If you were building a “go fast” metal road bike...

[robt57]

Way to bring a machete to a knife fight!!

Originally Posted by teleguy57

I tilted slightly to the all-road side of things in ti. Chose discs as I'm a bigger guy and I have had some times in the mountains where my hands wanted more braking help. Ti was, well, just because. I believe steel would have been different but equally good.

Go fast(er) tubular config:


And with 35mm tubeless rougher-stuff config:

[zennmotion]

One element mostly overlooked in all this discussion is handling and stability. If "go fast" means competitive group Tuesday Night Worlds or actual pin-on-a-number racing on mixed surface roads then rock solid handling and tires that can handle occasional direct hits to potholes and riding on the crap edge of pavement is a really important part of being able to ride fast in (post-Covid if we ever get there) tight groups. If your handling skills (assisted by a great road bike design of any material) aren't up to close drafting when you can't see the road in front of you, you're going to lose the wheel in front of you and pop goes the weasel off the back. Any "normal" gear setup (eg compact or subcompact) will allow you to hang with the group on any hilly terrain- extreme high end gears are silly. If you're running out of gears and falling off the back of groups on the flats or downhills your problem isn't your gears, it's your ability to spin. What the heck are you gonna do with a 9 or 10t ring on a road bike? If you haven't raced, do a season on a "race bike"- ride what you got- at least for a few events before you go and buy something new. Putting a number on is a whole different game than riding fast by yourself or even a spirited group ride. You'll discover that it's not really much about the bike at all

[teleguy57]

Originally Posted by robt57

Way to bring a machete to a knife fight!!

Yes -- I think both are equally deadly, but it depends on the opponent. And to all the comments about fitness, tactics, attitude, grit being more important than the hard goods

I have more latent performance in this machine than I have capabilities in the above categories.

[weiwentg]

Originally Posted by Clean39T

And by "go fast" you mean they are meant to be ridden with low front ends and long stems, and are responsive to inputs so you can steer them precisely?

I would love to see the market create a bike that steers and handles and positions you on the machine like an aggressive race bike, with aero-optimized tires/wheels in the 26c range, but has the gizmos and aero advantage of a "Domane" type bike. To my knowledge that bike still doesn't exist and is too complex for a custom builder to pull off - the shaping required and the complexity of the suspension gizmos. And before anyone says "just run wider tires" -- there are drawbacks to wide tires in terms of handling, bounce, aero, and sluggishness when climbing. To me the ultimate race bike uses technology to get you comfort and has tires that are only as wide as needed to support the rider, maintain traction, and take care of hysteresis losses - and that's probably 25s on fat rims for most surfaces.

Had you seen Tom Anhalt’s Stinner on Cyclingtips?

https://cyclingtips.com/2019/12/bike...r-aero-camino/

Granted, I don’t know how widely available those specific tubes are. But this guy actually went down to the Specialized Win Tunnel, and his bike tested about on par with a first generation Venge.

Back to the original question, my answer would be

A) agnostic to material, prefer some sort of aero shaped tubing if available, otherwise no big deal

B) up to 38mm tires. So, build something like a metal Domane.

C) 52/36 cranks, 12-28 cassette, but change the cassette as needed

D) Disc for me

And if we’re going fast, I’d get some deep carbon wheels. I’d go eTap or Di2 with full internal routing. I’d get an aerodynamic handlebar, and see if we can hide the brake cables as much as possible from the wind. I’d see if I could get an aero carbon fork.

That’s if I were aiming to get a new go fast metal bike. I basically have an older go fast metal bike, and I just got a pair of Hed Jets. I don’t see myself giving up that bike just because it’s slower than a full aero bike. Maybe at some point, I’ll get a carbon aero bike and relegate that bike to easy rides. Or maybe I just ride it until the frame breaks or it no longer fits, and I get ... something.

Aero metal tubes are such a niche thing that I don’t really see a lot of them being available. If I had to ‘live with’ a round tubed bike with a bunch of aero equipment, then that’s fine, it’s basically what I’m doing right now.

[robt57]

Originally Posted by teleguy57

I have more latent performance in this machine than I have capabilities in the above categories.

Ahh, but when that 'best' day, you've been eating right, and the moon and the stars align you feel like Eddie for a day on that weapon... Priceless! Used to have more of those.

[bthomas515]

Originally Posted by edward12

Here's mine. It has 32mm tires in the pic. It will fit up to 35mm. I prefer medium-reach brakes (I rarely ride in wet, muddy conditions). The crankset is a Praxis 48/32 with a 11-30 in the back. The frame itself has conventional road geometry. It's a great all-rounder.

I’ve actually been creeping for something just like this with rim brakes and wider tires.

[Kirk007]

Pegoretti Love #3, Pegoretti Marcelo.

But Joostx hit it on the head pages ago. Fitness rules and after that I'd a bike that really fits you the rider (my steel Spectrum was built to be a pure road bike and it fits like a glove and meets all the criteria I was looking for. Last, add aero considerations (based on my ave. mph being significantly higher without greater input on Dogma with Zipp 302 wheels).

[John H.]

The question is how fast?

Like Joost said- Fitness, bike fit/position, skills and training are all the low hanging fruit.

Next step is wheels, tires, aero profile road bars, are road helmet, clean cable management, fast clothing (tight fitting, even aero socks). Not necessarily in that order.
Also worth considering if you have an exposed pump, dangling saddle bag, etc.
This stuff is not for everyone- But if you want to go fast- this is fast.

Last on the list is the bike or frame. At a certain point, a true aero frame is an advantage. Something like a Trek Madone, Specialized Venge, or similar.

Pre-Covid I used to do a spirited group ride. I went from a pretty standard road bike to a full aero bike with deep section wheels- I know the aero bike is way faster for this application. Is it my favorite bike? Not really. It is really good at what is does, but for fun rides I pick something different. That is why I ask "how fast".

I mentioned position and skills but I see that as a major thing lacking in many riders. They sit like a toad on the bike and catch a ton of wind. Any many simply do not know how to position themselves to save energy, go with moves, etc.. They are stuck at level 1.

Oh- And my full aero bike is a disc bike. But that does not at all help with speed.

Lastly- Gearing? The only thing that matters about gearing is that it matches your ability, riding speed and desires for cadence. I know guys who can do high level racing on a 50/34- But they can also pedal at a high cadence under power.

[Waldo62]

I've seen you in shorts and you have big legs (:-)), but I want to see you turn the 50-9. Actually, I want to see the hill where you may want to turn the 50-9.

Originally Posted by XXtwindad

C) 50/34 in front and a 9-36 in back
D) discs

[jpang922]

My metal go fast bike. Actually my only go fast bike at the moment. Merckx Team SC w/ Ultegra 52-36 and 11-28 and 25c Corsas. Set up long and low with deep drops and appropriate saddle position (forward). I keep wanting to try out some Boras but the Shamals are just oh-so-snappy and keep on delivering.

[jtbadge]

That Team SC rules. Great setup.

Hard to go wrong with:
-aluminum frame, carbon fork (Cannondale works, something boutique/handbuilt even better)
-Ultegra group w/ mid-compact or compact + 11-28 or 11-32
-light wheels with wide rims + servicable hubs + 25-28c tires

My aluminum frame of choice is a Rock Lobster:

[R3awak3n]

I vote aluminum and rock lobster. You won't believe me if I say it rides as nice as a steel bike but has more snap.

For a rodie I would 100% stay with rim brake. Nice set of carbon hoops. Campy of course.

I love mine

[Burnette]

Originally Posted by teleguy57

I tilted slightly to the all-road side of things in ti. Chose discs as I'm a bigger guy and I have had some times in the mountains where my hands wanted more braking help. Ti was, well, just because. I believe steel would have been different but equally good.

Go fast(er) tubular config:


And with 35mm tubeless rougher-stuff config:

That bike is six kinds or better of awesome. Dang.

[NHAero]

Damn I love to look at that bike Flash!

[QUOTE=FlashUNC;2744201]

[RoosterCogset]

Originally Posted by FlashUNC

Plan B in alloy:

Nice paint jobs anyway