[ZMM_OMG]

Originally Posted by Red Bread

Campy uber alles! I have four bikes, not a drop of Shimano on any of them. Looking to build up a cyclocross as soon as SRAM gets off their duff with hydraulic road shifters.

LMAO! It has begun...

I demo'd Campy when I bought the "A" bike. Love the ability to dump gears up AND down the cassette. Love the silent drivetrain. Can't stand the thumb lever positioning.

My former coach is a big CX nut. I like the vibe (Keep CX Weird!) and have been kicking around the idea of a CX rig as soon as they nail down 'brifters mated to disc brakes.

[BrokenVert]

Clearly you guys are far more serious about this than I am.

I'll see if I can get my cousin to answer a few questions. He rides every weekend from midtown, manhattan to bear mountain and participates in the tour de France (5 or 10 years running)

He might be more up to your speed

[Red Bread]

Originally Posted by ZMM_OMG

LMAO! It has begun...

I demo'd Campy when I bought the "A" bike. Love the ability to dump gears up AND down the cassette. Love the silent drivetrain. Can't stand the thumb lever positioning.

It's all personal preference, I can't stand brake levers that move side to side. I actually prefer the latest SRAM to Campy and will likely make the switch with the next round of bikes. I have two single speeds (29er and road commie) at the moment, so shifting isn't always my concern anyway.

In a typical year, I try to get out to New Mexico and Colorado for both mountain biking and good road rides, but I've been a total slacker this year and haven't even hit 1k miles yet, which I normally do by March.

[ZMM_OMG]

Originally Posted by BrokenVert

Clearly you guys are far more serious about this than I am.

I'll see if I can get my cousin to answer a few questions. He rides every weekend from midtown, manhattan to bear mountain and participates in the tour de France (5 or 10 years running)

He might be more up to your speed

Don't let our bike nerd discussion scare you; I'm happy to take a shot at any questions you might have.

Tell us more about your cousin. Is he a pro rider?

Originally Posted by Red Bread

It's all personal preference, I can't stand brake levers that move side to side. I actually prefer the latest SRAM to Campy and will likely make the switch with the next round of bikes. I have two single speeds (29er and road commie) at the moment, so shifting isn't always my concern anyway.

In a typical year, I try to get out to New Mexico and Colorado for both mountain biking and good road rides, but I've been a total slacker this year and haven't even hit 1k miles yet, which I normally do by March.

Sounds like some fun rigs. I've thought about picking up a single speed or even a fixie, but the Bay Area is currently experiencing an overrun of hipster wanna-be scum. As a snobbish roadie, I can't degrade myself by riding single speed/fixed unless it's in a velodrome.

[Red Bread]

Originally Posted by ZMM_OMG

Sounds like some fun rigs. I've thought about picking up a single speed or even a fixie, but the Bay Area is currently experiencing an overrun of hipster wanna-be scum. As a snobbish roadie, I can't degrade myself by riding single speed/fixed unless it's in a velodrome.

Ha, plus your hills aren't really fun on a single speed. I used to live in Laguna Beach, 1000 feet up but only 1.5 miles on the road. Two of the old Rock Racing guys lived in my neighborhood and I swear they could hold 20 mph up that whole hill.

I do miss that greatly, excellent riding on PCH and I had canyon trails literally out of my door.

[ZMM_OMG]

Originally Posted by Red Bread

Ha, plus your hills aren't really fun on a single speed. I used to live in Laguna Beach, 1000 feet up but only 1.5 miles on the road. Two of the old Rock Racing guys lived in my neighborhood and I swear they could hold 20 mph up that whole hill.

I do miss that greatly, excellent riding on PCH and I had canyon trails literally out of my door.

Yeah, it's shocking how strong and fast the pros are. I was riding one of the climbs here just before the Tour of California and one of the guys on the Audi team flew by me like I was standing still.

+1 on PCH. I was just riding down there about a month ago. Awesome riding!

[Red Bread]

How do you like your Pro Machine? A riding buddy has a Race Machine that seems to go against the old meaning of BMC, Beat My Crotch. They were known for being really stiff frames, but the later models seem to be addressing that.

[ZMM_OMG]

LOL... "Beat My Crotch"! I'm surprised to hear that, because since I started paying attention to BMC they've been revered as having a pretty smooth ride.

I absolutely LOVE this bike! Compared to my Trek 2.1 (which shared geometry with the Madone), it's a much more agressive geometry. The Trek has a slightly longer wheelbase and requires a bit less concentration in a straight line, but the BMC corners and descends like it's on rails and is more responsive to inputs. It's just soooo willing to take a line!

The ride is interesting: It's not quite as plush as a high-end Madone or a Tarmac, but it's smooth and lively. It reminds me of my e46 since it's very balanced and the feedback always lets me know where the grip is. If I were to change anything about the current build, I'd probably throw on a carbon stem and handlebars to quiet just a bit of the road vibration at the front.

As is the trend with recent race bikes, the chain stays and the area around the bottom bracket are really beefy and the power transfer is amazing. I'm not someone who puts down a ton of wattage, but I can definitely feel the increase in snap and acceleration in this bike, which comes in handy in tight, technical criteriums.

Competitive Cyclist did a review (

) and it's pretty much spot on.

[Red Bread]

Cool. I use a small builder in Oregon for my bikes and my latest road bike has super short and stout chainstays. Power transfer is great and it's snappy and quick, but not nearly as much as a cruiser or as sedate as my previous bike (a classic steel Italian), but I was looking for a better race bike and that's what I got. I think I'm going to keep the aggressiveness for my cx bike but may go stainless instead of ti this go around.

[ZMM_OMG]

Originally Posted by Red Bread

Cool. I use a small builder in Oregon for my bikes and my latest road bike has super short and stout chainstays. Power transfer is great and it's snappy and quick, but not nearly as much as a cruiser or as sedate as my previous bike (a classic steel Italian), but I was looking for a better race bike and that's what I got. I think I'm going to keep the aggressiveness for my cx bike but may go stainless instead of ti this go around.

Gotta luv it when you find a builder to work with. Haven't gone that route myself, but have some friends with absolutely amazing builds. One friend has a frame from Independent Fabrications with steel lugs and carbon tubing. The lug work is total artwork!

Just out of curiosity, why stainless instead of ti?

[ZMM_OMG]

Oh.. BTW to the original poster... sorry for the

[Red Bread]

Originally Posted by ZMM_OMG

Oh.. BTW to the original poster... sorry for the

Yeah, sorry for the complete derailment.

Stainless over ti just because I prefer the way steel rides over ti, and with similar anti-corrosion capabilities from stainless compared to it, it just seems like an easy personal choice. The limiting factor is hardware, ti already has plenty of OS headtube choices and PF30 or BB30 shells, while stainless has been lagging behind on these choices. Plus I want to do discs, so I need burlier chain and seat stays and that's tougher with stainless, so I may end up going ti again anyway, or I may accept a little corrosion risk and go with a steel tubeset.

Finally, pure vanity, polished stainless makes for a classic, nearly chrome chain stay look when done up with a mostly painted/powdered frame. My current bike is ti with acid etching and it's just a boring look.

[ZMM_OMG]

What? Nobody EVER makes purchase decisions based on aesthetics.

Kidding. Totally makes sense. Part of the reason I liked the BMC was the structural look of the frame.