Fitness vs Road...the unanswered question

[NATURAL ANKLING]

Hi,

I can't remember the Guinness advert......did it go..... "I don't like it because I haven't tried it"
....or was it.... "I haven't tried it because i don't like it" ....?

Couple of other points.....
Tri-bars on a sportive could be interesting
OPs bike has "road" gearing with a compact double

Me on the funky raliegh tourer in a sportive all accessories for that type of bike and a couple out of a few hundred I saw had Tri bars
Whatever floats your boat........................carbon boy said race then quickly corrected to sportive

[twoscoops]

I bought a Synapse to replace a Sirrus a couple of years ago. I did so because I was fed up of being overtaken by guys on road bikes. I still get overtaken (!) but the Synapse is quicker and more comfortable. I spent months finding the right bike and hesitated a great deal as I have back problems and needed a fairly upright position to mitigate this. My advice is to arrange test rides on new bikes from your LBS and this will tell you if road bikes make a big enough difference to justify the change. From my experience the difference is marginal, but a road bike of similar quality to the Sirrus will definitely be quicker.

Well i am now in the exact same situation as I picked up a more or less brand new Cannondale Synapse Sora 2015 last weekend. I have read through all of the comments and taken them all onboard. I think the above quote encapsulates my feelings. I am doing about 100-150 miles per week and just want to feel that I am on the best machine that I can afford to be on when cycling. For me I have noticed a difference but as described it is marginal.

The sirrus will still be my daily for the 40mile commute but it is nice to have the Synapse to disappear off on during the weekends.

[[XAP]Bob]

I can't remember the Guinness advert......did it go..... "I don't like it because I haven't tried it"
....or was it.... "I haven't tried it because i don't like it" ....?

Couple of other points.....
Tri-bars on a sportive could be interesting
OPs bike has "road" gearing with a compact double

Occasionally I ought to borrow someone's plastic bike then...

[531colin]

I can't remember the Guinness advert......did it go..... "I don't like it because I haven't tried it"
....or was it.... "I haven't tried it because i don't like it" ....?

Couple of other points.....
Tri-bars on a sportive could be interesting
OPs bike has "road" gearing with a compact double

Occasionally I ought to borrow someone's plastic bike then...

I have ridden for half a lifetime with toeclips...I have used nail-on shoeplates, I have used flat pedals. I tried cleats, I now prefer them. Others may try them or not, I don't care either way. What I'm not about to do is take up the invitation to "convince" somebody that cleats are right for them. That makes about as much sense as dismissing cleats without even trying them. If you want to know what riding cleats is like, try it. If you don't want to try it, thats fine by me, but my involvement stops there.
Perhaps the same applies to plastic bikes, but if you want to try one, at least get the right size, with the right sort of gear range, tyre size, handlebar shape and all that sort of stuff. ....otherwise, you won't like it anyway.....or is that your point?