Decision made

Don't I look happy? This is right after we picked up the frame. Decided to go with the 68cm Gunnar Rodie for a couple of reasons. It offered the highest head tube at 270mm tall. My Raleigh Super Course only had a 225mm head tube so I should notice a big difference. The top tube length seems just about right at 62cm, and its a virtual 68cm so the seat tube is only 65cm tall. I also liked the price and the fact that it is made in the USA. This was not the cheapest in the line up at $900 but I feel a reasonable price. I have always ridden steel road bikes so I know what to expect from ride quality and maintenance. I do love the look of carbon bikes but could not bring myself to shell out $2500 just for a frame, let alone the fact that I could not find one in my size! I will post pics as the build up commences. Also after all the decisions were made, guess the blog should have been called 68cm Tall Bike...

Couple things to note here. I chose a Charcoal Grey Metallic, it looks great. I also choose to have the decals removed. All but the made in USA on the non-drive side chain stay. Frame weighs 5lbs.

Test ride of 64cm Roubaix SL3 Pro

I had a chance to see a 64cm Roubaix SL3 Pro in person and test ride it. Well, it rides great and is a real nice bike. The carbon feel is pretty cool, hard to describe but I could feel the vibration damping qualities. Not sure how much of that is the carbon and how much is the “Zertz” inserts in the fork and seat stays. The Roubaix was plenty stiff so no problem there. Problem is that it is the same size as my current bike. Actually the bars were a bit lower and the seat post (350mm) was not able to go high enough. If you look at the secs it should be much larger than my current frame. I could get a new 400mm seat post and a higher rise 140mm stem, but I do not want to make the frame work by adding weird sized parts. I want a frame that fits.

Here are some photos of me on my current bike and me on the Roubaix.

Funny to see myself on these. Both look really small. Maybe it's just me. I do not have the correct bend in my arms. So this test ride helps me make my decision about the CAAD5 as well. The CAAD5 has roughly the same measurements except it has a longer seat tube and a lower head tube. Longer seat post - cool. Lower head tube - bad.

At this point the 68cm Gunnar Rodie is the winner.

68cm Gunnar Roadie

Specs:

Frame
270 Head Tube
72.5 seat angle
73.5 head angle
62 Top Tube length
650 Seatmast
415 Chain Stay length
70 BB drop
1041 wheelbase
897 standover

Recommended Fork
43 rake
54 Trail

MSRP - $900