The Ideal Road Bike

Exercise, Health
by Mike Clements

What is the ideal road bike?

  • Efficient (fast)
    • If you don’t care about this, you might as well ride a mountain bike as they can traverse any kind of terrain, roads or trails.
  • Comfortable
    • Comfort = fun, especially on long rides.
  • Handling
    • If you’re going fast, it needs to be responsive and predictable in the turns.
  • Brakes
    • The faster you go, the more important this is

Requirements

  • Gearing: wide range
    • A wide range is essential: at least 1:4 from low to high
    • Examples
      • My ’99 Trek had low 39-25 = 1.56, high 52-12 = 4.33, range = 4.33/1.56 = 2.78:1
        • This is not enough. The high is about right but the low is much too high
      • Modern: low 34-34 (1:1), high 50-11 (4.54:1), range = 4.54/1.00 = 4.54:1
        • This is great – much lower 1st gear and roughly the same high gear.
    • Modern bikes offer much smaller front chainrings which solves this problem
    • How many gears is irrelevant: 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, whatever.
      • This is marketing bullshit.
      • It’s the range, not the number of gears, that matters.
    • Electronic shifting is irrelevant.
      • Mechanical cable shifting has been perfected for decades and works perfectly
      • Mechanical doesn’t need batteries, is lighter, cheaper, more reliable, simpler, and user serviceable
      • Electronic shifting is a solution in search of a problem
  • Frame: carbon
    • Must be both stiff (efficient) and comfortable.
    • Aluminum is stiff but uncomfortable, transmitting vibration to the rider which gets painful and fatiguing on long rides
    • Steel is comfortable but too heavy, and it is not as strong or durable as people think
    • Carbon fiber is the best frame material: the efficiency of aluminum with the comfort of steel, and very strong and durable
  • Wheels: carbon
    • Must be stiff (efficient), light, and aerodynamic
    • Aluminum allow rims cannot be both light & aerodynamic – choose your poison
      • When you make them deep enough for good aero, they get very heavy
    • Carbon rims give the best of all worlds, and good ones have lifetime warranty
    • BUT Carbon rims
      • should not use rim brakes – poor braking and can melt the rims
      • should not use alloy spoke nipples – need to use brass to avoid redox
      • Make sure the spokes are exposed so you can true them without unsealing the tire
  • Tires: clinchers with latex tubes
    • Clinchers with latex tubes are faster and more comfortable than tubeless
    • Use the narrowest tires that provide sufficient comfort
      • Much has been said that modern tires can be wide without increasing rolling resistance.
      • This is incorrect, misleading and mis-interpreted: wide tires are not faster.
      • All else equal, a narrower tire run at its recommended pressure has less rolling resistance.
      • All else equal, a wider tire run at its recommended pressure is more comfortable
    • Don’t use tubeless tires.
      • Tubeless is great on MTB, where they enable you to run lower pressures without getting pinch flats. These lower pressures increase traction.
      • On road bikes, tubeless tires are neither faster (rolling resistance) nor lighter than tubed tires
  • Brakes: hydraulic disc
    • Rim brakes are a bit lighter, but less effective and can’t be used with carbon wheels
    • Hydraulic brakes are better than mechanical: lighter touch and self-adjusting