For me (and I'm no expert), I feel like most of the ride qualities is based on the geometry, more so the differences in the carbon usage and/or design.
Time VXR has a steeper HTA and slacker STA which I happen to prefer. It also has a very tight rear end and so it seems to respond quicker to accelerations. When I first road this, I thought the back end was going to be too stiff, but I haven't found that to be the case at all. It really does handle the best (IMHO) of the three. The only downside it is a hair bigger than what I would call my perfect size.
The C-50 has a slack HTA with a 43mm offset fork which makes for some interesting trail numbers. Honestly, when I first rode this I did not like the way the front end handled. I have gotten used to this and it's super stable at faster speeds, but it still isn't my preferred geometry configuration. The size is perfect and I love the look of it. It doesn't seem as quite snappy as the VXR, but responds quick enough when you mash on the pedals.
Finally the Look 585 Ultra. I was actually helping a friend find a bike and he was looking at the 585/595 and I really didn't know much about them and started reading what I could to give him an informed opinion. The more I read, the more I wanted to give this bike a try. So when one popped up on the forum I decided to go for it. I built this up for climbing in the mountains of North Georgia and I must say it performed wonderfully. I was a bit nervous taking an unknown quantity to descend down the mountains at 40+ mph, but I had no problems at all. It has a slightly slacker HTA (73 deg) and uses a 43mm offset fork when a lot of bikes with this HTA use a 45mm offset. It also climbs nicely and feels very efficient so that most of your power is pushing you forward. I went with a medium which has a 54.5mm effective top tube length and it's the shortest one I own, but it too fits very nicely.
One negative for both the C-50 and 585 is the steepish STA which force me to push my saddle most of the way back (I have longish femurs) and I wouldn't mind finding a seatpost with more offset, although the C-50 uses a non-standard seatpost size of 28.0mm.
In summary, my opinion strictly based on the ride & handling is that the VXR > 585 Ultra > C-50. But you know what they say about opinions
Let me know if you have any other questions.
03-06-2018, 11:05 AM
🏻*
Linear Mode
