Bradford
02-25-2018, 09:54 AM
I’m old and getting older every day. Right around age 45, with two small kids, a demanding job, and declining time to put in big days on the bike, I started to think I would prefer something halfway between my touring bike and my Legend. I took too long to do something about it, but then a Club Racer come up in the classifieds and it fit the bill exactly. Now, after enough time on the bike is have an informed opinion, I can conclude that I was right.
Last year, I picked up the steel Club Racer from mistermo, a true gentleman of the Forum. From that point on, most of my riding when home was on the Club Racer. With enough time on the Club Racer under my belt, and with 14 years of so of riding on the Legend, I decided to do a one on one test to see the differences. The bikes have the same wheels and components on them, including same saddle, bars, etc. The only differences are geometry and the Club Racer has GP4000 28’s on it (measure 32 on my spud-built Archetypes) and the Legend has 25’s on it (measure about 27). The Club Racer is also 2 pounds heavier. The test ride is a 17 mile loop, 1,500 feet of climbing, 2/3 pavement and 1/3 packed dirt, and two 45 mph downhills.
The results are as follows:
Club Racer: More enjoyable to ride by far, more comfortable (it feels like it hovers over the ground), much more stable at 45 mph, and when I’m done with the ride, I’m much more likely to tell my wife I had a great ride.
Serotta Legend: It is faster…much faster. Taking an average of rides on both bikes, the Legend is 9.5% faster. And not just because the bike is faster, the bike encourages me to ride much more aggressively. I stand and hammer more, I push uphill more, and I coast less.
The reality is that my riding needs are now more often met by ¾ intensity rides by myself than hammering with the boys. I suspect that a lot of us, as we age and our life changes, would be equally rewarded with a similar bike. A Club Racer, a Strada Bianca, or perhaps something custom built. I really couldn’t be happier with the renaissance in my riding brought new bike with mid geometry and fat tires.
I enjoy riding the Club Racer more, but I still love the legend, so the Legend is sticking around. The size and style is exactly what Clean93T is looking for, but I’m holding on to it because A) sometimes I ride with a group and I want to have a fast(er) option, and B) hammering is fun sometimes, especially on a nice, warm summer day. I haven’t figured which bike I’ll take for long climbing days in the foothills and mountains, so suspect that have some more tests to do when the weather warms. In addition, I could barely hang on Tiretrax’s wheel when we did Ride the Rockies two years ago, I wouldn’t want to be 10% slower and have to see him get smaller in the distance every day. However, I think the Club Racer will get 9 out of 10 rides over the course of the year. I don’t think that would be the right option for aggressive and competitive riders, but I’m past those days now. I’m very lucky to have such choices.
Last year, I picked up the steel Club Racer from mistermo, a true gentleman of the Forum. From that point on, most of my riding when home was on the Club Racer. With enough time on the Club Racer under my belt, and with 14 years of so of riding on the Legend, I decided to do a one on one test to see the differences. The bikes have the same wheels and components on them, including same saddle, bars, etc. The only differences are geometry and the Club Racer has GP4000 28’s on it (measure 32 on my spud-built Archetypes) and the Legend has 25’s on it (measure about 27). The Club Racer is also 2 pounds heavier. The test ride is a 17 mile loop, 1,500 feet of climbing, 2/3 pavement and 1/3 packed dirt, and two 45 mph downhills.
The results are as follows:
Club Racer: More enjoyable to ride by far, more comfortable (it feels like it hovers over the ground), much more stable at 45 mph, and when I’m done with the ride, I’m much more likely to tell my wife I had a great ride.
Serotta Legend: It is faster…much faster. Taking an average of rides on both bikes, the Legend is 9.5% faster. And not just because the bike is faster, the bike encourages me to ride much more aggressively. I stand and hammer more, I push uphill more, and I coast less.
The reality is that my riding needs are now more often met by ¾ intensity rides by myself than hammering with the boys. I suspect that a lot of us, as we age and our life changes, would be equally rewarded with a similar bike. A Club Racer, a Strada Bianca, or perhaps something custom built. I really couldn’t be happier with the renaissance in my riding brought new bike with mid geometry and fat tires.
I enjoy riding the Club Racer more, but I still love the legend, so the Legend is sticking around. The size and style is exactly what Clean93T is looking for, but I’m holding on to it because A) sometimes I ride with a group and I want to have a fast(er) option, and B) hammering is fun sometimes, especially on a nice, warm summer day. I haven’t figured which bike I’ll take for long climbing days in the foothills and mountains, so suspect that have some more tests to do when the weather warms. In addition, I could barely hang on Tiretrax’s wheel when we did Ride the Rockies two years ago, I wouldn’t want to be 10% slower and have to see him get smaller in the distance every day. However, I think the Club Racer will get 9 out of 10 rides over the course of the year. I don’t think that would be the right option for aggressive and competitive riders, but I’m past those days now. I’m very lucky to have such choices.