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Bike Comparison Tool

06.12.2011 by Ray Niekamp // 10 Comments

If you’re shopping for a new bike, the choices can be overwhelming. Even knowledgeable bikers can get tangled up trying to call up different bike manufacturers’ websites. There always seems to be one nifty model that gets missed — and it might have been just the one you were looking for.

There is a tool that can help. It’s a website called “Find the Best,” which describes itself as “an objective, socially curated comparison engine that allows you to find a topic, compare your options and decide what’s best for you.” It’s not solely limited to bicycle comparisons — you can compare all manner of things, from universities, to laptop computers, to investments. So I was somewhat skeptical when I clicked on the link to their road bike tool.

Just a sample of the comparison page for entry-level bikes.

I was pleasantly surprised. Users can customize their search to match some broad criteria. Under road bikes, you can search for “Racing,” “Sport,” “Entry-level,” “Triathlon/TT,” “Track,” “Fixie/Single Speed,” “Touring/Commuting,” “Women’s,” and “Kids.” Let’s say you want to compare entry-level road bikes. You can specify frame material — carbon, steel, or aluminum. You can limit the price range, the gearing, the manufacturer — and even limit the finds to those top-rated by either Bicycling magazine or Bike Radar, the British biking website.

If we limit the entry-level price to a top of $2,000, the tool still turns up 53 different makes and models. From there, you can select specific models and run a comparison on them — similar to the kind of comparison available on some bike retailers’ websites. The difference is that on those sites, you’re stuck with just the brands the store carries. Here, you’ve got them all.

I’m not in the market for a new bike now, but it’s still a fun way to kill a little time late in the evening. You can find the road bike comparison tool at http://road-bikes.findthebest.com/. Oh, and if you’re interested in mountain bikes, there’s a tool for those, too: http://mountain-bikes.findthebest.com/

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Categories // Bikes, Review Tags // Bikes, Review

One Reader’s Rivendell – Guest Post

05.15.2011 by Ray Niekamp // 2 Comments

Mel Hughes

Back in March, I wrote about Rivendell Bicycle Works, and their different approach to building bikes. Bike Noob reader Mel Hughes, who comments here occasionally, recently pulled the trigger and ordered one. He went for the A. Homer Hilsen model, their top-of-the-line bike. In this guest post, Mel gives his impressions of owning and riding a Rivendell.

When I started thinking about doing more with my bicycling than just training, I started looking for a bike that would be comfortable to ride but versatile. I wanted a more upright position, more braze-ons for accessories, and wheel and tire combinations that did more than just roll fast. I wanted a bike I could use as a daily commuter for my 20 mile round trip to work. But I also wanted a bike that would also work well for long weekend rides. The more I looked around and read, the more I kept coming back to Rivendell.

Rivendell’s approach to frame sizing is a bit different. They use pubic bone height (PBH) as a starting place. Using this measurement generally puts people on a bike an inch or more taller than they had been riding before. The stand-over clearance is narrower. But the increased height allows an overall more upright position (if desired.) The frame is also built to easily allow using wider, fatter tires, fenders, racks, and even a kickstand. The frames are steel, joined with brazed lugs. The front forks are traditional, lugged crown forks.

If this sounds like a formula for a touring bike of the late 1970’s or early 1980’s, it does have that lineage. But a closer look at the head tube and some of the other frame conventions will show that Grant Petersen has taken those ideas and used the best of them only as a starting point. Rivendell frames are currently made by Waterford for Rivendell, here in the U.S.

Mel’s A. Homer Hilsen. Click to enlarge.

I ordered a Rivendell A. Homer Hilsen this past January. The bike was delivered mid-April. I have had some good opportunities to ride in between the crazy weather we have had this spring in Tennessee. The 33mm tires run at 85psi smooth out the harshest cracked pavement we have. I placed my handlebars just above the seat height and have to report that my lower back pain has almost completely disappeared. The Dura-Ace bar-end shifters run the 9-speed cassette and triple ring crank flawlessly using a Campy front derailleur and a Shimano Deore XT rear. While the 36 spoke Velocity Synergy rims will never win a weight contest, they are extremely durable. The rear rim is off-set so that there is a minimal amount of dish on the cassette side. This allows spoke tensions on either side to be much closer to each other, making for a stronger wheel. The Phil Woods hubs are more than bike jewelry. Their bearings are like silk!

I have been riding using MKS touring pedals. They allow me to wear sneakers when commuting to work. They also remove any question about clearing my foot from the pedal in an emergency. My knees have also been very happy with them. In truth, I haven’t missed my clipless pedals. It also promotes just hopping on the bike for a quick run up the road anytime.

All in all, I love this bike! It is beautifully made, reminding me of bikes I used to dream about years ago. It is very well thought out, classically designed, and wonderfully executed. It rides like a dream. I am a couple of miles an hour slower than on the more race/speed oriented Litespeed. But I find I am much more comfortable. I have had more fun than should be allowed dressing it up a bit with racks, bells, leather bar tape and other things. Rivendells aren’t everyones’ cup of tea. But if you are looking for a bicycle that can do many, many things very well, they might just have a model that has your name on it.

For more pictures of Mel’s bike, go to his Flickr page.

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Categories // Bikes, guest post Tags // Bikes, guest post, steel

From Mountain to Road

05.01.2011 by Ray Niekamp // 2 Comments

I got up too late to make the Sunday morning club ride today (Which was pretty eventful – details farther down), so I decided to stick close to home and do a neighborhood route that wound me up at the Veloway.

And who should I see there but Mike Watts, a regular commenter on this blog under the nom de guerre “Sine Botchen.” I’ve enjoyed his input, because it comes from the point of view of a long-time mountain biker, who seemed to feel at home on a blog that caters primarily to roadies. We’ve met on the Veloway before, and he was able to easily outpace me on his 29-inch MTB.

So I was pleasantly surprised  to see a Tweet from Mike that he’d bought a road bike. He’s had it for a few weeks now. We decided to ride a few laps together.

Mike Watts with his new road rig.

The bike is a Fuji SL-1 Pro with a Shimano Ultegra drivetrain. It’s a carbon fiber frame, and he says he’s amazed at the quality of the ride. But it does take some getting used to, after 20 years on a mountain bike. He’s bothered about battling the wind we’ve had to put up with around here for the last two-plus months.

The lightness of the bike and the different riding position (hands out over the front wheel, a more vertical fork) makes the bike “twitchy,” says Mike. Going into a corner and getting buffeted by a crosswind is a feeling he’s not used to yet. He’s confined his riding to the Veloway, because he’s a little uneasy about riding in traffic on highways with a stiff wind.

“Why did you decide to get a road bike?” I asked.

“The guys I used to mountain bike with have all moved on in their lives,” he replied. He found himself riding almost solely on the Veloway, which is a smooth, paved track. “I realized the mountain bike was not the right tool for the job,” he said.

“So what’s the biggest difference between riding a mountain bike and a road bike?” I wanted to know.

“You know, I thought it would be the lack of suspension,” he said. “But that turned out to be the least different thing.” The big difference, he said, is how subtle the road bike is when responding to the pavement.

He had a few questions for me. “How do you loosen the brakes?” he asked, “if I want to get a wheel off?”

I showed him the quick release for the brakes.

“I got an owner’s manual with the bike,” he said, “but it was full of basic stuff like ‘Always wear a helmet’ — lawyer protection stuff. Nothing about operating and maintaining the bike.”

I’ve got some time off coming up, and we agreed we’d get together again and this time take his bike out on the roads. I’ve got some area routes in mind that will really show him what his road bike can do. In the meantime, though, he said he’d keep riding four days a week — and finish making the transition from mountain biker to roadie.

————

Like most bike blogs, Bike Noob has dealt with the issue of dogs before. But today really put that issue into perspective.

The Sunday morning club ride headed out to Creedmoor, a crossroads southeast of Austin. I had planned to ride with them for the first time in months, but couldn’t get my act together in time to make the start.

About 12 miles into the ride, a small terrier of some kind got loose and rushed at the group, targeting the two lead riders. It hit one bike broadside, knocking him over, and careened into the second bike, taking it down as well. The other riders missed the pileup, but at least one ran over the dog, who limped away, badly hurt.

An ambulance came for the two downed riders. Both were in considerable pain. It turned out both had fractured pelvises and are spending the night in the hospital (one of them happens to be an emergency room physician at that same hospital).

Police ticketed the dog’s owner for an unrestrained dog. Neighbors said the dog is always running loose. Mrs. Noob says I should confine my riding to the Veloway from here on out.

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Categories // Bikes, crash, People Tags // Bikes, dogs

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