New bike, and first road bike..

Popoutman

Hi everyone.

I've decided to join the ranks of the roadies, after a few years in the baggie-pants brigade. I've been cross-country mountain biking for the past 4 years, about 4-500 miles a year on mtb, and my current mtb is a Giant Reign X1.

Through the bike-to-work scheme, I've picked up a nice Trek Madone 4.5 from the LBS.
Specs:

• 54cm 2011 Madone 4.5 carbon frame, black/red colour.
• Mavic Ksyrium Elite wheels in good condition.
• 105 shifters.
• 105 compact chainset.
• 105 front brake, tiagra rear brake.
• Bontrager Node2 cyclecomputer.
• MTB spd/platform pedals (heresy I know but those are the shoes I have).
• Vittoria rubino pro 700x20 blue/black tyres
• Front and rear lightweight but powerful lights - fully legal now.
• Crudguard roadguards. Tried them yesterday and they are fantastic. I dont really mind if they are not considered kosher to have on a frame like this one - they really work.

I weigh ~93kg so I'm far from being a weight weenie, but built like a sprinter instead of a climber, and carrying maybe a stone of fat too much. I won't get a lot of time between now and the summer to go and get miles on the bike as I'm doing a full-time Masters and also a full-time job so I hae very little free time.
I have a target though. A mate of mine is getting married in France in June, and myself and another mate are going to go over with his wife as a support car driver (:D) and we'll get about 4 full days of cycling done in northwest France in the summertime, before the wedding ceremony. So I'll have to get comfortable on the bike and fit enough for 4-500 miles in the saddle in a week.. To paraphrase a tall fat annoying man from a car TV show -"How hard can it be?"

First impressions of the bike yesterday for a 20 minute spin were that it is fast - really fast and more comfortable than I expected it to be, and that it grips a bit better in the rain than I was expecting. Today I'll take it for an hour of a spin before I cycle to work and absolve my conscience about getting this on the bike to work scheme. I find that compared to the cycling position on the mtb, I'm putting a lot more weight on my hands, and that the ride is a lot more lively and stiff but not harsh. What do I really expect coming from a 170mm full suspension to a road bike

Dermot Illogical

Popoutman wrote: »

Through the bike-to-work scheme, I've picked up a Trek Madone 4.5 from the LBS.

Good luck with it!

levitronix

you need to pop up a pic in the images of beauty thread

Popoutman

I'll put a pic up tomorrow when it's light outside. God I'm unfit! Took it out today for a 30km cycle from Castletroy out to O'Brien's Bridge, and back through UL via Clonlara, heart rate at 175-185 for the 75 mins it took to do the 30 k. Feel good now, just tired and facing into a night of work. I've actually cycled it into work this evening, but I'll cycle home for dinner and drive back in for the rest of the night's work - I'm not going to cycle home at ~2am on a bike.

Irish road surfaces are really crap for cycling on I think - chips and tar gives an unbelievable vibration through everything, but the smoother surfaces are good. Maybe that's a function of my weight and 115 psi in x20 tyres.

Pics tomorrow I hope.

LBS is a very nice place

Darkglasses

You weren't supposed to say that OP! RT66's sarcasm chip needs a bit of a tune-up I think. Good luck with the training, you may need to evade some vans from the revenue in the coming weeks :eek:

Popoutman

yeah, it's hard to get the sarcasm when I'm tired