Anti-Carbonites "Load your weapons!"

[EdK]

I have long been a charter member of the I hate all carbon bikes club. I know many memembers frequent this forum. From the late 80's when I broke 7 of a certain domestic carbon frame in one year (team was sponsored) to this year when I was fortunate (or not) to have the joy of being sponsored by a certain (large) Tawainese carbon bike manufacturer (broke it as well). I have ridden dozens of carbon bikes in fact actually bought a Calfee (the only one I liked BTW) for the most part though I really never liked the things dead ride, poor fitting choices, the list goes on and on.
I am sitting in front of a large bowl of crow. "yum" Had the oppertunity today to ride a BMC team SLT for about 50 miles. I know I know a look only a mother could love BUT it is the best riding carbon bike I have ever ridden. Laterally stiff but somehow they took away the dead feeling in the frame and even added a bit of spring. I would compare it to the Merckx MXM I road a few months ago but much lighter. It has nice manners and is very stable. Needless to say I was surprised. I came home and had to take my Ottrott for a spin just to make sure I hadn't lost my mind. Not certain how long it would last (under me) it is way expensive for a glued plastic Taiwanese bike but darn if it didn't ride nice. Maybe Swiss engineering is actually part of the design process?????

[Marron]

I stopped at a rural Starbucks on Sunday (yup, we have rural Starbucks here in Seattle) and saw a pretty big BMC leaning against the wall outside. The owner was sitting at a table nearby and when I complimented him on the bike he said it was the best riding bike he'd ever owned. The funny thing was the color scheme, a dark red and blue. I would have thought everyone would have gone for Phonak team colors.

[Climb01742]

on sunday, rode with a guy for awhile who was on a BMC. first one i'd seen. he said he loved it. but damn, it was butt ugly. :p

[dharleyd]

have any of you ottrott riders ridden a time vxrs carbon frame? had the opportunity to ride for a day and compare to the colnago ti ovalmaster. my vote is for the time.
thanks

[11.4]

I've owned several Serottas of all flavors and recently bought a BMC. I have to say, I love it. Stiffer than anything short of a sprint track frame, yet more comfortable than any other bike I own. So many smart points to it. Looks grow on you, just like with DA 10. And it's pretty damned affordable, too.

I've only run into a couple issues: The internal derailleur cables do better if they cross inside the down-tube (i.e., cable housing goes from the left shift lever to the right cable adjuster stop on the frame, and then crosses back inside the down-tube). The bolt-on rear derailleur hangar doesn't quite fit the alloy stay-end without filing off just a bit of paint and metal on the stay-end. And perhaps most significantly (a la Trek), if you derail a chain off your small chainring, it doesn't fall down to the bottom bracket (at least with DA 10). It hangs up on the top of the bottom bracket lug (where the very wide down tube inserts) and then gets grabbed by the crank spider and pushed into the carbon tube. I added one of those cyclocross chain guards, but I'm going to epoxy on a metal strip to keep the chain from injuring the carbon. Small point, but the bottom bracket lug could have had an extension on the down-tube lug to handle this.

These are nits. I'd buy another one in a heartbeat. And Easton has really got its act together with its seat posts, new Equipe bars, and its forks. They are durable, effective, and by far set the standard for carbon parts. It's about time, but I'm glad they're there.

[Climb01742]

11.4--just out of curiousity, what prompted you to try the BMC?

[11.4]

Climb,

My sponsoring shop got one in. I was changing down in bike size anyway, tried it out, loved it. Everyone in the store loved it, the owner loved it, and they're selling well. I've got a retro Confente/Richard Sachs kind of aesthetic, but I actually have grown to like the looks. And I love the ride. I used to knock carbon for its feel, but this bike has the responsiveness/stiffness of a great steel bike with better comfort than my Legends.

[Climb01742]

11.4--the looks are odd, shall we say. to be more comfy than a ti frame is praise indeed.