New bikes

[Captain Stupido]

I keep seeing people on modern bikes and wondering...

Also, I’m on the Planet X / on one mailing list and a lot of what they sell is appealing and looks good value.

The last time I bought a new bike, probably about 7 years ago, it was a disappointing experience. It was a roughly entry level Genesis road bike. I just fancied trying something modern, and it was reduced, so it seemed like a bargain. I bought it online without even trying it. After a week of riding it I decided to sell it on. I thought the alloy frame was very flat and dead feeling, the groupset felt cheap and didn’t work any better (or as well as) the vintage Shimano kit I was used to. It had carbon forks for what it’s worth (not much was my conclusion). It was uncomfortable, and didn’t inspire confidence in its long term durability.

After that I swore off alloy framed bikes. My current road bike is a late 80s Raleigh quadra, it’s a 531 framed Shimano 105 equipped bike and it’s much nicer than that Genesis was. My fave MTB at the moment is a 1998 Orange Clockwork, with Pace rc36 forks and mostly XT bits. It’s great. Light, nimble and super fun. For touring, going down the shops, etc I’ve got an old Dawes... it’s comfy and it takes a load with ease.

I’ve got other retro bikes too. But 1998 is pretty much as modern as I get. And apart from a trek multitrack that I’ve not got round to building up they’re all steel.

But still I’m wondering what I’m missing out on. Has stuff moved on? What would I need to spend to get something that would make me leave my retros in the garage? Would a modern gravel bike be an eye opener as an all rounder? Or would a modern 29er make the clockwork feel like unnecessarily hard work?

Maybe I have been unlucky with alloy framed bikes? Maybe I’d love a carbon frame? Planet X have some pretty reasonably priced titanium bikes... if I got saving... or maybe steel is still it, for me?

I do accept that disc brakes would be an improvement for off roading in wet and muddy conditions. But these days there are retro bikes with discs...

Anyone want to talk me into/out of buying something new?

 

[legrandefromage]

Oh god, what have you started!!!

My last new bike was 2014 but it was a retromod - a bit disappointing and sold on.

Road bikes are not really that different, not in the way that MTBs have changed out of all recognition. Sure roadies have gone disc (nobody knows why unless its those pesky carbon rims) and electric shifting but thats been around a while and is already incompatible with itself.

Carbon is old and steel came back in again along with alumniumiumuimn. Theres good and bad for each material. I wouldnt own a carbon frame but thats for purely environmental reasons as in the fact its really difficult to recycle.

Theres even bargain titanium out there if you look carefully.

But....!

Old road frames take to modern components really well. I love my old Columbus MAX road bike with its 10spd 'almost' modern Ultegra and very modern absurdly light American Classic wheels.

Why not keep the Quadra and go 11 or 10spd on it? A new steel frame is expensive and if the old one fits and is comfortable, go modern on the shifting, heck, assemble some Di2!

Gravel Grinders will be shockingly familiar as they are pretty much fat tyred road bikes - there really isnt that much to get exited about

As for modern MTBs, they are the devils work and only seem to be able to go downhill.

Shimano are rapidly phasing out the old 8spd cassette freehub body with their new 12speed MTB microspline system - how long that will last, no one can tell.

Then theres front pull front mechs, 52t rear cassettes, 8 million BB standards and tapered headtubes, narrow wide rings 'Boost'! Dont forget BOOST! Everything is boost now!

It has all got very silly just lately after a decade or two of *relative* stability

 

[legrandefromage]

 

[legrandefromage]

As for 'do they ride any better'

Feck knows. You'll get everyone telling you black is white until they're blue in the face but it can only be you that decides.

personally, I have no time for the new new, I've found a balance that I can live with without the need to get snooty with people on bikes over 3 years old. I was very sad to experience this on a recent ride out just because I was on something very old that was actually very new as it was mostly new old stock...

 

[legrandefromage]

Heres a retromod I made earlier - I wouldnt go back to non indexed or even 8spd let alone 7 unless the bike was mostly original.

 

[legrandefromage]

And and and!

These two bikes behave EXACTLY the same over the SAME route giving ALMOST identical times yet 20 years apart (almost)

The noodly Columbus steel over the full suspension

 

[d8mok]

Re:

The last maybe 2 -3 years have seen massive changes to mtb’s. The geometry changes alone have made them faster , more forgiving and most importantly more fun. I’m talking purely from trail riding point of view. I’m sure someone will disagree but either they haven’t ridden a proper modern decent spec bike over the correct terrain or they are lying to themselves. I class myself as a decent rider and there is no way I’d ride my retro bikes on stuff my modern stuff doesn’t even flinch at.

Canal paths, gravel and easy single track is much of the same. Whether you ride a modern mtb, a cx bike , or a retro bike they are all as quick nearly. Cx/gravel bikes are basically 90’s mountain bikes anyway.

Road bikes haven’t changed much in terms of geo but have improved lots in terms of brakes , transmission and comfort. I’m running a 2015 Supersix still which I can’t justify changing as I don’t see much progression apart from discs.

I do love my retro bikes and always think they have so much personality compared to modern. But I’m under no illusions which are technically better.

 

[legrandefromage]

Dont get started on the 'which is better' rabbit hole - just about everything can be repaired but carbon is throwaway. And discs on road bikes? A problem nobody asked to solve.

new bikes are very needy, shocks and forks and pivots and bearings and and and

you can no longer compare new and old anymore, they've branched off into so many totally different directions its hard to compare like for like, I wouldnt even attempt anything.

Rode a year old Specialized around the Peaks, didnt like it. Went back to a very old steel MTB, much more comfortable over long distances at the speed I wanted to travel at.

I'm sure theres a 'something' I would like but I'm happy where I am

Blah!

 

[d8mok]

Re:

Carbon can be repaired.

Modern doesn’t always mean full sus. I’ve got a modern Titanium Kingdom vendetta. It’s bombproof and I’m in the peaks so my bikes do get a hard life with rocks.

 

[legrandefromage]

Look at these two; you just cannot compare them, theres so little in common and not necessarily improvements either, those bars are wide to control that floppy slack front end. The old Orange is more gravel bike than ever, even though you can still fling it around just as much as the current Clockwork.

I find modern tyres have recently gone very shit compared to a few years ago, with little or no capability in the mud, something in the compound has changed.