I finally have a road bike

[darxus]

Ten years ago I bought Specialized Rockhopper mountain bike, because I wanted a bike that could withstand anything. Then I mostly used it on the street, and hated how inefficient it felt.

So I finally fixed that problem.

2013 Specialized Allez Compact

Kryptonite evolution 4 mini-9 lock

Cat Eye EL-135 headlight and TL-LD130R tail light set.

Comments

[perspicuity.livejournal.com]

does the Allez have road centric gearing? hard to tell from the url; or perhaps other road centric things? how is it more efficient?

on my steel frame mtn bike, i "fixed" the street issue by bumping up the big chain ring a few teeth. worked well enough.

now that i have a dedicated mtn bike, AND the space, Winter project is to get the old thing back on the road, put appropriate slicks on it, and enjoy the nice touring frame goodness it was based on.

i've been eyeing more modern mtn bikes though. like better brakes, and perhaps a better feel (hard to define). the flip side is that i can have the shocks on current bike sent out to be rebuilt for low money. or buy a new shock.

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[darxus.livejournal.com]

Probably mostly the tires. Never got around to putting slicks on my mountain bike, and wanted to just get a bike dedicated to what I actually want to do. And don't mind having more than one. Also, I think any front shock makes it less efficient.

[perspicuity.livejournal.com]

my understanding is that front shocks lessen efficiency for hill climbing esp...

but the very good new shocks (a reason for me to upgrade, as i've rebuilt mine one too many times and lost this feature): can be easily set for various conditions, and some also have a lockout, making them rigid, for up hills.

still, the very best solution is to not have a shock at all.

road tires tend to also be thinner, and lighter, so you win there too.

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