Why is it that...

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

Why is it that even though i have a nice, somewhat sophisticated (compared to the old bike, that is) new(ish) Aluminum frame Trek 4500 MTB, i spend more time on my clunky old rigid steel frame Fila Taos?

the Trek has;
Aluminum frame
suspension front fork
gel seat
computer/speedometer thingy
front and rear fenders
24 speed Shimano Alivio components (yes i know they’re crap, but bear with me… )
Serfas Vermin Semi-knobbies

the Fila has
Steel frame
rigid steel front fork
gel seat (stock seats on entry-level bikes suck)
21 speed Suntour XCE components
WTB Slickasaurus slicks

on paper, the Trek is the better bike, it’s newer, the shifter components shift when i tell them to and dont hesitate or chatter/clunk but for some reason, i’ve been spending more time on the Fila, even though the Suntour components suck, the shifter is gummy and the deraileurs have a slight chatter under hard pedaling (the LBS says a lube job and cable swap should fix them, they’ve already adjusted them as well as possible with the stock cable)

strange, you’d figure i’d spend my time riding the “better” bike, but i’m having too much fun bombing around on the ol’ horse…

i originally was going to leave the Fila at work so i could use it at lunch and after work and not worry if it gets stolen, or have to truck around the Trek on my roof rack or in the trunk, but now i don’t want to leave the Fila there either, and i’ve been trucking IT around in the trunk of my car…

it’ll be safe at work, as we have a very sensitive motion-sensing alarm system, and the metal door is secured with a deadbolt and regular lock…

so, why am i spending more of my time on an “inferior” bike…

strange…

2

Surprisingly, or maybe not, I have an answer.

It’s the suspension. If you’re riding around on slicks, you are clearly not doing much trail riding. You can do some hard pack with slicks but nothing much more aggressive. Plus, the suspension bike is probably not significantly lighter than the CroMo one. Again, because of the suspension. Plus the hard frame bike feels livelier. Admit it. It does. :slight_smile:

If you do get to some aggressive trail riding, you’ll begin to appreciate the suspension better but it will never feel as responsive as the hard front end bike. Still, your wrists and elbows will thank you on longer more aggessive rides.

3

Actually, the steel frame will probably be bendier than the aluminum one. I was reallly shocked when I rode a buddy’s older Trek with a steel frame. His didn’t have that spine-pounding lack of flex like mine did. Forks were a different story though- I like my Marzocchi fork!

My guess as to why you happily ride the bomber is that you probably don’t much worry about damaging it like you might the 4500.

4

I agree. An aluminum frame will be much stiffer and more responsive than CroMo but a suspension makes that point moot. The advantage of aluminum on a full suspension bike has more to do with weight economy than stiffness. Now, on a road bike without a suspension, that’s where things get more interesting. :slight_smile:

5

It’s the slicks. I hate riding with knobbies unless I’m on the trail. It feels like I’m dragging a cinder block behind me.

6

Well, just to throw a monkey wrench into the works here…

i don’t do agressive off-road riding…yet, i’m doing mostly road/railtrail/fire road riding to get myself back into shape, then i’ll probably start serious off-roading

this is the front tire on the Trek and [this is the rear tire on the Trek

as you can see, they’re not a true knobby, nor a true slick, but a hybrid tire, less rolling resistance than a knobby, more tread than a slick

they were a definite upgrade from the [url=http://www.mtbr.com/reviews/Tire/product_23368.shtml]tires that came on the bike](http://cadence120.com/site/itemdetails.cfm?ID=4638&Catalog=39&sort=Price)

conversely, these are the tires on the Fila the Slickasaurus 1.5’s

trying the 2 bikes side by side, in as close to the same gearing as i can get (24 speed Trek Vs. 21 speed Fila), the Fila is a good 4-5 MPH faster, i average around 7-8 MPH on the Trek, and around 12-14 on the Fila pedaling the same amount, and yes, i know about steel’s flex, and the Fila does feel a lot livelier

7

Could also be the frame angles. Sometimes a cheaper frame just fits you better. That, and when I ride my super duper expensive bike, I’m a little more parinoid about tacoing my wheels, bending my fork, breaking a derailluer. With the cheaper one, I just let it fly.

Lola, owner of many MANY bikes and assorted parts.

8

Yeah, I’ve ridden on the slicks and the same “hybrid” road/trail tires you’ve linked. You’d be surprised how much resistance these knobbies have. Plus, I’m betting that the slicks are higher pressure tire by at least 20PSI. Finally, 1.95 knobbies vs. 1.5 slicks… the slicks have less surface contact because of the higher pressure and narrower tire width. Also, yeah, the old bike frame geometry may suit you better. Not because it’s cheaper but just because it’s more suited to your body. Finally, you waste a bit of energy when pushing a suspension rig due to the absorption. Do you have lockouts on your suspension? That will help. With a 4-6mph difference, make sure you’re brakes are not rubbing. :wink:

9

Those “hybrid” tires you showed are called “semi-slicks”, and they’re primarily intended for off-road riding on hardpack and other places where you’d want more contact area on the ground for straights, and knobs for turns and if you hit somethig a bit softer.

The other ones are definitely road tires.

What gear ratios do you have? I’m not sure about this, but didn’t older mountain bikes have different gearing ratios than today’s standards? That might be some of the difference, along with the different rolling resistances of the tires.

I’d try swapping the tires (hell, if you have a cassette tool, you can just swap wheels) and see if that makes much difference.