Road Bike Question

Originally Posted by ralph

IMO hi end alloy is better than low end carbon. You can soften up a stiff bike with the right seat post and cockpit setup but a floppy carbon bike you can't fix.

I guess I have no idea where the carbon Schwinn ranks in the world of carbon. Doing some quick google searches I have found that Schwinn has been building their N'Litened Black Label carbon since 06 or 07. I believe they are built in China. I saw the bike at Performance bike and talking with the guy there who may or may not be full of ****e he said Schwinn has been building carbon bikes for a number of other bike companies but hasn't done much to push their own name in the carbon or high end world. He didn't name any names on who they may be building for. Not sure if it is just because the schwinn name isn't what it use to be and they basically sell really cheap box store bikes mostly or for some other reason. I for one don't care about brand name at all. I could care less and wont' pay the extra money for a bike to have a Cannondale, Trek or Specialized sticker on the side vs soemthing else. Hell, I would be just fine buying a Chi-done carbon bike. Since my girlfriend isn't racing, or anythign close for that matter, I am not sure what little bit of extra flex there may be in cheaper carbon will affect her since she isn't absolutely pounding on the pedals or have the tourque to really flex the bike. Besides fit I am just hoping she finds the bike that will be the most comfortable for long distance rides.

Do you think "floppy" carbon will really be noticable to a beginner rider who isn't riding super hard. She probably averages 15 mph or so on flat ground with no tail or head wind.