Strada and other Qs from a potential roadie convert

[MJD]

Hi all. I'm considering entering the land of 'bents and have a couple of questions with which I hope you folks can help me.

Some background. 33 y.o. midwesterner (60 or so miles west of Chicago) who rides for fitness and the sheer pleasure of cycling. Due to past soccer injuries, and a bad disk in the lower back, I'm not a runner; however, cycling doesn't hurt. Typical rides are 30 - 100 miles (far more 30s than 100s, to be sure). I train with a group of fanatic triathletes, all of whom are great people. They're not worried about this stigma folks apparently associate with 'bents; in fact, on our last ride, when I spoke of possibly purchasing one, they were more intrigued than anything else.

I trained my liver far harder than my legs this winter and spring.

I currently ride a LeMond Zurich (for those who don't know LeMond specs, Reynolds 853 frame with full Ultegra and Rolf Vector Comps) which is a great ride. I threw some Speedplays on it, which I can't say enough about... my crappy knees feel great. Goal of riding is distance; I'm not looking to race. That being said, fast distance is always better than slow distance.

To my questions...

I have a 18 month old daughter. I don't have a bike on which to noodle around the neighborhood... sure as hell not going to do it on the Zurich. So I went to the LBS to buy me and my wife a couple of hybrids, and decided to screw around on the 'bents they have there. My back was sore that day. They started me on something (Bike E?) that they said was for beginners, which I didn't like. Then tried the Bacchetta Giro, which was fun and actually easier to ride. Then (started getting into it) I hopped on the Strada. Surprisingly, even easier and more fun. Stopped there, because there is absolutely no way I could justify the Corsa to my wife, particularly given my interest (excuse) in buying the 'bent to pull my daughter around the neighborhood. Mind you, I'm thinking that if I buy this, from the comments on this board, my Zurich may get a bit dusty. And, from Judy's comments, there's always the Aero down the road...

To my questions...

1. Can I noodle around the neighborhood on the Strada?
2. I seemed to like the mesh-backed seat better than the carbon (or whatever its made out of - I think folks refered to it as M5)... pro's and con's? The shell seat would seem to be more focused on road riding, whereas I'd like to both noodle and ride on the road.
3. Can I pull a Burley behind the Strada? I seem to think that they make an alternative hitch - does it work on the Strada?
4. How is this going to compare on the road to my Zurich?
5. Am I going to miss the satisfying efficiency of full Ultegra? (the Strada I looked at comes equipped with Tiagra front and 105 rear).
6. Is fitting as big an issue as on DFs? My LBS seems somewhat knowledgable re: 'bents, but not nearly as so as with DFs. Also, it seems there are less factors (options) involved in fitting a 'bent compared to a DF.
7. I think the hill issue has been exhausted, but any other comments?
8. Any other comments or concerns?

Thanks, and I've enjoyed the strings on the site.

 

[Carl]

In article <[email protected]>,
MJD <[email protected]> wrote:

> 1. Can I noodle around the neighborhood on the Strada?

Personally I consider the Strada to be a road bike, similar to your Lemond in function. I find mine
is much better for longer rides than for shorter. Of course, my neighborhood includes many stops.
Still, I don't have any trouble riding it with the club on the evening rides (casual suburban rides
of 10-20 miles riding about 12 mph - they're intended to be sociable).

> 2. I seemed to like the mesh-backed seat better than the carbon (or whatever its made out of - I
> think folks refered to it as M5)... pro's and con's? The shell seat would seem to be more
> focused on road riding, whereas I'd like to both noodle and ride on the road.

I think that's mostly a matter of fit. I tried the carbon seat on my Strada (btw, it's still for
sale) and found that I'm just too large for
it.

>3. Can I pull a Burley behind the Strada? I seem to think that they
> make an alternative hitch - does it work on the Strada?

I don't know much about the Burleys, but I seem to remember something about a replacement skewer
hitch, which I would think would work on nearly any bike out there now.

> 4. How is this going to compare on the road to my Zurich?

I think they're very similar in function, even the form isn't that different (just rotated around).

> 5. Am I going to miss the satisfying efficiency of full Ultegra? (the Strada I looked at comes
> equipped with Tiagra front and 105 rear).

A friend of mine has several bikes, one has 105 and one has Ultegra. He can certainly tell the
difference and would like to upgrade the 105, but it hasn't bothered him enough to actually spend
money on it. While 105 isn't Ultegra, it isn't junk either.

> 6. Is fitting as big an issue as on DFs? My LBS seems somewhat knowledgable re: 'bents, but not
> nearly as so as with DFs. Also, it seems there are less factors (options) involved in fitting
> a 'bent compared to a DF.

Yes & no. It's just as important, but most 'bents will fit a wider range of sizes than an upright.
So long as you get a frame in the right size range (typically small, medium, or large) the fit is
largely a matter of proper adjustment.

> 7. I think the hill issue has been exhausted, but any other comments?
> 8. Any other comments or concerns?

The Strada is a great bike, I think you'd enjoy it.

-Carl

 

[Baronn1]

I pull a Burley Picollo behind my Giro, but I think you're asking about a trailer. As a mtb
enthusiast, I'd say there is at least if not much more tweaking on a bent. Bacchetta come in three
sizes, but there's a lot of overlap. I can ride my wife's small Giro and my standard just as
comfortably, but they do feel different due to weight distribution. You'll find you'll quickly get
your bent to adjusted to about 90% of optimum, then experiment with seat angles, set to bb distance,
handlebar length and angles. Then when you find what's "perfect" be sure to epxeriment again a few
hundred miles later. What felt weird when you were getting used to riding a bent might feel
wonderful after you're not concentrating on riding the bike so much.

"MJD" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> Hi all. I'm considering entering the land of 'bents and have a couple of questions with which I
> hope you folks can help me.
>
> Some background. 33 y.o. midwesterner (60 or so miles west of Chicago) who rides for fitness and
> the sheer pleasure of cycling. Due to past soccer injuries, and a bad disk in the lower back, I'm
> not a runner; however, cycling doesn't hurt. Typical rides are 30 - 100 miles (far more 30s than
> 100s, to be sure). I train with a group of fanatic triathletes, all of whom are great people.
> They're not worried about this stigma folks apparently associate with 'bents; in fact, on our last
> ride, when I spoke of possibly purchasing one, they were more intrigued than anything else.
>
> I trained my liver far harder than my legs this winter and spring.
>
> I currently ride a LeMond Zurich (for those who don't know LeMond specs, Reynolds 853 frame with
> full Ultegra and Rolf Vector Comps) which is a great ride. I threw some Speedplays on it, which I
> can't say enough about... my crappy knees feel great. Goal of riding is distance; I'm not looking
> to race. That being said, fast distance is always better than slow distance.
>
> To my questions...
>
> I have a 18 month old daughter. I don't have a bike on which to noodle around the neighborhood...
> sure as hell not going to do it on the Zurich. So I went to the LBS to buy me and my wife a couple
> of hybrids, and decided to screw around on the 'bents they have there. My back was sore that day.
> They started me on something (Bike E?) that they said was for beginners, which I didn't like. Then
> tried the Bacchetta Giro, which was fun and actually easier to ride. Then (started getting into
> it) I hopped on the Strada. Surprisingly, even easier and more fun. Stopped there, because there
> is absolutely no way I could justify the Corsa to my wife, particularly given my interest
> (excuse) in buying the 'bent to pull my daughter around the neighborhood. Mind you, I'm
> thinking that if I buy this, from the comments on this board, my Zurich may get a bit dusty.
> And, from Judy's comments, there's always the Aero down the road...
>
> To my questions...
>
> 1. Can I noodle around the neighborhood on the Strada?
> 2. I seemed to like the mesh-backed seat better than the carbon (or whatever its made out of - I
> think folks refered to it as M5)... pro's and con's? The shell seat would seem to be more
> focused on road riding, whereas I'd like to both noodle and ride on the road.
> 3. Can I pull a Burley behind the Strada? I seem to think that they make an alternative hitch -
> does it work on the Strada?
> 4. How is this going to compare on the road to my Zurich?
> 5. Am I going to miss the satisfying efficiency of full Ultegra? (the Strada I looked at comes
> equipped with Tiagra front and 105 rear).
> 6. Is fitting as big an issue as on DFs? My LBS seems somewhat knowledgable re: 'bents, but not
> nearly as so as with DFs. Also, it seems there are less factors (options) involved in fitting
> a 'bent compared to a DF.
> 7. I think the hill issue has been exhausted, but any other comments?
> 8. Any other comments or concerns?
>
> Thanks, and I've enjoyed the strings on the site.
>
>
>
> --
> >--------------------------<
> Posted via cyclingforums.com http://www.cyclingforums.com