Article: Top 10 game-changing road bikes (of all time!!!)

[malbecman]

I'm sure we can argue if any of the entries on this list have merit but, regardless, it's an interesting read. I had never seen a video of the original Campy Cambio rear der. and how it operated:

http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/tech/the-top-10-game-changing-road-bikes-172711


Discuss amongst yourselves and enjoy!

[MattTuck]

I have to admit, I clicked on it, I haven't read it yet, because I had to come back here. The first image shows spinergy wheels. So I'm fairly skeptical already.

:p

[unterhausen]

the Raleigh Team Pro doesn't exactly land on anyone else's list of important bikes. There were hundreds of bikes that were exactly like them and probably most of those were built by better craftsmen

[sandyrs]

I have to admit, I clicked on it, I haven't read it yet, because I had to come back here. The first image shows spinergy wheels. So I'm fairly skeptical already.

:p

Purely incidental, focus on Cipo's hair... never has more of a game-changer graced the start line of a Grand Tour.

[bikinchris]

The Raleigh 753 team pro bike was one of the finest bicycles ever made. It did win the 1980 Tour as a 531 frameset under Joop Zoetemelk.

A Vitus 979 might be technically a stepping stone, but I think the Klein bicycle was a bigger step. Unfortunately it was never raced in le Tour. So maybe the poor design steal from Cdale should get noted instead as far as racing.

[sandyrs]

Alright, I've read the article.

Most of these are plausible, but the Venge? What?

[fa63]

Alright, I've read the article.

Most of these are plausible, but the Venge? What?

My thoughts exactly. Specialized must have paid them a few bucks?

[ik2280]

Alright, I've read the article.

Most of these are plausible, but the Venge? What?

My best guess is that the author was looking to include something contemporary, so that's how the Venge ended up on the list.

[thirdgenbird]

No c40?

My best guess is that the author was looking to include something contemporary, so that's how the Venge ended up on the list.

If that was the angle, I would have voted dogma.

[sandyrs]

My best guess is that the author was looking to include something contemporary, so that's how the Venge ended up on the list.

I can't believe I'm saying this but I would have included a disc brake road bike of some sort.

[don compton]

To me game changing would be clip less pedals, aero bars, aero wheels for time trial bikes. While I never raced, my meager experience has led me to think that a couple of pounds of total weight is not that significant. And, drugging aside, better training along with specialization have had a more significant effect.

[peanutgallery]

What about ti? Litespeed and merlins were ridden by many for a while, painted in team livery. missing that classic 80s/early 90s steel?

Never understood the 979 vitus either, terrible bikes. We would glue the seat stays back together and use a toe strap for some extra strength to hold everything. Flexy and terrible angles, bad bikes

[nooneline]

I can't believe I'm saying this but I would have included a disc brake road bike of some sort.

why? the game hasn't changed yet.

I think the tricky thing about this list, while it's not terrible, is the fact that whole bikes are rarely game-changers. Smaller parts are, like don compton said - clipless pedals, aero bars, etc.

it's also hard to tell sometimes what truly does and does not change the game.

[oliver1850]

Was just reading Sean Kelly's comments about the Vitus. He still likes it, and seems to think the weight of the bike was a significant advantage. I've never ridden one, but I've mostly heard "noodle" from those who have. Kelly says, "They did get flexy after a while compared to steel frames, so I used to change them regularly". Perhaps he was twisting them enough to break the tube/lug bonds.

[velomonkey]

Alright, I've read the article.

Most of these are plausible, but the Venge? What?

OK, the TCR - just cause it was sloping. MTBs had been doing sloping for years prior - that was more of a celebration of the sloping TT than the bike as the TCR wasn't anything special.

Trek OCLV - really? The Kestrel EMS was years ahead and the C40 was what finally settled carbon once and for all going 1, 2, 3 in Roubaix. OCLV was more about the rider, Lance, than the bike.

The Soloist - really? Top ten? Ever? Not sure there, but OK.

And then as stated above, the Venge?!?!?!?

[likebikes]

great list. hits all the high notes for sure.

[nooneline]

I don't know why the Venge is so unbelievable to many commenters in this thread. It really ushered in the era of aero mass-start bikes. There were a few before, and obviously there were aerodynamic considerations, but as I recall it (feel free to correct me if I'm wrong), the Venge was both the first (or an early) mass-start bike that seemed designed head-to-toe with aerodynamic considerations, and also the most successful - after its victory in its debut race (Goss, MSR2011), it set off a chain reaction of other companies looking to match its advantages.

You might not like it, or the trend, but it's had an impact.

[sandyrs]

I don't know why the Venge is so unbelievable to many commenters in this thread. It really ushered in the era of aero mass-start bikes. There were a few before, and obviously there were aerodynamic considerations, but as I recall it (feel free to correct me if I'm wrong), the Venge was both the first (or an early) mass-start bike that seemed designed head-to-toe with aerodynamic considerations, and also the most successful - after its victory in its debut race (Goss, MSR2011), it set off a chain reaction of other companies looking to match its advantages.

You might not like it, or the trend, but it's had an impact.

I think Cervelo can pretty firmly claim they were the first to do pure "aero road," with even the S2 coming out well before the Venge. I don't doubt that the Venge is a great bike (most high end carbon these days is, by most accounts), I was just sort of taken aback to see it among the other bikes on that list.

[thirdgenbird]

Yeah, there were aero bikes in history, but the soloist was really the one that brought them into mass start races in the modern era. Between this, and how well it did in an era dominated by carbon makes it worth of the list in my opinion.

The venge? It's just an example of the big three joining in. Not much more.

[nooneline]

Yeah, there were aero bikes in history, but the soloist was really the one that brought them into mass start races in the modern era. Between this, and how well it did in an era dominated by carbon makes it worth of the list in my opinion.

The venge? It's just an example of the big three joining in. Not much more.

Hmm, that's a good point.
Although I guess in addition to saying that it's just one of the big three joining in, you could also call it the tipping point of aero dominance. Before, mostly just the Soloist. After - many many companies.

[thirdgenbird]

Hmm, that's a good point.
Although I guess in addition to saying that it's just one of the big three joining in, you could also call it the tipping point of aero dominance. Before, mostly just the Soloist. After - many many companies.

But they joined in because cervelo. The soloist and s2 were the tipping point. Cervelo was winning races with a "heavy" alloy frame when others were pushing the limits of light weight.

[velomonkey]

Hmm, that's a good point.
Although I guess in addition to saying that it's just one of the big three joining in, you could also call it the tipping point of aero dominance. Before, mostly just the Soloist. After - many many companies.

The Soloist was ahead by almost a decade and then they came out with the Red carbon one - I can't recall the name. A top ten list, in my view, should include one aero bike, not two - the Venge wasn't so much different or better or successful and BMC had theirs out at about the same time.

I'm not sure there is aero frame dominance (like there is with wheels) - there are frame makers saying "now with Aero" or making them look aero (my merckx san remo is aero-looking).

[weisan]

http://www.toysrus.com/graphics/product_images/pTRU1-18357801enh-z6.jpg

[weisan]

http://clunkers.net/alan_repack1.jpg

[weisan]

http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/download/file.php?id=165598

[weisan]

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c0/Graeme_obree.jpg

[djg21]

I have to admit, I clicked on it, I haven't read it yet, because I had to come back here. The first image shows spinergy wheels. So I'm fairly skeptical already.

:p

Spinergys we're sort of a game changer. They really were the first reasonably-priced production aero wheels suitable for mass start events (maybe not in retrospect). They were everywhere in the early 90s. But these are wheels, and not bikes.

I'd add Merlin and Litespeed to the list. These were the first two companies to really break into the market with Ti frames in the late 80s. Lemond showed up at the Tour with a rebranded Merlin Extralight for the climbing stages in 1991 if I recall correctly, and Pharmstrong later used a repainted Litespeed.

I can't ID a specific frame or brand, but I'd also add the first frames built from oversized steel tubing.

[buddybikes]

Game changers: Ritchey, Fisher, Joe Breeze mountain biking.

[bcroslin]

All I can say about the venge is that there were lots of them on the road 2 years ago and now there's very few. I still see lots of Cervelo S2's and S5's though. The venge was one of the last aero bikes to the party.

[martl]

2 mistakes in the first 2 sentences of the article isn't really promising.

-the cambio corsa patent dates back to 1933, a friend of mine owns a bike from, i belive, 1936 or 37 with a very early version, flip-hubs were used with as many as 4 gears, 2 each side, and there were a number of other and better models of gear changers available --

so i just flipped through the rest of the article. Too much "new" stuff in there with some real innovations missing. I'd have expected the Alan (first alloy frame widely used),and the Klein Quantum used by Once as the harbinger of oversized welded alloy.

[ik2280]

All I can say about the venge is that there were lots of them on the road 2 years ago and now there's very few. I still see lots of Cervelo S2's and S5's though. The venge was one of the last aero bikes to the party.

Yeah, a lot of people I know think the Venge does not ride very well.

[Aaron O]

OK, the TCR - just cause it was sloping. MTBs had been doing sloping for years prior - that was more of a celebration of the sloping TT than the bike as the TCR wasn't anything special.

Trek OCLV - really? The Kestrel EMS was years ahead and the C40 was what finally settled carbon once and for all going 1, 2, 3 in Roubaix. OCLV was more about the rider, Lance, than the bike.

The Soloist - really? Top ten? Ever? Not sure there, but OK.

And then as stated above, the Venge?!?!?!?

Can't believe the Cinelli SC was overlooked...the article skipped from 1948 to 1980?? I like Ti Raleighs as much as the next vintage nerd, but more influential than the cinelli sc?

We could all debate some of this forever, but I'd say the graftek and teledyne should have been considered. I agree with Merlin.

[texbike]

IMO, the only thing "Game-Changing" on this entire list is the Cambio Corsa and it wasn't a bike; it was a component/mechanism.

Everything else cited was nothing more than a refinement of other designs or the same, essential design packaged differently. The only bike on the list that I *might* give a nod to is the Trek OCLV. It was perhaps game-changing in that it helped carbon fiber bikes to be readily accepted by the mainstream public.

Texbike

[martl]

IMO, the only thing "Game-Changing" on this entire list is the Cambio Corsa and it wasn't a bike; it was a component/mechanism.

Wouldn't really say so. There were gear shifting mechanisms before it, which are way closer to what we use today. From todays point of view, a CC started with a completely wrong assumption - that having the chain running around one or more pulleys would affect efficiency. The way the CC was designed around that problem is beautiful in its inherent madness, but still one of the major misdesigns in bike history.

On comparison, an Osgear (which was earlier) had a chain tensioner, was cable operated by a downtube lever and was even indexed. Even the ancestor of todays derailleurs were already invented and in use.

A Cambio corsa is a beautifully complicated solution for a problem that was already solved in a much easier way.


i'd say, in that list, the OCR was the most influential design, it implemented features not seen on any race bike before, and its DNA can still be seen in most of todays designs.

i'd hav the OCLV in such a list as well as it was the benchmark for light and stiff CFK frames for a decade, when other renowned brands gave us crap like the Corima Cougar, which outweighed a 10 year old SLX with C-Record, or the infamous Pinarello Parigi that flew better than it rode.

[Grant McLean]

Totally obvious gaff - missing a Colnago C40.
It paved the way to complete the transition from Alu to Carbon.

http://colnago.puntografico.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/1996-824x549.jpg
http://d7ab823tjbf2qywyt3grgq63.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/readers/frank/2011.10.24.18.35.00/Michele_Bartoli.jpg

[martl]

The C40 did nothing ground-breaking that hadn't been seen before, but alone the fact that it stuck around the pro peloton for so long in an era of fast model cycles should have earned i a place, i agree. For example, Team "Jean Delatour" started the 2003 season on one cutting edge super lightweight Scandium frame ( i have one and it weighs in at 920g while being perfectly well rideable) and switched to the CR1 (worlds lightest production frame at that time at 890g and still competitive today) in mid-season.

[Waldo]

Snip:

With all due credit to The Tubes, "White Punks on Dope."
Totally obvious gaff - missing a Colnago C40.
It paved the way to complete the transition from Alu to Carbon.

http://colnago.puntografico.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/1996-824x549.jpg

[texbike]

Wouldn't really say so. There were gear shifting mechanisms before it, which are way closer to what we use today. From todays point of view, a CC started with a completely wrong assumption - that having the chain running around one or more pulleys would affect efficiency. The way the CC was designed around that problem is beautiful in its inherent madness, but still one of the major misdesigns in bike history.

On comparison, an Osgear (which was earlier) had a chain tensioner, was cable operated by a downtube lever and was even indexed. Even the ancestor of todays derailleurs were already invented and in use.

A Cambio corsa is a beautifully complicated solution for a problem that was already solved in a much easier way.


Great perspective. Thank you!

Texbike

[Grant McLean]

The C40 did nothing ground-breaking that hadn't been seen before.

I guess we have different definitions of ground breaking.
Creating the first carbon bike that was actually race worthy
Makes it qualify IMHO. Putting oneself back in 1992, most
traditionalists considered carbon not ready for prime time,
until the c40 proved otherwise, over and over. Keep in mind,
the Tour wouldn't be won on carbon for another 7 years.

Also, calling the rockshox at Roubaix groundbreaking is a bit of a
Misnomer, it was a flash in the pan, never changed the technology
landscape.

[LegendRider]

Yeah, a lot of people I know think the Venge does not ride very well.

If you are a member of the Facebook group Online Swap Meet you'l likely notice an inordinate number of Venges for sale.

[gmcampy]

I'm sure we can argue if any of the entries on this list have merit but, regardless, it's an interesting read. I had never seen a video of the original Campy Cambio rear der. and how it operated:

http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/tech/the-top-10-game-changing-road-bikes-172711


Discuss amongst yourselves and enjoy!

Still riding a Giant Alum "Once" TCR frame in Record 9 speed as my Go-To bike :)

[JeffS]

I don't know why the Venge is so unbelievable to many commenters in this thread. It really ushered in the era of aero mass-start bikes. There were a few before, and obviously there were aerodynamic considerations, but as I recall it (feel free to correct me if I'm wrong), the Venge was both the first (or an early) mass-start bike that seemed designed head-to-toe with aerodynamic considerations, and also the most successful - after its victory in its debut race (Goss, MSR2011), it set off a chain reaction of other companies looking to match its advantages.

You might not like it, or the trend, but it's had an impact.

Maybe, but they didn't choose the Venge...

They chose that dumbass McLauren co-brand which nobody actually rides.
Like if you chose the Ferarri C40 instead of just the C40.

I tend to think that Cervelo changed that particular game anyway, but whatever.

[dyerwolf]

Not exactly a bike but why no big wheels love? I venture that was many of our first road "bikes". I doubt anything else comes close to the thrills of riding a big wheels for the starting generation.