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



G

Graycat

Guest
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
 
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
 
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
 
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).
 
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:graycat89-3C2F36.21023310052004@news-
server.triad.rr.com...
> 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
 
"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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