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Road biking gear for all riders |
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Written by Greyson Howard and Jamie Bate/Tahoe World
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Monday, 26 June 2006 |
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 Carbon fiber, titanium, scandium — you’d think someone was building a craft to get you to the moon. Actually, legions of engineers are working on something, namely the latest design to haul your butt comfortably down the road.
If you are new to road cycling or looking to upgrade to something lighter, sleeker and sweeter from that old steel Fuji with downtube shifters, local bike shops have just the ride for you.
And more than likely this season, some — if not all — of it will be carbon fiber.
But don’t be afraid. Today’s composite materials are pretty bulletproof. And if you’re reading along and pooh-poohing the notion of pedaling something made of glorified plastic, that’s fine, you’re “old school”, so keep riding that smooth steel or ti. For others, read on.
Over at Cyclepaths bike shop in Truckee and the original store near Sunnyside, Greg Forsythe carries four brands of road bikes: Felt, Giant, Rocky Mountain and Lapierre.
 Matthew Fremont at the Truckee Cyclepaths store says that beyond the frame materials and componentry, the most crucial thing buyers should be thinking about is fit.
 “Each brand has a little different fit,” Fremont says. “That’s the most important for the road.”
He says Giant has a wide range of fit because their frames are designed with compact geometry.
And like Felt and Rocky Mountain, the Giant lineup comes in various arrays of carbon fiber. Choose an aluminum bike that has carbon seat stays — the part of the bike that makes up a portion of the rear triangle — and you not only save your butt some road vibration, you save some money. That’s because a full carbon frame is going to run you $600 to $800 more.
And for the women out there, Giant has a full carbon bike built to suit you all. Frame geometry has been shortened and tweaked so you’re not spread out all over the bike. The Shimano shift/break levers have even been modified for smaller hands.
 Check it out: Felt’s fit kit for women
• Narrow handle bars designed for the less burly shouldered set. Bar drops also aren’t as deep.
• Shorter stem so the rider isn’t stretched out like Superman.
• Women’s specific saddle, ‘cause we aren’t all created equal.
• Zero-offset seat post, which brings the hips a little more forward.
Over at Paco’s Bike and Ski, they can set up newbies and racers alike.
 This year’s beginner bike is the Trek pilot 1.2, which comes in at the $800-$900 range.
“Its an aluminum frame bike with a combination of Shimano 105 and Tiagra parts,” says Paco Lindsay. “Its good all-round and comfortable, not really racing geometry.”
Mid-range at $1,449 is the Trek Pilot 2.1. It has a carbon fiber fork and seat stays.
“It’s still more comfort geometry,” Lindsay says. “People don’t necessarily want quick handling race geometry.”
What he’s saying is comfortable geometry isn’t necessarily a bad thing, more people are doing centuries and comfortable geometry isn’t taking as much away from performance.
The high end is the “S-Works”, a sub-company from Specialized, and Paco’s is the only S-Works dealer in the area.
 But it ain’t cheap at $5,250, although it is light. The S-Works Tarmac weighs in at about 16 pounds with all Shimano Dura-Ace parts and top of the line wheels from Mavic.
What’s popular: “S-Works were popular in the early season with high-end riders,” Lindsay says. “The Specialized Roubaix continues to be a strong seller. For lower prices the Trek Pilots have been also quite popular.”
 On clothes: “Assos shorts sell really well in the high end. We also sell a lot of Louis Garneau. It just depends on what fits.”
Helmets: “The Pneumo from Giro sells really well for road. The Bell sweep is also popular for road riding. The best price point helmet is the Giro Furio. I am surprised by how many people drop more than $100 for a helmet.”
Shoes: “The Sidi Genius at $215 remains really popular because of a really nice ratchet closure and because it looks decent. Tahoe folks used to be more conservative with style but that seems to be changing.
 Photos by Court Leve/Tahoe World
 Top to bottom: Jan Haemmig of Nevada City inside Cyclepaths listens to Matthew Freemont explain the details of this sub 21 pound bike; Cyclepaths has only had a handul of the bikes and they have been a big hit, selling quickly. Derailleur to drool over. Freemont poses with another bike in the store. A Trek frame.
Paco Lindsay, owner of Paco's with a Specialized S-Works tarmak and a trek 2.1. A Specialized S-Works frame. Dave Greer, an 18 year employee at Paco's fine tunes a Sepcialized S-Works Tarmak while getting it ready for the sales floor. Paco LIndsay shows an old helmet that may have saved his life from a wreck he was in several weeks ago. The Sidi Genius shoes in mens and womens at Paco's.
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Last Updated ( Friday, 07 July 2006 )
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