![]() ![]() For this reason, you’ll notice that serious road bikes will not have eyelets for racks and fenders. Minimalism goes hand-in-hand with the need to reduce weight. In layperson’s terms, this means that the bike will hopefully absorb small bumps and imperfections in the road’s surface, rather than vibrating up through the rider’s body. Frame-builders seek to couple this with ‘vertical compliance’, which refers to a desirable level of shock absorbance and vertical forgiveness. Stiffness, in the form of minimal lateral flex, contributes to the conservation of pedaling energy. One of the most desirable is a low overall weight, which drops as prices rise. There are other attributes that are universally pursued in road bike design. The ratios of these gears will differ between endurance and road bikes but will be optimized for climbing, descending, and achieving high speeds. The most common arrangement consists of two chainrings running eleven or twelve cogs on a rear cassette, giving 22 or 24 ‘speeds’ in all. Gears on a road bike are plentiful and cover a wide range. These allow a wider cross-section of cyclists to ride for longer, on more uneven roads. A few new models of endurance bikes are incorporating subtle suspension mechanisms. However, recent trends suggest that this situation is changing. The small amount of ‘suspension’ required is usually incorporated into the forgiveness of frame material or compensated for by wider volume tires. Also, the native environment of the road bike is smooth asphalt, which requires very little compensation from the bike. Generally, a road bike has no suspension, as low weights are paramount. Race bike tires can now be as wide as 28mm, with some endurance bike tires topping out between 30 and 33mm. Traditionally, they measured 23-25mm in circumference, but wider-volume tires are becoming more common. Tires are skinnier on road bikes than for most other bike types. Only road bikes (left) are designed for the appropriate posture for high speeds and racing They also allow a range of hand positions and postures depending on whether the rider is tackling climbs, descents or even terrain. So, how is the bike itself contributing to this ride experience?ĭrop Bars are a fixture on road bikes, placing the rider in an ‘athletic position’ on descents and fast-flats. It’s a style of riding that increases aerodynamics and strongly engages certain muscle groups, including hamstrings and quadriceps. All road bikes place the rider in the characteristically ‘arched’ posture that caters to a low-profile and athletic riding position. While there are different types of road bikes, they all share distinguishing features. These factors are reflected in the attributes of the modern road bike. This is a sport that traverses impressive outdoor landscapes while embracing a strong social aspect and competitive spirit. This doesn’t mean that riders are limited to urban environments. Road cycling is confined to even, asphalt roads that cater to consistently high speeds. Although technologies have rapidly advanced, road bikes have been ridden in a similar way for almost a century and a half. ![]()
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