Opinions on road bikes: Klein Aura 10 or Lemond Big Sky SL

[graycat]

Hi Everyone. I am about to purchase one of these two bikes and I need
some help on a couple of issues that I am facing. I am looking at a
Klein Aura X which to me is incredible. I love the ride since it has a
carbon fork and carbon wishbone stays. Very smooth however I have
found that the palms of my hands hurt a little bit since I feel like I
am falling into the stem. Could this be a matter of adjustment?? The
bike is very fast and I find it to be a little twitchy when turning. I
must say that I am not an experienced rider therefore I could be doing
something wrong.
My other choice is a Lemond Big Sky SL which is quite different . I
guess they call it a road comfort; more upright, slightly heavier and it
has an adjustable stem. I feel a touch more comfortable and secure I
guess but I don't want to make the wrong choice. This bike reminds me of
a sport sedan. Comfortable but you can have some fun when needed. I am
planning on riding mostly for pleasure and fitness and sometimes some
longer rides. The folks at the store where I am shopping is absolutely
superb and they have been very nice and helpful (Paceline bikes in
Winston-Salem, NC Higly recomended..). Any opinions or suggestions are
greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance to all. Fred

 

[Sarah Clatterbuck]

graycat <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> Hi Everyone. I am about to purchase one of these two bikes and I need
> some help on a couple of issues that I am facing. I am looking at a
> Klein Aura X which to me is incredible. I love the ride since it has a
> carbon fork and carbon wishbone stays. Very smooth however I have
> found that the palms of my hands hurt a little bit since I feel like I
> am falling into the stem. Could this be a matter of adjustment?? The
> bike is very fast and I find it to be a little twitchy when turning. I
> must say that I am not an experienced rider therefore I could be doing
> something wrong.
> My other choice is a Lemond Big Sky SL which is quite different . I
> guess they call it a road comfort; more upright, slightly heavier and it
> has an adjustable stem. I feel a touch more comfortable and secure I
> guess but I don't want to make the wrong choice. This bike reminds me of
> a sport sedan. Comfortable but you can have some fun when needed. I am
> planning on riding mostly for pleasure and fitness and sometimes some
> longer rides. The folks at the store where I am shopping is absolutely
> superb and they have been very nice and helpful (Paceline bikes in
> Winston-Salem, NC Higly recomended..). Any opinions or suggestions are
> greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance to all. Fred

Hi Fred,

I took a look at the specs for the two bikes, since I was not
particularly familiar with either one. In my opinion, all but the best
riders (cat 1 or 2 racers) could get the same performance out of
either bike. There is probably a nominal difference in weight, since
the componentry is almost identical. The only difference is
aerodynamics, which generally don't come into play until you exceed 23
MPH. Those same aerodynamics are probaby to blame for the pain and
twitchiness you experienced. It looks like the fork rake is less on
the Klein (twitchiness) and the handlebars are definitely set quite a
bit lower than the saddle (pain). If your main goal is pleasure,
fitness and long ride riding, go for the bike that is more stable and
comfortable. You will definitely be able to get equal performance in
terms of climbing speed, top speed and average speed out of the two
bikes.

Good luck,
Sarah

 

[[email protected]]

graycat <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> Hi Everyone. I am about to purchase one of these two bikes and I need
> some help on a couple of issues that I am facing. I am looking at a
> Klein Aura X which to me is incredible. I love the ride since it has a
> carbon fork and carbon wishbone stays. Very smooth however I have
> found that the palms of my hands hurt a little bit since I feel like I
> am falling into the stem. Could this be a matter of adjustment?? The
> bike is very fast and I find it to be a little twitchy when turning. I
> must say that I am not an experienced rider therefore I could be doing
> something wrong.

Hi,

I bought an Aura V this year, and the way it's set up for me, I'm in a
fairly upright position. On a long ride, I actually tend to feel it
more in my seat than my hands. I was sort of between sizes (the 52
and 55) but the shop was able to set up both sizes similarly (by
changing the stems) for me for comparison. So, I'm thinking with the
right frame size and stem combination, you can achieve a fairly
upright position, if that's what you're looking for. Can the shop
help you out with trying different stems?

I don't have any experience with the lemond.

Good luck,

Jason

 

[Pierre]

Odd. I posted a very similar message yesterday on the Specialized
Roubaix vs. Allez. I'll let you know what the consensus is.

Meantime, something small like sore palms should be easily fixed with
a proper fit. Make sure to go to a local store that specializes in
fitting (one that offers fitting services for bikes purchased
elsewhere, for example).

 

[curt]

Those are a couple of pretty nice bikes. If possible, I would ride them,
but if that isn't possible that makes it a hard choice. They are comparable
bikes, so you may want to go with the Klein. You seem to like it better.
Never road either one, so I can't help you there. The components are the
same pretty much, with the 105, which is ok I guess.

Curt


"graycat" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Hi Everyone. I am about to purchase one of these two bikes and I need
> some help on a couple of issues that I am facing. I am looking at a
> Klein Aura X which to me is incredible. I love the ride since it has a
> carbon fork and carbon wishbone stays. Very smooth however I have
> found that the palms of my hands hurt a little bit since I feel like I
> am falling into the stem. Could this be a matter of adjustment?? The
> bike is very fast and I find it to be a little twitchy when turning. I
> must say that I am not an experienced rider therefore I could be doing
> something wrong.
> My other choice is a Lemond Big Sky SL which is quite different . I
> guess they call it a road comfort; more upright, slightly heavier and it
> has an adjustable stem. I feel a touch more comfortable and secure I
> guess but I don't want to make the wrong choice. This bike reminds me of
> a sport sedan. Comfortable but you can have some fun when needed. I am
> planning on riding mostly for pleasure and fitness and sometimes some
> longer rides. The folks at the store where I am shopping is absolutely
> superb and they have been very nice and helpful (Paceline bikes in
> Winston-Salem, NC Higly recomended..). Any opinions or suggestions are
> greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance to all. Fred

 

[Towlie]

"The only difference is aerodynamics, which generally don't come into
play until you exceed 23 MPH. "

I have read/heard this baseless assertion more than once, but I have not
found its source. Probably came from misinterpretation of some
misleading marketing. Fact is, aerodynamics come into play as low as 1
mph, for any object moving through a fluid such as air. Frontal area, or
area against which fluid is directed, will create drag. Every object has
an inherent drag coefficient, resulting in a force against the object
when passing through fluid. That's why planes and cars are streamlined
-- allowing them to pass through air with less wind resistance. I don't
need to be an advanced cyclist to recognize that rider position plays a
role in wind resistance - i.e. the rider and her bike have a drag
coefficient that varies with position. Generally speaking, reduced
frontal area leads to reduced drag, and reduced frontal area can be
achieved with a lowered rider position.

Now, as to the Klein -- I have the Aura X and have about 200 miles on
it. My shop set me up with 3 spacers between the headset and stem,
which I assume was to raise me up a bit so I am not falling into it
as you say.



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