What has been your best ride?

[Mr. Beanz]

People think I am crazy at times. I ride my 1998 CAD3 Cannondale and don't see much difference between my current full 2014 carbon Madone 4.7. TO be honest, after 5 minutes on the bike, I would not know which bike i am riding.

But my best ride was a 2009 (?) Lemond Chambery. Partial carbon.alum spine design I think it was called.

I don't think it was so much the material it was made of, but the geometry and fit. I had a full alum Lemond Torumalet right before it, fit well but wimpy like a noodle. I was afraid to stand up and sprint on it as I could feel the frame flex. Sure enough after the 3rd year, the thing snapped like a twig on a climb, no standing.

The Chambery was a great ride but I rode the heck out of it. I was training for a mtn ride (100 miles 10,000 ft gain) riding the Lemond. I put a big heavy old school Armadillo on it that year and put 5,000 training mile on it. Yeah, big 25c Armadillo but not one flat in 5,000 miles. I rode through the mountains, everywhere without a worry. Loved that big tire but also loved on event day when I rode GP3000's in the event. I believe that was the GP4000 at the time.

But sadly, the following year I was on a climb and snap! Frame snapped at the aluminum section, not the carbon. After 2 failed alum frames, I don't worry so much with carbon. My current carbon frame how has more mileage than either one of the alum frames the snapped. Not to start a debate. Just as a clydesdale, I don't stress about the carbon frames even with all the warnings in cycling forums.

Though I have not had any issues with full carbon, I am somewhat disappointed with the ride. I'm sure it was the design and geo but for me, the best riding bike I have had was the Lemond Chambery. Fit like a glove and floated like a butterfly!

I miss this bike!

Yup, 5,000 ft gain on training rides through the mountains with a big fat 25 Armadillo on the back, that's some good training.

 

[Uawadall]

I'm liking my BMC TMR02 I purchased in January, but it is only slightly faster than my Cannondale Synapse. 105 11 speed doesn't feel much different from the Tiagra 10 speed either. I like them about equal, but the Synapse is a little more comfortable and my choice for long rides or ones through rough roads.

 

[Froze]

My favorite road bike now is my 2013 Lynskey Peloton, it has Shimano 105 components except the rear derailleur is Ultegra, I also spec'd it with a Enve 2.0 fork, Cane Creek 110 headset, and slightly deeper dish Shimano R501 AL wheels that were low cost ones but were durable, and SpeedPlay Frog pedals. It's extremely responsive yet comfortable to ride, more comfortable than all my steel bikes except for the touring bikes, but those have 32mm (actually 27" x 1 1/4) tires that only need 50psi in front and 60 rear so that's some of it, but also the touring bikes have a longer frame geometry so that helps too, but those bikes weigh around 26 pounds each and aren't as responsive as my other bikes.

I test a rode a lot of CF bikes before I bought my titanium bike and never found one I liked as much as I liked steel or ti, but aluminum was worse! I even owned a Scandium bike and that thing rode like I was riding on a brick, I even tried larger tires and latex tubes with no success, it was simply a brick, and brick that cracked after just 10,000 or so miles.

The crazy thing about my Lynskey...I bought it without ever test riding it, I was a bit worried, but those worries vanished into thin air after even just a couple of miles on it's maiden voyage.

 

[frbock]

I guess it depends on 'best'. I picked up a NOS Cannondale R500 3 x 8. It's far and away a better bike than my last road bike, but, I had a lot of good memories on it, so do they count?
My last road bike was a Motobecane Mirage, circa 1971. Huret Alvit, Pivo steam. Cottered Crank. I replaced the crank with a cotterless, and the Huret with a Suntour VGT. Left the stem shifters, I liked not having to reach down that far to shift, and being in college, I couldn't afford the palm shifters..
I literally (old definition) rode the paint off of it. Back then I could actually push hard, and it flexed the frame, which eventually caused the paint to start falling off.

 

[Froze]

I rode the paint off a bike, actually the Southern California sun faded the paint off it, but that was due to about 140,000 miles of riding in that sun, so I guess that is like riding the paint off of it.

I waxed that bike a lot too trying to keep the paint new, didn't really work well at all, maybe it did, I don't know since I can't do a rewind and do it all over again except the next time not wax it and see what happens to the paint. I still have the bike, thought about getting it repainted but not sure if it's worth the money to put into a 84 Trek 660 with all Suntour Superbe stuff with frame and components over 160,000 miles on them; I'm thinking too many miles to be worth dumping $400 or so on new paint and decals. Maybe when I retire I'll consider it doing it myself, I have too many projects now to consider doing it now.

 

[cyclintom]

I, for the first time, don't see myself buying any more bikes. I bought an Eddy Merckx Telecom colored Corsa Extra made with SLX. This ride is GREAT. Then I found a Basso Loto made with Dediaccia that was really a nice ride. Then just thumbing through Ebay I found an old beat up Pinarello Stelvia and refurbished it. I really don't need anything except to sell off everything else in my garage so that I have room to move about.

The Basso really could stand a new paint job but it looks passable. I just put an FSA MegaEVO compact crank on it instead of the triple and it shifts a lot better though it still needs a little better adjustment.

The Eddy Merckx rides really well if you need precise steering such as a crit and the like.

This is the "before"

And this is the "after". I'll eventually get a threaded to threadless adapter and put an new style threadless stem on it like the one on the Eddy since that Nashbar stem is too steep and too high a rise.

 

[Steve5]

One of my best rides was going through the whole neighborhood. It was so peaceful and calm. I could feel the wind on my hair. The weather was perfect. It was neither too hot or too cold. And my friends were there. We got to hangout all afternoon.

 

[ajahcuizon]

The best ride that I ever had is when I had a chance to have a ride together with professional cyclists. They shared so many tips and stories about their experiences as a cyclist. I learned so many things from them. I don't want to end that day. I really enjoyed having a once in a lifetime chance to have a ride with them.

 

[DenisP]

Sadly, I can’t really say that I’ve had any particularly fantastic rides in my life. Most rides have pretty much been your standard affair. Some may have been more intense than others, but generally it’s just me, my bike, and the open road.

That being said, I have had some rides which were more special that others. Usually I limit my rides to within my town, but occasionally I’ll venture off to ride between multiple towns and cities here; kind of like a mini road trip. While fun and exciting, I don’t do it too often because we don’t have dedicated bicycle paths, making it kind of dangerous when you’re riding next to speeding cars and semi-trucks.