Hi my fellow pedal people,
I'm new to this site but not to road and mountain cycling. I'm looking to make the transition from my early 90's Eddy Merckx steel to carbon fiber. I love my current ride that I've put a lot of miles on for over fifteen years but the game changer was when I tried a friend's 08' Orbea Opal. I was blown away by the excelleration and ease of hill climbing on a bike that is 5 lbs lighter than mine. I'm looking for advice so here are my specifics. I'm 6' 2", 200 lbs and 64 years. I do a few hilly centuries per year and lots of in between rides from 10 to 100 miles. My Merckx is a 61 cm that fits me like a glove and is quite comfortable. There is no way I can afford a new bike so I'll be shopping the local Craigslist for something with all Ultegra or better. In my price range I'll be able to get something between 3 and 7 years old. I like the forgiveing ride qualities of steel so I'm interested in higher end carbon frames that are a little less stiff. Any certain makes and models you think would be right up my alley? Thanks for any tips.
I'm new to this site but not to road and mountain cycling. I'm looking to make the transition from my early 90's Eddy Merckx steel to carbon fiber. I love my current ride that I've put a lot of miles on for over fifteen years but the game changer was when I tried a friend's 08' Orbea Opal. I was blown away by the excelleration and ease of hill climbing on a bike that is 5 lbs lighter than mine. I'm looking for advice so here are my specifics. I'm 6' 2", 200 lbs and 64 years. I do a few hilly centuries per year and lots of in between rides from 10 to 100 miles. My Merckx is a 61 cm that fits me like a glove and is quite comfortable. There is no way I can afford a new bike so I'll be shopping the local Craigslist for something with all Ultegra or better. In my price range I'll be able to get something between 3 and 7 years old. I like the forgiveing ride qualities of steel so I'm interested in higher end carbon frames that are a little less stiff. Any certain makes and models you think would be right up my alley? Thanks for any tips.