hybrid? Hard to say, but I will say that my legs hurt a lot less.
So what about this new bike has caused this odd imbalance? I'd think the legs and lungs would get it in roughly equal proportions, but really my legs are having a vacation and my lungs are very unhappy. I tried on the second ride to use slightly harder gears, but I just couldn't seem to make it work.
Any input would be appreciated.
1. Position - Even in the hoods of an "Endurance" road bike, the sitting position is a LOT different on the Secteur. I like it, but it is different.
2. Weight - The Secteur is Aluminum, but it's still around 11 pounds lighter then the Edgewood (35lbs down to 22-23, haven't weight it yet).
3. Crank Length - Edgewood had 170mm cranks, Secteur has 175mm (58cm bike). I'm a tall guy, so I wanted longer cranks anyway.
I generally try to spin around 90RPM to keep my back healthy, but I may occasionally drift down to the 85 range if I'm not thinking about it. I don't have a cadence meter right now on either bike so I can't really tell you if that's changed.
Same pedals, FWIW, PowerGrips that I transferred between bikes.
On both rides I'm also 0.9Mph faster. I'd actually expected around double that improvement, but I'm not complaining and that is not the crux of my question.
After two rides, one hillier than the other, I'm noticing the same thing on both: My legs aren't hurting half as much, but I'm REALLY winded on the new bike. Am I more winded then the Hybrid? Hard to say, but I will say that my legs hurt a lot less.
So what about this new bike has caused this odd imbalance? I'd think the legs and lungs would get it in roughly equal proportions, but really my legs are having a vacation and my lungs are very unhappy. I tried on the second ride to use slightly harder gears, but I just couldn't seem to make it work.
Any input would be appreciated.