I recall asking a fellow rider, who owned bikes of steel,
titanium, aluminum, and carbon, what was the difference. He replied,
rather smugly, that they pretty much did the same thing. Perhaps it’s a
case of convergent evolution that all of his bikes filled the same
niche in his cycling ecosystem. I am starting to feel the same way
about bikes I have known.
When I recently picked up a NOS Cannondale CAAD5, now a 20 year old
design, and assembled it with modern components, I discovered that it
was just as good, as fun, as my Hi-Mod Super Six. The CAAD5 frame I
paid about $200 for. The Super Six was a little more (a lot little). I
have ridden many others as well and was impressed by all of them. Sure,
some fit a little better, some were a little more responsive, some cut
through the air a little better. After all that and about 30 years of
bike passion, however, I am less obsessed about what best means. To
paraphrase, “Let not perfection be the enemy of fun.”
When I recently picked up a NOS Cannondale CAAD5, now a 20 year old design, and assembled it with modern components, I discovered that it was just as good, as fun, as my Hi-Mod Super Six. The CAAD5 frame I paid about $200 for. The Super Six was a little more (a lot little). I have ridden many others as well and was impressed by all of them. Sure, some fit a little better, some were a little more responsive, some cut through the air a little better. After all that and about 30 years of bike passion, however, I am less obsessed about what best means. To paraphrase, “Let not perfection be the enemy of fun.”