[bamilton wackademical]

I know these threads pop up quite regularly, but I’d appreciate the board’s advice.

I’ve recently moved to the South West and I’m thinking about upgrading from my current road bike (Genesis Volant, which has been great) to something which is going to be better for chewing up the many hills down here and coping better with braking coming down the other side.

A few questions which have no doubt been asked already, but I’d love to get everyone’s thoughts:

– Is it worth switching to Carbon, or are the new breed of lightweight alloy frames just as good for the job? I’m 15 stone, so it has to be sturdy

– How much of a difference do disc brakes make to descending? I feel like I’ve lost confidence on descents because I don’t trust my caliper brakes

– Is there a real benefit in switching to a triple, or compact doubles every bit as good?

Also, any recommendations for a bike that ticks all the boxes around the £1k mark much appreciated. The Cannondale Synapse 105 Disc looks like it ticks all the boxes right now.

Cheers all

Topic

[srchar]

I’d see how you feel with the
I’d see how you feel with the new brakes before you go spending money on a new bike. Good discs might well be more confidence inspiring than caliper brakes, but there’s no reason to mistrust a good caliper. I just rode the Maratona dles Dolomites, which as you’d imagine has some pretty hairy descents, using Campagnolo Athena caliper brakes which worked admirably for the entire ride – and I’m over 80kg.

[bamilton wackademical]

antigee wrote:
only ridden in

antigee wrote:

only ridden in Devon a couple of times and it is hilly in a different sort of way, short, sharp and lots of them – mental toughness probably helps as much as the bike and another hopefully not condescending congrats on the losing 5stone

Thanks mate. I live in Clifton in Bristol and pretty much whichever way I leave the house I’ve got hills to deal with. I do most of my cycling around Somerset and the Mendip Hills so plenty of up and down. There’s no such thing as a flat route round here. It’s a beautiful part of the world though, so I wouldn’t change it for anything.

[Podc]

Good move on the Kool Stop
Good move on the Kool Stop pads for the 105 brakes. I replaced my front brake with a 105 5800 and the stock pads were abusing the rims something terrible. I was digging lumps of aluminium out of them after every ride. Replaced with Kool Stop pads and no issues since.

[antigee]

I went to disk brakes after I
I went to disk brakes after I found I was descending some narrow hills on my CX stylee with canti’s slower than on my MTB because I didn’t trust being able to stop safely if traffic appeared the other way

[stufftherules] I know 99% of cyclists manage ok without them and they add weight and they are ugly and take up space but for long descents I quite like in line levers (AKA cross-suicide or touring levers) up on the top of the bars [/stufftherules] but then again I only descend in the drops on wide roads with good visibility on the bends – mainly use the drops to get out of headwind – worth considering?
Ok I’ll leave now. :S

only ridden in Devon a couple of times and it is hilly in a different sort of way, short, sharp and lots of them – mental toughness probably helps as much as the bike and another hopefully not condescending congrats on the losing 5stone

[bamilton wackademical]

I know you’re all desperate
I know you’re all desperate for an update: I just pulled the trigger on some Shimano 105 calipers and some Kool Stop salmons which I’ll get fitted this week and test out. I’m still in the market for a new bike at some point (who isn’t) but I’ll hold out for the sales later in the year. As for the uphill – well, practice makes perfect.

There you go, aren’t you glad you waited 😉

[Matt eaton]

Probably a useless comparison
Probably a useless comparison but I can tell you that the cable pull discs on my wife’s bike fall well short of the 20 year old cantis on my crosser which in turn seem very agricultural compared to the hydrolic disks on my mate’s MTB.

I don’t think there’s much argument that the very best brakes available are in disk form but good rim brakes are still a lot better than bad disks.

[Lee170]

Don’t rule out caliper brakes
Don’t rule out caliper brakes altogether, although disc brakes are better(hydraulic anyway)
I’ve just upgraded from a giant defy to a cannondale supersix evo, it has 105 rim brakes and they are a lot better than what was on my defy. I have loads more confidence on the dale when descending now due to the stronger brakes.
I to looked at the synapse Al and it is indeed a nice bike, I opted for carbon as I’ve never had one and then paint job got me to.
I’m sure if you got the synapse you wouldn’t be disappointed. But like earlier posts upgrade to hydraulic disc brakes,

[Simon E]

bamilton wackademical

bamilton wackademical wrote:

I’m slightly concerned this is turning into a fat lad wanting an easy ride thread.

I didn’t see it that way and was certainly not trying to infer anything. It’s the rider that makes the difference. Matt eaton has said the same – the solution is not necessarily to buy a new bike.

Tektro make good brakes but less-good calipers are usually fitted on inexpensive bikes. For longer drop calipers (47-57mm) Shimano R650 are widely recommended. Tektro R539 are a good alternative.

For rim pads I’d choose Kool Stop salmon / dual compound over OE, Aztec etc any day.

[CXR94Di2]

A 30 to 28 ratio at 80 rpm
A 30 to 28 ratio at 80 rpm will give you nearly 7 mph, a fair bit quicker than walking. Even 60rpm it’s 5mph. I like to stay above 70 rpm on long climbs

[Matt eaton]

DanTe wrote:I actually prefer

DanTe wrote:

I actually prefer my alloy bikes with triples up front, for the big climbs. I’d say look for a 50 / 39 / 30 crankset, and an 11-28 or 12-27 cassette.

replyquote

I can’t see what difference the frame material makes? A 30/28 gear is really very low, if you’re using that you have to wonder if getting off and walking up might’nt be a better and faster option.

I think it depends on the application. If you’re touring with a fully laden bike then pushing up hills is pretty heavy going and a granny gear paired with a wide-ranging cassette could be the best option even if it means going slower than walking pace.

[DanTe]

I actually prefer my alloy
I actually prefer my alloy bikes with triples up front, for the big climbs. I’d say look for a 50 / 39 / 30 crankset, and an 11-28 or 12-27 cassette.

replyquote

I can’t see what difference the frame material makes? A 30/28 gear is really very low, if you’re using that you have to wonder if getting off and walking up might’nt be a better and faster option.

[bamilton wackademical]

I’m slightly concerned this
I’m slightly concerned this is turning into a fat lad wanting an easy ride thread. If I wanted to make it easy , I’d get an electric unicycle like the hipster down the road.

What I’m really after is ways I can make improvements to my current ride. I understand losing weight and getting the miles in will help improve my speed and my climbing more than a new bike – that’s what I’m working towards. I’ve also established that a triple won’t make much of a difference, and that I should maybe look at a different gear ratio.

In terms of stopping power, it’s a toss up between getting better calipers or looking at disc brakes. Bear in mind I have Tektro brakes at the moment so anything is likely to be an improvement. I use Clarks professional pads.Is it worth switching to something like 105 brakes, or will the difference be negligible?

[Matt eaton]

bamilton wackademical

bamilton wackademical wrote:

Simon E wrote:

It’s also the most rewarding option. Hard work & perseverance are hugely underrated nowadays. I don’t know anyone that was overweight who lost some and was disappointed, whether a cyclist or not.

Ah well, I’m already 5+ stone down on what I used to be so I’m doing alright. It’s the last couple of stone that are the hardest to lose!

So while effort, technique and physical fitness are the biggest factors in making a difference, would you guys say that there’s no real positive effect on climbing from upgrading? On the flats I would expect to benefit from the stiffness of carbon and I would expect better gears to help i.e. speed of shifting. Do none of these benefits translate to the hills?

Props for cutting all that weight, and if you want to reward yourself with a nice new bike then go for it. However, if you’re still a couple of stone heavier than you want to be the gains from upgrading will be tiny compared to the gains from getting down to your ideal weight. If you want to climb significantly faster there’s only one way to do it.

[Simon E]

bamilton wackademical

bamilton wackademical wrote:

I’m already 5+ stone down on what I used to be so I’m doing alright.

Excellent! That’s quite an achievement B-)

bamilton wackademical wrote:

would you guys say that there’s no real positive effect on climbing from upgrading? On the flats I would expect to benefit from the stiffness of carbon and I would expect better gears to help i.e. speed of shifting. Do none of these benefits translate to the hills?

I don’t know of any modern bikes that are not stiff enough. Have you tried bending an aluminium frame? The gains may be measureable but they are really tiny. As for gears, if they’re not shifting cleanly then they need attention.

If you want to upgrade your bike that’s fine, but there’s no magic answer. If you want to go better uphill then you should practice riding hills. Lots.

[Toro Toro]

Stiffness certainly helps
Stiffness certainly helps when climbing; out of the saddle under heavy torque is when you’re most prone to lateral deflection of the BB.

And light bikes make it easier to go uphill. Yes, you can get a bigger effect by losing weight yourself. But you can get a still bigger effect again by losing the weight AND getting a lighter bike.

The number of scolds on here who rush to insist that any kit nicer than theirs is a waste of money is hugely irritating. Buy what you feel. If you love riding it, you’ll ride more and get faster.

[Author]

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