I'll go with my 2003 LeMond Victoire, all-titanium road bike. It accelerates quickly and rides smoothly over rough pavement.
I like titanium for bikes because it's light, doesn't corrode, and offers long life. I almost bought a carbon fiber bike, but I've seen too many of them break or otherwise come unglued. That said, in my audio system I prefer the properties of carbon fiber. :)
I prefer the "old school". A vintage pre-Piaggio Bianchi Superleggera with Columbus tubing, hand-carved lugs and dropouts, and the beautiful old Campy Super Record gruppo. On silk tubulars, of course. What a ride!
Truthrider- love your rig. Been through many full suspension rigs- jamis dakar, khs, GT LTS, I-Drive, rode my buddy's Turner and a newer Foes too (all CC big hit bikes, not the overweight downhill ones. Rode a demo seven in tahoe last summer and I liked it an awful lot too. But my fave was my old Outland VPP5. A great monster truck bike at 26.5lbs. But I broke it after two years and they went out of business. Guess I need to go Santa Cruz to get the VPP technology now. My buddy got a Truth when they first came out. What a cool bike it was (and still is). Climbs like a goat and decends like a freak. God was that about 10 years ago? More? Crikey! Anyways, to get back to the topic, any ball buster to wear you out before a listening session, whether road or dirt is cool. Keep on riding (and listening of course!) Brian
Y'all can keep your effete road bikes... Rides smoothly over rough pavement? He he. How about over a 6' drop onto gnarled tree roots? Me, I'll second the Truth! A sub-25 lb. bike with almost 5" of front and rear travel, climbs like you are cheating and swallows drops like a dream. : )
I'll be strapping mine to the car in about an hour for a run through the Catoctin Yellow Trail out here. Now, if the damn pilot would only stop running out of gas on the uphills...
As for the road bike--none finer then the Serotta Ottro( carbon/ti full custom sizing on every bike) with full Campy Record and a set of Mavic Ksyium's. If I am going to thrash around in the mud, I just picked up a Cannondale SL 4000 with the new carbon lefty---WOW
I prefer my Klein Attitude with an XT/XTR gruppo. That is when I'm not riding my Victory V92C. The victory is great on the road the Klein is great on the trails!
I had a Cannondale road and mountain bike,think the road bike was an R 600,mountain was Delta V frame non susp.everything was better after a good ride,,
Though the Ti Romic was a sweet upgrade. I think the ipod with a remote fixed to my camelback was the best so far. The trails at Dowieville will be open soon. You'll find a picture of me and some buddies on the outfitters website (when they get it back online..www.downievilleoutfitters.com
Like TWL, I like the older classic sub 21 pound rode bikes. For double centuries, I prefer a custom Matt Assenmacher Reynolds 531 with Campy SR equipment and tubulars. For centuries, I will ride a Scott Paisley custom Reynolds 531 SL with Dura Ace equipment and tubulars. My favorite classic training bike is a Harry Quinn Reynolds 531 with Campy SR equipment.
Hey alright, a MTB thread!! Jose21, a Seven eh!? Very nice. My brother rides a Merlin XLM...to me that's about as good as it gets. Rob Vandermark (pretty sure that's the guy who ran Merlin and then started Seven) makes art in the form of Ti MTB frames...perfect geometry, bends, welds and tubes.
I'll put in a vote for my Klein Attitude Race (with the Blue fade paint...sweet!), full XT, Judy fork and some extras. I spent 6 months searching for the right MTB bike and to me that was it. I used to be a bike builder/mechanic and I also raced MTBs. Boy those were the days! Now I am lazy and just work on my bike or clean it from time to time. It's been at least 1.5 years since I was last on the trails....sigh.
I am considering selling my bike for $$ towards a turntable...times have certainly changed.
I'm currently on a Klein Attitude, pre Trek. Climbs like a mountain goat. Downhills are fast but rough, my old bones are begging for a full suspension. I'm thinking about building up a Mantra or Adept with my current groupo, then converting the Attitude to a single speed.
The Truth really is an amazing bike though. I have yet to ride a better XC bike. A friend of mine races for Ellsworth (Steve Zdawczynski - aka Steve Z) and has a fleet of their various designs, mountain and road. Lucky duck.
I've still got my old Cannondale Super V SL with full XTR & Crossride wheels.. It's a beast but I just can't seem to destroy it. I can come home in pieces but the bike just won't die..
It climbs well for a bike of its size - around 28-30 lbs.. But with those older FS rigs you need to learn how to pedal to reduce that annoying bob.
An Ellsworth would be REALLY nice!
I always thought that an Id would be better for me than a Truth. I figured I was just too heavy (225 lbs) to smash around a Truth..
I'm probably 190, although I'd like to believe 180, and haven't had a spot of trouble. Although riding today, I decided I definitely needed to lube the joints... You could hear me creaking a 1/2 mi. away.
Klein? Won't touch one. Not after my buddy broke one... All I hadda do was saw off the top tube and got a nice stool out of it...
Well, I ride a Santa Cruz Heckler offroad and I ride an Airborne Zepplin Titanium Road bike and sometimes my 1988 Mino Dente Master w/full Campy Super Record Groupo. The Zep is sweet, but the Dente is special. It was a 20 lb. Columbus SL bike in 1988, which was VERY light at the time. Italian masterpiece!!!
So...we've got a couple of Klein fans. I use to ride an '93 Adroit (Gator-linear fade, full XTR, pre Trek days) for 8 yrs. up until 2 years ago when I bougth the Seven. The aluminum ride just got too harsh for me. I still have the frame ' coz it's art! Dlwask, Yeah, those Merlins are sweet but I just wanted something a "little" different. Seven does not charge extra for custom fit so I figured I found my bike. Rob Vandermark is "da s#%t" when it comes to designing a frame.
Gunbei, I had a Schwinn Pea Picker but I sold it for $1200 on ebay to finance my LeMond ti bike.
And I'd just like to say that you can keep all those stupid mountain bikes with their idiotic suspensions that are constantly breaking down and requiring maintenance on a regular basis. Sure, going out and crashing into trees and falling on your head is lots of fun, but it sounds like Edesilva has taken the plunge a few too many times... Gee mom, look at me, I can do tricks -- watch me hop that crater, land in a cow pie, eat dirt and weeds, and crash my bike on the big rock. Oh, what fun. :)
Also, all the mountain bikers I know are just as pretentious as the roadies, please let's not kid ouselves about that.
Carbon Trek Y-11. Great Mountain bike with out feeling like you are riding a pogo stick. Pretty fast. I get alot of looks when riding. After a good hard ride I come home and listen and relax. Makes for a feel good day.
Aw Plato, now why d'ja hafta bring my mother into it?
I ride for me exclusively. I ride to make my muscles hurt and my lungs burn. I ride because sweating seems to be the only way of eliminating toxins that accumulate from life in a big city. I ride to test my technical skills as well as my mental resolve. I ride to feel the wind and to sense exhilaration. In those ways, probably, mtn bikers prolly aren't that much different than roadies.
But, come out of the cave and see the light--there is more to life than asphalt. I get enough of that commuting. I ride to see great scenery, to connect in a tangible and physical way with the outdoors. I ride to generate endorphins because I choose to test my skills against hard trails. In a world where everything is made safe, where fences protect people from themselves, there is a great sense of freedom in making your own choices, which may carry consequences, and to accept fully the responsibility for your life in the form of scar tissue.
And yeah, mtn biking requires a lot of maintenance and I do pretty much tear my bike apart every couple of weeks in season. I actually like taking the thing apart and putting it back together and getting grit in my fingernails and knowing *exactly* how everything works and making everything crisp and tight. I liked building my bike to begin with. As a result, while I've taco'ed tires and busted derailleurs from abuse, I've *never* had my bike mechanically fail on me.
As far as pretentiousness goes, I'll admit to really enjoying, on those days where timing forces me to use the roadie path by my house, blowing by someone on a his trial-bar equipped Litespeed in his Postie yellow jersey riding my suspension rig. Then again, you are on a high-end audio forum, so pretension sort of comes with the territory, no?
I am a thrill seeker. I think its sad when anyone decides to stop testing themselves. Sorry you've outgrown that. Hope it never happens to me. ; )
I am surprised to see so many cyclists here. I like to stay on for a while when I get in the saddle. I prefer steel-smooths out the ride! The best insult hurled at me was when I intruded into the local MTB haven looking for a chain cleaner. When the sales guy found out what I rode, he looked at me with disdain and said- "why are you worried about a dirty chain-your socks don't even get dirty!
Musicdoc. Ease up- you`re taking me way back! Those`re the days we used to see "Evel" on the Wide World of Sports (with Jim Mckay...), then go out and set up plywood ramps to jump off of. Big fun!
frogger-i'm glad that poor "agony of defeat" ski jump dude finally got a break. i always used to imagine him seeing himself in that moment on tv sunday after sunday. oh yeah, we set up those ramps for our bikes! you must have grown up in my neighborhood! :-)
Very smooth Nrchy! Perhaps Audiogon needs a "Personal" ads section for the three or four women who actually are active members! And while we're at it, how come you you don't whisper sweet nothings in my ear anymore Nrchy?! I guess I have to go and buy me a fancy bicycle before you'll take notice of ME again!
Marco, you need more than a bike. I doubt that my wife would approve of me whispering in Elizabeth's ear. She just strikes me as knowledgable and interesting. Something you never have!!! : )
Ouch! Now I feel so "used" and taken advantage of! You mean all these years you've just had me for my...........oh my! And now I've been shamed in public! I'm going out now to find the nearest bridge to throw myself off of!
I really like my Della Santa road bike. Then again the Steve Rex is pretty nice too. On the other hand I love how the ol' Schwinn Paramount handles. Wait, the fixed gear is great fun... oh, and the recumbent is like riding a low rider.
I need to get a girlfriend to help out on the tandem cuz wifey won't ride. Then again the Bianchi is a nice cross bike, but if I'm going off road it'd be best on the Stumpjumper... oh nuts, they're all good!
at least an hour good clip 3 times a week, Romic lugged 531 Reynolds, full Camp rec, same era (mid 80's), mavic Sup's, Conti gators, max flite...not anything like the Ti ride but cushy sweet for short old folks hops.
Airhead BMW takes a few days but is close to the sacrament.
I'm digging my Eddy Merckx Team SC. Rwbadley, are you a Sacramento A'goner? I think my husband and I have seen you and your Della Santa out on the American River Bike Trail. Is it a white frame? You must be local--a Steve Rex fan?
Moto Guzzi of course. Gobs of torque and the spirit of a sportbike makes for the most soulful experience on 2 wheels. A couple hundred miles of backroad curves and I'm ready to kick back and play a few LP's.
Ogsarg, I'll 2nd Guzzis, I've owned 2 of them in the past & will someday hopefully own another. Tons of character, wonderful in the twisties, small block V8-like torque & of course that motor texture & exhaust note that can't be replicated. For right now I have to keep it to just one cycle unfortunately, still get the MGNOC newsletter though which is a real gem.
Stay tuned Pehare. Rumor has it that Guzzi is up for sale and the most likely taker is Ducati. Apparently they were after it when Aprilia bought them but lost out in a bidding war. Lots of other rumors but Ducati has confirmed that they are in the due diligence phase and will make an offer.
As much as I love my goose, I don't think I'd buy a new one right now.
I ride a Moots Ti road bike with Campy Record 10 and Mavic Ksyrium Wheels. I raced many years on steel, then I tested a ti frame and couldn't believe the ride. Spectacular!!!
merlin ultralight with campy chorus and easton carbon is my new found love. You have to try the overpriced easton mag stems...with the carbon bars there is nothing smoother. still revert to my old torture geometry bianchi every now and then.
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