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Heresy I know, but is carbon dull?

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  • October 17, 2016 at 5:31 pm #26401
    JulesC

    Well in my pursuit for my next bike I’ve gained full support from “the Keeper of the purse strings” in fact we together went to see the first consideration.  I’m looking in the £1500 range in all probability carbon, 105 and caliper brakes.

    I threw my leg over an Italian lovely Carbon a year or two old so it was Ultegra 11sp and Gran Fondo/Spotive geometry but Italian so a bit racy too.

    Good, responsive acceleration, handled well etc and here it comes, but it was dull! I expected to walk back in the shop, rip out my kidney/credit card and walk out 10 minutes later because I couldn’t bear to part with it. Sadly it wasn’t to be the case.  I’ve been a MTB’er and own a Ti frame and that did it; it was a lot of money and second hand, but WOW! The carbon lovely didn’t do it, just didn’t have that spark, that WOW let alone even a little wow.

    Steel? The Light Blue Wolfson??? Ti (out of budget I suspect? Back to drawing board a little crestfallen. The only advantage is I’ve now got to throw my leg over many more to really understand if it was a one off (the manufacturer has changed their frame since this model) or is carbon just not for me.

    And how do you really, REALLY tell in a 20 minute pootle around a town/industrial estate etc?

    Thanks for reading/listening to my ramble/brain dump 🙂

     

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  • October 18, 2016 at 3:16 pm #880345
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    Russell Orgazoid
    drosco wrote:
    How can a bike be dull? How can you measure dullness? A dullometer?

    Your comments on this thread score highly on the dullometer, Mr. Obtuse.

    October 18, 2016 at 2:33 pm #880343
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    JulesC
    drosco wrote:
    It’s all in the mind. 

    drosco,

    Not sure about that, I’ve ridden a number of aluminium bikes and a range of MTBs.  Yesterday’s carbon felt powerful & effective, just lacking in life.

    JC

    October 18, 2016 at 2:31 pm #880341
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    JulesC

    Nick T,

    Nick T,

    Less the manufacturer than the individual shop.  And also my lack of experience of carbon frames, hence my OP was a question, not a statement.

    JC

    October 18, 2016 at 11:17 am #880339
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    drosco

    It’s all in the mind. 

    It’s all in the mind. 

    October 18, 2016 at 9:49 am #880337
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    peted76

    racingcondor wrote:

    racingcondor wrote:
    Peted76 – You should try my 8 year old Condor Leggero. Huge mileage, plenty of other bikes ridden but it’s by far the best I’ve tried, feels amazing.

    Don’t get me wrong, I love my Giant TCR Advanced SL 0, it’s probably the fastest bike I’ll ever own, it goes like a rocket, but it just does one thing and one thing well. It’s a thouroughbred race bike which is what I always wished for, but the reality is that I’d like a bike I can just ‘ride’ sometimes and that, I believe, I will get from a steel or ti frame 🙂 

    October 18, 2016 at 9:47 am #880335
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    Nick T

    Why would you rather not say

    Why would you rather not say what it was? Don’t take this the wrong way, but I don’t think you have that much clout to be able to affect a manufacturer’s sales by saying you didn’t like the 10 minute test ride you had on their mid level offering. 

    Guys, sell your Specialized shares now, because I’m about to drop a bomb – the Allez Sprint rides like shit. 

    October 18, 2016 at 9:05 am #880333
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    JulesC

    Peted76,

    Peted76,

    Funny you should say that I’ve just re-read Rob Penn’s “Its all about the bike” and I have hankered after a hand built frame.  My existing groupset is 3xTiagra (came to Road from MTB and thought 3x was sensible (Face-palm!!!) and on its way out.  Thats the pressure – change bike before I’m left with a collection of bits that no longer function together or even separately.  So its a full new bike.  The Light Blue Wolfson looks like a steel (see what I did there)but its a 2hr each way journey to test it though.
    The issue I have is that I don’t want too laid back I do like pushing it and wafting along isn’t my thing (well in my own little world I push it hard – while the old lady on the Raleigh Shopper breezes past me).  Think I’ll try a few more carbon to challenge/ensure my initial findings were correct and start to hunt down a few steel/Ti frames to try.  I agree, I suspect a chat with Rourke/Bob Jackson etc will be the way I go 953/853 spec.    Life could have dealth me a worse situation 🙂 

    Racingcondor – have you ever considered adopting a middle-aged man? I’m house trained, clean, well behaved etc – that looks stunning! https://www.condorcycles.com/products/condor-leggero-frameset

    October 18, 2016 at 8:46 am #880331
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    racingcondor

    Peted76 – You should try my 8
    Peted76 – You should try my 8 year old Condor Leggero. Huge mileage, plenty of other bikes ridden but it’s by far the best I’ve tried, feels amazing.

    October 18, 2016 at 8:43 am #880329
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    peted76

    I know what you mean, having

    I know what you mean, having 2x entry level carbon bikes and now a top flight carbon bike. I can feel a difference with the new one, BUT even my top end carbon frame is a little bit dull, you get on and it’s like a lightweight rocket ship but there is no personalilty there. 

    I think my ‘next’ road bike will be steel or Ti endurance type, I’d love one of Dom Mason Resolutions (steel) and I covet my mates Van Nicholas (Ti). I also keep thinking about Rourke for a custom frame.

    There are loads of really good bike builders out there at the moment (apparently). Have you considered getting a frame and putting your old groupset/wheels on? For £1500 you could get a cracking steel frame! In fact for about a grand you could get a hand made Rourke and that’d be a bike for life http://www.rourke.biz/custom_framesets.php

     

     

    October 18, 2016 at 8:42 am #880327
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    duckbill

    I have exactly the same set
    I have exactly the same set-up including wheels on both my bikes. One is a carbon Giant TCR and the other is alumimium kinesis Aithien.
    I agree that the Carbon bike is dull to ride, very dull, compared to the aluminium. The Carbon bike is the one i use for winter duties because of this.

    October 18, 2016 at 8:38 am #880325
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    racingcondor

    It depends a lot on the frame
    It depends a lot on the frame. My good carbon frame is lovely to ride, my last one didn’t feel as lively as the Alu frame it replaced.

    If you compare an open mould carbon frame (amazing for the price but not much price) with a £5,000 + superbike you’ll see the difference very easily.

    It’s actually one of the difficulties with carbon. There’s only so many variations with round tubed metal frames, a carbon frame with identical geometry will vary a lot based on tube shape, thickness, layup, fibre density etc.

    October 18, 2016 at 8:27 am #880323
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    JulesC
    drosco wrote:
    How can a bike be dull? How can you measure dullness? A dullometer?

     

    Inert, unresponsive and lacking in vitality and life.

    I understand the conflict between whippy steel frames and stiff power transfer of carbon.  But I didn’t come away being over awed or even very impressed really.  As posted above wheels are critical and I’ve ridden good/bad/indifferent and these were OK, not Carbon tubs but not hooped cast-iron rain gutters.

     

    October 18, 2016 at 8:22 am #880321
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    JulesC

    Nick T,

    Nick T,

    I’d rather not say as my experience is really limited, I’m no bike reviewer and feel my narrow view is possibly unfair.  Also they fitted flats and I’ve not ridden flats for 20+ years.  I’m trialling a few others and also sending my current geometry & position set up details over to the original store  and getting the position as identical as possible to my current (comfortable & satisfied set-up) and give it another run out – hopefully a little more extended. Still worry that the frame is well regarded by the cogniscenti and yet I felt it was inert.  Perhaps I’ve been spoiled by the Ti MTB and I just need to save harder/buy steel. 

    Lots of trialing ahead of me, which I do feel bad for the hassle, s’pose £1500 isn’t cheap but the 9 out of 10 LBS who won’t end up with it I feel for as I’m self employed too.

    JC

     

    October 18, 2016 at 8:18 am #880319
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    drosco

    How can a bike be dull? How

    How can a bike be dull? How can you measure dullness? A dullometer?

    October 18, 2016 at 7:22 am #880317
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    Nick T

    What was the bike you test

    What was the bike you test rode?

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