I had a pretty nice 14 mile ride on the Madone yesterday. On Foothill, I had a rollerblader drafting me for a few miles while I was going 25 mph. I thought I was hearing the wind whistling through my helmet, but it was actually the swishing sound of his rollerblades on the pavement. He said he was doing 20 miles, and he thanked me for the pull on the gradual uphill. On the uphill from Elena to Altamont in Los Altos Hills, I was very impressed by the smooth shifts on the lowest and second to lowest gears. I still have to use the lowest gear on the steepest parts, but I feel a lot faster. My left Time ATAC pedal was creaking a bit, so I think I’ll be looking at new road pedals soon. On the tight turns down to Foothill College, the bike felt very composed, but I was blown away on the downhill by a club team. I just don’t have the confidence or desire to go very fast on road downhills. After the ride and this morning, I feel a lot less beat up than when I’ve ridden my aluminum Specialized Allez Comp. I’m already thinking of lighter wheels, new pedals and a compact crank for my new bike – bwahahahhaha.

I test rode the Trek Madone SL 5.2 and Madone SL 5.9 at The Bicycle Outfitter yesterday, and I decided to purchase the Madone SL 5.2. I was fortunate that they had my size of 50 cm with both bikes. I first rode the Madone SL 5.2, and I was pretty impressed by the smoothness of the ride, especially over small bumps and manhole covers. The bike fit very well in terms of the fore-aft position and the width of the handlebars (I also tried the Specialized Roubaix Pro and the handlebars on that bike just felt too wide and fat). The bike climbed well and descended in a very easy to control matter. I had to try out the Madone SL 5.9 because it had Dura Ace instead of Ultegra, carbon goodies such as the stem and handlebar, lighter wheels, and a prettier paint job. Although the Madone SL 5.9 could definitely accelerate better up a hill and the upshifts in the rear derailleur felt more precise, I didn’t think it was worth the price difference, and I decided on the Madone SL 5.2. I’m having a wireless Shimano Flight Deck put on the bike today, and I look forward to riding the bike this week. My first road bike was a Trek 2100 purchased in the early 90s which had carbon fiber main tubes and aluminum rear stays. I regret selling that bike since it had a very nice ride, and it’s interesting to see how much Treks have changed in 15 years. I was looking for a new bike since my Specialized Allez Comp felt stiff and the top tube was too short. I was very impressed by the friendliness and knowledge of the staff that helped me, and I hope to do more business with the store in the future.

I’ve been looking at a new road bike, and it’s amazing how low the weights are for carbon fiber bike frames. For titanium, the Seven Axiom is already a light frame at 3 pounds and the Alta is 2.5 pounds, but the Giant Formula One Composite frame in the small size (the size I would probably purchase) is 865 grams or 1.90 pounds. It appears most of the manufacturers now have readily available frames which hover around 2 pounds or less. In the Tour de France, the dominance of carbon fiber is shown by the fact that I think every bike in the peloton is carbon fiber. I’m particulary interested in the Giant road frames since I see so many Trek OCLV frames out here. A custom Seven would be nice, but in terms of bang for the buck and the positive reviews I’ve read, I’ll have to go try out a Giant composite road frame. Another reason is that I miss my Trek 2100 which had carbon fiber main tubes, an aluminum rear triangle and aluminum lugs, so I’ve had a positive experience with carbon fiber. The Specialized Allez Comp I have right now has a top tube which is too short for me and a very stiff ride.

One thing that will be interesting to me is that almost all the road bikes have a 53 tooth large chain ring which I think may be a little big for some riders. I’ve been pretty happy with my 48 tooth large chain ring on my Bianchi Axis, but that’s on a cross/touring bike with 35 mm tires, so it’s going to have a lot more rolling resistance than a road bike with 23 or 25 mm tires.