Road biking 2018

[Jwrags]

@Ron, with that bike I think the black shoes are definitely the right choice!

 

[Tony S]

I got my Edmonda! Pics don’t really show the details of the frame and the tone of the color. There are a lot of cool lines on this bike. Zoom in on the rear stays for instance. 15.4 pounds with pedals and bottle cages. Not bad for discs and Etap. It’s a little over .75pounds lighter than the BMC but it is notceable. Bontager xxx4’s are really cool. I will ride a good testing course tomorrow to compare times and feel. Here are some initial thoughts.

Geometry is noticeably more aggressive than the BMC Not a knock on the Bmc at all. The Emonda jumps when pedaled. I can’t wait to climb on it. . I need to dial in the fit more but I will be lowering the stack (head tube to be cut later) adjusting the cleat position on my shoes and adjusting the seat fore/aft. Etap is cool. Love the left andi right oriented shifitng. Super crisp and fast. Discs are awesome. They need to be adjusted for feel but they are smooth. Integrated bar and stem look sleek and clean. Lizard skin camo boa tape is really cool. I’ll get better pic.

I love the way they did the seat stay / seat tube junction.

I rode a down-level version of this bike all last week. It's rock solid. Very confidence building on descents. Would love to try one like yours with light wheels. Only quibble with your setup is, as always, the frame size. When you sell it, it will still be to big for me.

 

[Ron]

thanks guys! Tweaked the fit this AM, moved seat back, raised it up a few mm and set the angle. Dropped the bars to a reasonable 6.5cm saddle to top of bars. Adjusted cleats. Ready to roll.

 

[Tony S]

@Wending and I have spent the last seven days riding in and around the Cévennes National Park

They really know how to do hairpins in France. Talk about needing to brake before the corner!

 

[coskigirl]

It was hot on the bike today. It did not go well. At least it was still pretty.

 

[Ron]

first ride on the Emonda. did a familiar route so I could get a feeling for the bike. Geo is quite different. After a few miles I really liked it. with the 28's at 65/70 it rode almost as smooth as the BMC (although the BMC is supremely smooth) a bit quicker handling. Once thing I noticed was that I felt more "in" the frame of the Emonda. Cronering was tighter and it has a nice balance when tipping the frame over, no fighting to keep it in the line. The Etap is intuitive and after an hour or so on the bike, I got to really like the convenience of the ease of going up or down multiple gears especially when attacking punchy climbs where you could time the attack differently. Ride position is great, I have always struggled with the cleat position on my right side (much the same with skiing) but I'm positioned a bit more over the pedal with this geo since its a more race Geo. I really like this. Wheels run well, I was battling head and swirling winds and never felt the wheels 47mm depth was an issue. I only had the bike up to about 35 today but it was quite stable. I can tell the hubs need some miles on them to get them rolling more freely. Disc brakes are really nice and with the Sram Red, you can adjust the reach and modulation. Love these already. Overall, for the first ride I am very happy with the bike. I did a quick 30 miles with about 1300' vert (punchy climbs that hit 12* but nothing sustained.) that I typically can avg 19 mph on. I ended up at 18.7 with head winds and getting used to a new geo. And, of course, mis-shifting a few times along the way. I think I am going to get an appointment with Retul to get dialed in.

 

[Fuller]

I got my Edmonda! Pics don’t really show the details of the frame and the tone of the color. There are a lot of cool lines on this bike. Zoom in on the rear stays for instance. 15.4 pounds with pedals and bottle cages. Not bad for discs and Etap. It’s a little over .75pounds lighter than the BMC but it is notceable. Bontager xxx4’s are really cool. I will ride a good testing course tomorrow to compare times and feel. Here are some initial thoughts.

Geometry is noticeably more aggressive than the BMC Not a knock on the Bmc at all. The Emonda jumps when pedaled. I can’t wait to climb on it. . I need to dial in the fit more but I will be lowering the stack (head tube to be cut later) adjusting the cleat position on my shoes and adjusting the seat fore/aft. Etap is cool. Love the left andi right oriented shifitng. Super crisp and fast. Discs are awesome. They need to be adjusted for feel but they are smooth. Integrated bar and stem look sleek and clean. Lizard skin camo boa tape is really cool. I’ll get better pic.




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Wow! I have serious bike envy! That is a sweet ride especially for your neck of the woods. I am still in love with my H1 fit Domane but if no one was looking I might be tempted to have a fling with one of those Emondas. Very nice.

As for the previous discussion of 24 mph rides... Yes, it is totally flat here in St Pete, my biggest hill is the bridge over the intercoastal waterway. We have a lot of riders and the guys from Tampa come over because the routes are better on this side of the bay. So we typically do a quick 25 miles with about 15-30 riders. You could ride all day in a group at 22mph and never need more than 175 watts. Until you go out front in the wind...

The A group is the 25 + "uncontrolled" ride. If you get dropped, too bad, HTFU.

The B group is 24 controlled which means we are supposed to not exceed 24 but it always seems to get out of hand especially when the A group doesn't answer the call and roles out with the B group. Due to traffic and stop signs we probably average about 21-22mph but the sprint zones go much higher.

We also have a large 22 group and a large 20 and an occasional 18 and a no drop introductory ride for never evers. Coffee after of course.

If any of y'all find yourself in St Pete please look me up. I'll find a bike for you to ride and you'll have a good time.

 

[Ken_R]

first ride on the Emonda. did a familiar route so I could get a feeling for the bike. Geo is quite different. After a few miles I really liked it. with the 28's at 65/70 it rode almost as smooth as the BMC (although the BMC is supremely smooth) a bit quicker handling. Once thing I noticed was that I felt more "in" the frame of the Emonda. Cronering was tighter and it has a nice balance when tipping the frame over, no fighting to keep it in the line. The Etap is intuitive and after an hour or so on the bike, I got to really like the convenience of the ease of going up or down multiple gears especially when attacking punchy climbs where you could time the attack differently. Ride position is great, I have always struggled with the cleat position on my right side (much the same with skiing) but I'm positioned a bit more over the pedal with this geo since its a more race Geo. I really like this. Wheels run well, I was battling head and swirling winds and never felt the wheels 47mm depth was an issue. I only had the bike up to about 35 today but it was quite stable. I can tell the hubs need some miles on them to get them rolling more freely. Disc brakes are really nice and with the Sram Red, you can adjust the reach and modulation. Love these already. Overall, for the first ride I am very happy with the bike. I did a quick 30 miles with about 1300' vert (punchy climbs that hit 12* but nothing sustained.) that I typically can avg 19 mph on. I ended up at 18.7 with head winds and getting used to a new geo. And, of course, mis-shifting a few times along the way. I think I am going to get an appointment with Retul to get dialed in.

I have an Emonda from when they first came out and love it. 58 H2 with SRAM Red mech. Rim brakes obviously. The new disc model looks amazing. Certainly an advantage with carbon clincher wheels in the mountains. Specially now that its really hot out.

Mine has a 120mm stem and got fitted at Retul in Boulder. They were awesome. I did not have major issues but they determined i was on the wrong saddle and that made a big difference.

 

[Ken_R]

It was hot on the bike today. It did not go well. At least it was still pretty.

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OMG, 111º real temp geeez. I ran for the hills! Too hot down here!

 

[luliski]

Had a fun ride in the hills above Berkeley and Oakland today. The ride was on the short side (22 miles), but 2200+ ft of climbing. It was very clear out, the views were great!

 

[coskigirl]

OMG, 111º real temp geeez. I ran for the hills! Too hot down here!

I think a few degrees were attributable to reflection off the pavement but if my Wahoo felt it so did I. I should have gotten out earlier but jet lag had me being lazy. Ended up cutting my ride by a few miles because I was truly afraid of heat stroke.

 

[Ron]

Here's a couple shots of the integrated bar & Stem and how nice and clean the Etap looks with just 2 wires. If you like your bars level, and know what stem you need, the integrated setup might be a good choice for you. I took a chance and it worked out great. For those who care, you can save 100-150 grams plus Aero savings.

 

[Erik Timmerman]

I'd second guess that for the rest of my life!

 

[Ron]

I'd second guess that for the rest of my life!

the integrated bar/stem? The right way to do it would be to go into a LBS and get fit on your frame and then you can tell pretty quickly if its going to work. It was part of the level of build I chose and my LBS is super cool and would have done whatever I needed as far as bar/stem so it wasn't a risk. This is the first bike he sold with the new integrated cockpit so he was happy to give it a try. I know that I always need a 58 frame and a 100 or 110 stem. After crunching through the geo, i knew this bikes effective reach would be ~5-7mm longer so everything looked pretty certain. you can still adjust the shifters height but here again, I like them flat and slightly turned in.

One nice thing about the Etap is you can adjust the reach on the levers as well as the engagement point. its pretty cool. On descents, I'm a chicken and have to have a finger on my brake levers but often the engagement point starts pretty quickly and you run the risk of engaging the brakes when you dont want to.

 

[Fuller]

At 6'-0" I'm right on the dividing line between a 56cm and a 58cm frame. I opted for the 56 mostly because the cranks are 172.5 and bars are 420mm which I greatly prefer. I had to have the longer seat mast to get enough height for my long legs but it all seems to work for me.

It's funny though, I researched for months, made spreadsheets and read everything I could. Then I wondered into the Trek Shop and bought the first bike I saw. It was a promotional bike that looked great but was a bit radical for the general population. It was marked down about $1200 which sealed the deal.

 

[Ron]

all my 58's are 172.5 cranks. At 6' you should most likely be on a 58.

 

[Fuller]

all my 58's are 172.5 cranks. At 6' you should most likely be on a 58.

In general you are probably right, but I had thought a lot about it and was not happy with the 58's that I had ridden previously. My old Specialized Allez (58cm) now feels like a tractor when I get back on it occasionally and so do the other 58's that I've encountered. I've also gone through the pro bike fit process at the Trek store and with an independent fitter and no one has told me I need to size up. I hope they didn't roll their eyes as I'm walking out the door with a "what was that guy thinking" look...

I'm told the Trek H1 fit gives you the ability to go down a size if you have the flexibility - that gives you a much more responsive ride. But everyone is different and ends up in their own place. If I were bike shopping now I would probably want to reassess everything I just mentioned and revisit the whole process. For now I just like going fast and keeping up with the youngsters.

I've also flipped the stem and taken out the spacers for a 10cm saddle to bar drop, for that macho racer look!

 

[Ron]

've also flipped the stem and taken out the spacers for a 10cm saddle to bar drop, for that macho racer look!

WHOA! I bow before you! Damn, Im not in your league. I have the h2 with just about 7cm drop. NICE! Beautiful bike! I could fit on a 56 but the stack is always too low and I would need a 120 stem for my body. I Have the H2 with 20mm of spacers with the -7 100m stem

 

[Tony S]

Bike fit over the internet is only a little bit more reliable than boot fit.

 

[cantunamunch]

Bike fit over the internet is only a little bit more reliable than boot fit.

If we start talking about PLUG BIKES R 4 EVRYWUN, people in the E-MTB thread would get confused.