Real or an illusion ?

[daj]

Bear in mind I am not talking about trail centre riding

Is it me or do modern bikes seem to be so much harder to ride (harder as in effort to push it round)? I have been out quite a bit now and notice on my 2011 Cube is just a slog ....Unless its pointing down it just dont seem to want to go anywhere!! My left knee cap is actually hurting from yesterdays ride from pushing so bloody hard on them pedals !!

when I just back on a retro bike I seem to have that zippy sensation , quick snap of the pedals and your off ?

Real or an Illusion?

 

[mass199]

I'd have to agree with you Dave.

Riders who i can keep up with on my retro bike just seem to ride away from me when i'm on my modern bike.

I put it down to extra weight, short stems and riser bars?

 

[Grannygrinder]

.

I think its quite a recent developement.
All my proper retro stuff climbs and accelerates well, also my 2001-2 Rocky Mountain flys uphill
Rode a mates Mondraker home from work the other day at that was hard work although it is full sus!

Might be down to cheese intake, been doing much recently?

 

[daj]

Cheese is the choice of champions

 

[cannondale king]

the Iron Horse i da was hard to push uphill and that was a 100mm xc/trail bike but my giant anthem x2 is easy all round uphill down on the flats i think if i had higher risers (ritchey 15mm hardly notice) and stem wasn't slammed with zero stack headset it would be upright and slower but defo know what you mean my old orange prestige was so fast up any climb and wicked in the single track

 

[EarlofBarnet]

Wonder if it's a geometry thing?

I find full suss bikes a slog up hill but the modern hardtails I've had have been great.

 

[PhilStone]

Could it all be down to weight? I can remember my first Marin Muirwoods in 93 weighed 28lb and cost £400.. i think due to the new safety regs (CEN) the frames are much heavier due to the extra strengthening...

 

[kaiser]

Is it a susser? Could be riding style? Could be fit? I reckon its unlikely to be just modern vs retro :?

 

[Raging_Bulls]

You do realize that modern bikes need maintenance, right? A lot of maintenance, in fact.

I find that my Copperhead can outrun just about anything if it has just had a good once-over. However 2 weeks (or 400 miles) later, it starts to feel like the frame is full of concrete despite weighing in at only 26.5lbs.

5 or 6 years ago you didn't have this problem. My 2004 Bulls Sport 3.50 was ready to rumble at any given moment, no matter how little maintenance it got.
I'll put it down to disc brakes and the 10-speed drivetrains, as that's the only real difference between my 2004 and 2011 ride.

 

[daj]

Not a full Susser it's a 2011 cube ltd

I was thinking maybe combo of body positioning and tyres?

The frame geo is very similar to my Roberts