I stopped in the local mom and pop bike shop one block from my house and what did I see?
Absolutely the last thing I expected to see at a shop that specializes in kids bikes, hybrids, and cheap road and mountain bikes. I never thought I’d get to see one up close. He says he’s negotiating to get one of those special gold ones as well.
Nice. I really like my TCR. Someday I’ll upgrade to the composite frame.
That bike is awesome. Is it the bike shop owner’s bike? He must be serious if he bought that thing.
Oh yeah, he said he’d sell it to me for ~15k. I declined.
That bike is awesome. Is it the bike shop owner’s bike? He must be serious if he bought that thing.
Yeah. He collects cars. His wife said he could buy the bike if he didn’t buy any more cars. He says he’ll never ride it. Good thing, too. I think he goes about 260. I don’t know if that bike is made for someone that size.
I just used this picture as an example. The bike at the shop is identical except for the white handlebar tape.
You didn’t actually think I was trying to pull a fast one, did you Francois?
that bike is so beautiful, what i wouldnt give for just one day in the alps with that thing, i would climb those hills allllll day long…
“what i wouldnt give for just one day in the alps with that thing”
But then it won’t be so absolutely gorgeous anymore. Years ago I helped a buddy restore his 1966 Sunbeam Tiger. That last night it was absolutely gorgeous but he looked so glum. Told me that he was depressed knowing this car would never look so good again once he started driving it.
Sometimes works of art should best be left in the showroom.
Nice looking bike. They don’t make a size that fits me though- the small is too small and the Medium has a top tube that is too long. Also, the small version of the carbon one I rode felt so flexible in the rear triangle- either because the triangle is so shallow or becasue of the wishbone stay design (which certainly adds ride comfort despite the miniature rear triangle) that I thought the rear quick release skewer had opened. Hmmmm.
The wheels and parts kit are killer.
its beauty its in its functionality, superlight, agile, responsive, stiff, these are attributes best enjoyed on a ride. Sure, maybe it wont look at good (itll still look nice) but the experience will be pretty awesome.
Hi Tom,
I worked for a bike company that did some research on wishbone rear stays a few years back, and all else being equal (diameter, material, etc.) we found wishbones to be stiffer in both planes of deflection. We wound up switching to them on Ti bikes because of that. With wishbone rears, or Ti bikes had very similar deflection numbers vs. our steel archetype - which sure wasn’t the case with a standard rear end.
Just a bit of info for you, FWIW.
If the smaller Giant was more flexy, dollars to donoughts it was the layup - you just don’t get more flex from a smaller triangle (which is why the wishbone is stiffer.)
MH