WHY RACING BIKES ARE HORRIBLE CHOICES FOR MOST CYCLISTS,
WHY MOST RIDERS SHOULD (CAREFULLY) LOOK AT FITNESS OR EVENT BIKE, 
AND WHY SPORT TOURERS ARE EVEN BETTER THAN EVENT BIKES
===================================================================
I started selling bikes in 1977 and have lost count of the number of 
customers and friends I've worked with and the kinds of bikes I've ridden.  
At this point, I'm firmly convinced that most people I talk with would
have a more rewarding riding experience on something other than a road 
racing bike.

In this rant, I want to describe why it is that racing bikes are a 
horrible choice for non-racers. I also want to introduce you to 2 
kinds of bikes that I think are much better choices: the modern sport 
or event bike and the classic sport tourer. 


GETTING HONEST ABOUT RIDING STYLE
=================================
Bike racing has a certain macho appeal but honestly, very, very few people 
I know are actually dedicated to bike racing.  I know a good many people 
who are and that's wonderful.  Bike racing is challenging, fun and 
rewarding in its own right and if you want to excel at road racing in a 
pack, by all means, you need to be on a dedicated road racer. But this 
represents a tiny fraction of the people I know who ride road bikes. Worse, 
suggesting a racing bike for somebody who doesn't really race is a recipe 
for problems. 

Some analogies might help. Riding on a racing bike is like running in true 
racing shoes.  True racing shoes are highly specialized, having thin 
lightweight soles.  If used for training on paved surfaces, they are likely 
to cause overuse injuries.  Shoes made for training are better for 
training.  Riding on a race bike is like skiing on a true race ski.  Race 
skis (either Alpine or Nordic) demand the highest levels of skill and 
punish mistakes in technique. They are hyper specialized tools but it's now 
widely accepted that non-racers, including experts, can perform better on 
high performance non-race skis. Riding a race bike is like trying to get to 
work on time while driving a drag racer.  Well... you probably get the idea 
of where I'm going with this by now.  

Racing bikes are hyper-specialized tools for winning races like the Tour de 
France.  If you regularly ride in aggressive packs where banging elbows is 
a regular occurrence (seriously) and if you worry about loosing a sprint or 
being "dropped off the back", you should get a race bike.  Otherwise, read 
on and let me explain why other bikes are going to let you perform better.

When most people describe to me what kind of riding they want to do, it 
usually ends up something like this. They want to have a bike they can use 
as a part of a regular exercise or fitness plan. That is, they want to go 
out on rides lasting from 1/2 to 2 hours in duration a couple of times a 
week, with an occasional longer ride on the weekends.  When asked to 
describe their "stretch goals" and aspirations, they often mention longer 
distance charity rides or "century" rides.  A few mention that they want to 
be able to participate in citizen triathlons.  

A special word for those interested in triathlons...  If you become really 
serious about triathlons, you will eventually need a dedicated triathlon or 
time trail (TT) bike.  TT bikes have those really funky looking bull 
horn/aero handlebars and they cost a small fortune.  If you're not ready to 
spend sort of money, what you need is a bike that will allow you to both 
train and ride in citizen triathlons.  Normal racing bikes are very poor 
choice for this, as I will explain. 

We need a good term here.  "Racing" is just so elite sounding that any way 
of describing something other than racing just sounds inferior to our 
ears.  This isn't true when we think of other kinds of equipment such as 
running shoes, skis and cars, but it remains true about bikes.  Terms like 
"fitness", "sport", or worse, "recreational" seem trite, trivial and 
inadequate compared to "racing".  I'm going to use the term "open-road" for 
a catch-all way of talking about doing fast efficient riding in a 
non-racing setting. This includes shorter fitness or training oriented 
riding, longer events like centuries and citizen level triathalons.  

Now, a word about honesty and advertising.  Emotionally, people want to be 
tough and seen as tough.  The adds on TV and in magazines will tell you 
that if you buy a racing bike, you'll be like a racer.  So will most 
cyclists who ride on racing bikes.  If you show up to ride with them on 
something other than a race bike, they will honestly think you're on an 
inferior bike and that will color both what they say to you and how you 
feel about yourself.  So, there's two aspects to honesty here.  Honestly 
ask yourself if your riding ambition includes riding in fast pace lines and 
pack races or if it's better described by how I've defined open-road 
cycling.  On the other hand, honestly ask yourself how well you can 
withstand the peer pressure of friends who will insist that you ride a race 
bike.  If you can honestly stand up to peer pressure and if you honestly 
aren't going be racing in a pack, then you'll do better on something other 
than a racing bike.


DIFFERING NEEDS
===============
Road racing and open-road riding are very, very different and as a result, 
demand different things from a bike.

TIRES - Open-road riding calls for efficient speed and with that, calls for 
wider tires in the 700x32 range.  The open-road cyclist often rides alone 
at a more or less steady pace. As a result, they need fast, efficient tires 
that allow them to carry speed, even if the road is less than perfect. In 
contrast, road races like the Tour de France are won by acceleration, not 
speed. In road racing, speed is a result of the aerodynamic effect of the 
pack, or peleton, not the ability to maintain a steady pace as a solo 
rider.  If you're in the pack, the wind help pull you along but if you fall 
off the wheel of the person ahead of you, you can't catch up unless you can 
pull off a heroic effort.  The tactics of road racing consist of a series 
of attacks, designed to "drop" riders, sort of like decoupling a car off 
the back of a train. As a result, a winning racing bike is one that 
accelerates quickly, not one that is fast.  This means very light skinny 
tires that "spin up" quickly are favored among road racers.  Interestingly, 
these skinny harsh tires have lower rolling resistance. And their harsh 
ride makes bike handling hard and worse, they tire out the rider. In 
repeated tests, high quality skinwall 700x32 tires have been shown to have 
lower rolling resistance than lighter 700x23 tires common on racing bikes.  
Quality 700x32 tires soak up road irregularities better than skinnier 
tires, making handling more secure and allowing the open-road rider to 
concentrate on the ride instead of every pebble and crack in the road.  
Bottom line - good quality 32mm tires have a lower rolling resistance and 
are faster for riding on the open road.  

HANDLING - Open-road riding generally means traveling in a straight line 
along the edge of the road, turning only at intersections or when the road 
itself turns.  When taken to the limits of endurance, as in the case of 
longer event rides or in triathlons, the open-road cyclist benefits from a 
bike whose handling is naturally stable in straight line riding - one that 
is forgiving of handling mistakes that are either due to inexperience or 
simply being tired. As one rider describes it, he wants a bike that rides 
like it's on auto-pilot.  Another way to say this is when the rider doesn't 
fight to keep his or her bike on the road, they can perform at a higher 
level of performance.

In contrast, the road racer literally rides elbow-to-elbow with other 
riders in the pack. They need the ability to jockey for position in very 
tight situations where a micro-second's difference in response time could 
be difference between a race winning move and wreck that pulls down a bunch 
of riders. As a result, they need a bike with super sensitive and 
responsive steering. In keeping with this, race bikes have short wheelbases 
and "tight" front end geometries.  The flip side of this, is that they take 
constant attention to keep on the road, something that gets harder as you 
tire. This is fine for pros or people who train like pros and who need this 
sort of hyper-responsive handling for riding in a pack.  But, this sort of 
hyper-responsive handling is a detriment to the open-road cyclist. Bikes 
with longer wheelbases and more relaxed handling allow the open-road 
cyclist to ride further and faster.  

FIT - The issue of aerodynamics is important to all riders but it is 
critically important to the road racer.  Peletons and pace-lines are 
examples of applied aerodynamics and drafting.  This factor is one of the 
things that leads pro riders to ride bikes with handlebars that are set 
very far below the level of their saddle.  It's a very aerodynamic 
position.  It is also a position that requires an incredibly strong lower 
back and legs, otherwise the rider is physically not capable of supporting 
their upper body. In short, if you aren't training at the level of an elite 
cyclist and you insist on riding a traditional race bike that demands a low 
bar body position, you should expect for your shoulders and necks to give 
out on you by the one hour mark and for your speed to begin to suffer as 
you begin to suffer and fight the handling of the bike.

In contrast open-road cyclists need a fit that will allow them to breath 
well and to comfortably handle their bikes, even as they tire. 
Traditionally this means having the handlebars set to about 1" below the 
level of the saddle or higher.  


TWO ALTERNATIVES TO RACING BIKES
================================
There are 2 kinds of bikes that I think excel at open-road riding. The 
first is more common today. They are sold as "sport", "endurance" or 
"event" bikes here in the US and as "Audax" bikes in Britain.  These bike 
tend to have the following properties. The frames usually have head angles 
around 73 degrees, chainstays around 42.5cm and fork rakes in the 4.5 to 
5.0cm range. They use so-called "long reach" brake calipers that allow the 
use of wider, faster tires in the 28mm to 32mm range. Good event bikes will 
allow for the use of 32mm tires and fenders, but sadly, this isn't possible 
on many, so "buyer beware" as they say.  Most importantly, these bikes are 
designed to allow you to have the handlebars positioned to be at or near 
the same height as your saddle. Examples of this kind of bike include: 
Specialized Roubaix, Cannondale Synapse, Gunnar Sport, Salsa Cassaroll, and 
Rivendell Roadeo.

The second type of bike is an older design and harder to find but it's 
worth mentioning.  It's called sport touring bike. Like sport/event bikes, 
quality sport tourers use the same lightweight frame materials used by 
racing bikes. But, they are different from modern sport/event bikes in that 
they have longer chainstays and a more relaxed front end geometry. In my 
experience, these subtle but important differences make sport tourers much 
more versatile bikes. If you think that there is a chance you may want to 
carry panniers for light/moderate touring or for commuting, I would 
encourage you to give a sport touring design serious consideration.  I talk 
more about sport tourers here [PUT LINK HERE]. These bikes were once the 
most common type of bike and you can find them on the used market. Classic 
examples include the Raleigh International and Fuji America. But there are 
a few examples of this type of bike being sold today. Examples include: 
Raleigh Clubman, Rivendell A. Homer Hilsen and Velo Orange Rando.  

Sport tourers should not be confused with dedicated touring bikes. 
Generally speaking, dedicated touring bikes use very thick, stiff tubing to 
accommodate ridiculously heavy touring loads.  If you plan on touring with 
loads over 50lbs, one, you should consider lightening your load and two, if 
you can't, you should get a dedicated tourer.  Of the dedicated tourers I'm 
aware of, the Jamis Aurora comes the closest to the light touring ideal of 
the sport tourer. 


RANT #1 - WHY RACING BIKES ARE HORRIBLE
=======================================
If you've made it this far, you can probably guess what's about to follow.

Road racing bikes use short reach brakes and assume the use of 23-25mm 
tires. These tires are good for the quick acceleration needed in road 
racing but they don't provide the better rolling resistence and more 
comfortable ride of quality 32mm tires.  Open-road cyclists do better on 
700x32 tires than on 700x23s. 

Road racing bikes have the short wheelbases and hyper-responsive handling 
needed in rough and tumble pack riding. But this handling makes them more 
difficult to ride in a straight line and as a result, tire the rider more 
quickly. 

Most road racing bikes are designed to put the handlebars very far down 
below the height of the saddle.  This give elite athletes and those who 
train like them the aerodynamic position needed to survive in a high speed 
pace line or peleton.  Most open-road riders don't have the back or leg 
strength to survive in this postion and instead, need to be able to get 
their bars to within 1" of their saddle height or higher. 

Bottom line... Road racing bikes are horrible choices for open-road riders. 


RANT #2 - WHY EVENT BIKE AND SPORT TOURERS ARE BETTER
=====================================================
Most event bikes and sport tourers will allow the use of 700x32 tires and 
good ones will allow this width of tire even when using fenders.  These 
tires have a lower rolling resistance, go faster over bumps and transmit 
less vibration to the rider.  While skinny tires accelerate better, wider 
tires are faster but they won't fit on race bikes.

Event bikes and sport tourers have handling characteristics that favor fast 
straight line riding. The sport tourer design is derived from the British 
time trailing tradition. Good sport tourers are as light as their road 
racer cousins but their longer wheelbase and more relaxed geometry was 
designed for and excels at solo riding on the open road. The first event 
bikes (with shorter wheelbases) were first introduced for triathlons in the 
mid to late 80s, prior to the introduction of the aero-bar. These bikes 
used the same stable, auto-pilot front end geometries as the sport tourers 
and earlier club racers for exactly the same reason why they are useful 
today - this design excels at stable straight line riding. 

If fitted well, event bikes and traditional sport tourers will allow you to 
have your bars near the height of your saddle.  Time and again, this has 
been found to be the best position for efficient open-road riding.  Low 
handlebars are for elite pros, posters and posers.

CONCLUSION
==========
Racing bikes have captured the imagination of the buying public.  One of 
the factors involved in this is that bikes shops in the US are almost 
always stafffed by former racers.  So, when the question of performance 
riding comes up, it is understandable why these former racers suggest 
racing bikes.  But, if former racers and buyers were to more carefully 
determine what kind of riding the buyer is looking to do, more often than 
not something other than a race bike will be better.  Event or sport bikes 
are relatively easy to find and for most people, will be the best option. 
For those who want even more versatility from their bike, the classic sport 
tourer is a great option.  Regardless, never buy a bike for open-road 
riding unless you can fit 32mm tires and fenders on it.  That single rule 
alone will do the most to help you avoid buying a hyper-specialized bike 
better suited to pro bike riders. 

Copyright Dave Mann, 2010