Here are some pics of my new steed, a Specialized Sirrus Elite - a commuter/fitness bike with a carbon fiber composite frame.

As CF bikes go, mine is pretty modest, but after 10 years with my aluminum Trek, the Elite is like a revelation - reminds me of when I traded my 2004 Mazdaspeed Miata for my first Porsche, a 2008 Boxster. The bike's light weight make pushing it almost effortless, and the composite frame with appropriately oriented CF fibers delivers a compliant ride that I didn't know could be had with a light-weight bike built for exercise and speed. Perfect for an old geezer like me.

Jer

[Tonytee]

Well sir, it appears as though you made an excellent decision. Be safe.

TT

[lesmore49]

I'm not a bicycle expert, but I must say I'm drawn by the design, it's quite beautiful to look at. Well equipped, and I note disc brakes front and back. Bikes have come a long way since my 1950's English made Glider, that I rode back in the late '50's and early '60's.

My Glider had only one speed. In the 1950's, my group of buddies would describe a Glider bicycle with 3 speed Derailleur gears...as a 'racing bike'.

[eaglem]

Now that looks super slick, even has White Wall Tyres

[wtlwdwgn]

Nice looking bike Jer. Many happy miles!

[Sailor]

Well sir, it appears as though you made an excellent decision. Be safe.

TT

Thanks, Tony.

Jer

I'm not a bicycle expert, but I must say I'm drawn by the design, it's quite beautiful to look at. Well equipped, and I note disc brakes front and back. Bikes have come a long way since my 1950's English made Glider, that I rode back in the late '50's and early '60's.

My Glider had only one speed. In the 1950's, my group of buddies would describe a Glider bicycle with 3 speed Derailleur gears...as a 'racing bike'.

Hey, Les - thanks much. My first bike, back in the mid '50s, was a Hercules, built in England. It was a three speed cycle (pretty rare back then), but I don't think it used Derailleurs but some kind of mechanism in the rear hub (I may well be wrong - long time ago!).

Jer

Now that looks super slick, even has White Wall Tyres

Thank you, sir. Those stripes are reflectors, making the bike easier to see both during the day and especially at night - academic for me, 'cause I don't ride at night.

Jer

Nice looking bike Jer. Many happy miles!

Thanks, Steve.

Jer

[volley]

What a cool bike, Buddy! Ride safe!

[lesmore49]

Originally posted by lesmore49 Quote
I'm not a bicycle expert, but I must say I'm drawn by the design, it's quite beautiful to look at. Well equipped, and I note disc brakes front and back. Bikes have come a long way since my 1950's English made Glider, that I rode back in the late '50's and early '60's.

My Glider had only one speed. In the 1950's, my group of buddies would describe a Glider bicycle with 3 speed Derailleur gears...as a 'racing bike'.


Hey, Les - thanks much. My first bike, back in the mid '50s, was a Hercules, built in England. It was a three speed cycle (pretty rare back then), but I don't think it used Derailleurs but some kind of mechanism in the rear hub (I may well be wrong - long time ago!).

Jer,

Reading your post, got my ill informed bicycle mind and memory working.

When I think about it, if I recall the old Glider's 3 speeds of my youth didn't use a Derailleur system, but used an English Sturmey-Archer 3 speed rear hub, as a 'gear box' of sorts. If I remember right, there was some kind of handlebar mounted gear change with ...first, second...third positions ...all of which could be obtained with the flick of a thumb on a small, metal lever.

I never had one as my two bicycles that I had growing up, were mere one speeds. I had an English made Glider from Eaton's (large Canadian Dept. store) and as I got older, a larger, American made J.C. Higgins bike, from Simpson-Sears (Canadian Sears store).

I rode the wheels off those two bicycles till I was 16, and could finally get a driver's license. Then, with license in wallet, I rode the wheels off many a motorcycle and variety of automobiles/ trucks, which I continue to do at my advanced age.

Les

[Sailor]

What a cool bike, Buddy! Ride safe!

Hey, Norbert - thanks much.

Jer

Jer,

Reading your post, got my ill informed bicycle mind and memory working.

When I think about it, if I recall the old Glider's 3 speeds of my youth didn't use a Derailleur system, but used an English Sturmey-Archer 3 speed rear hub, as a 'gear box' of sorts. If I remember right, there was some kind of handlebar mounted gear change with ...first, second...third positions ...all of which could be obtained with the flick of a thumb on a small, metal lever.

I never had one as my two bicycles that I had growing up, were mere one speeds. I had an English made Glider from Eaton's (large Canadian Dept. store) and as I got older, a larger, American made J.C. Higgins bike, from Simpson-Sears (Canadian Sears store).

I rode the wheels off those two bicycles till I was 16, and could finally get a driver's license. Then, with license in wallet, I rode the wheels off many a motorcycle and variety of automobiles/ trucks, which I continue to do at my advanced age.

Les

I bet both my Hercules (24in then 26in) had that gear set up - it worked . . . . . . sort of. Both of those bikes came from Sears. The larger (and fancier) of the two had a saddle bag, an air pump carried on the frame and front and rear lights powered by a generator, itself powered by the rear wheel when it was engaged.

Jer

[lesmore49]

Hey, Norbert - thanks much.

Jer



I bet both my Hercules (24in then 26in) had that gear set up - it worked . . . . . . sort of. Both of those bikes came from Sears. The larger (and fancier) of the two had a saddle bag, an air pump carried on the frame and front and rear lights powered by a generator, itself powered by the rear wheel when it was engaged.

Jer

The accessories you describe were very similar to the Glider bicycles, sold by Eaton's Dept. store, we had up here. The Gliders had a stylized, gold coloured 'Made in England' decal on the frame, similar to what you would find on a Triumph motorcycle of this era.

[Sailor]

The accessories you describe were very similar to the Glider bicycles, sold by Eaton's Dept. store, we had up here. The Gliders had a stylized, gold coloured 'Made in England' decal on the frame, similar to what you would find on a Triumph motorcycle of this era.

You know, Les - I have a sneaking suspicion that the Glider and Hercules were the same bike, but renamed for the two markets.

Jer

[arnold]

In my teens in the fifties, I was a bicycle sports racer, and often wondered how to improve the technology of the bike. (I was still at school and had to use second hand parts from older riders for my bike - an English hand built Claude Butler - I had saved my pocket money for).
In 1980 I ordered a Cinelli from the Milan factory as the latest example of the technology. Yet it was only after the Iron man contests that design improvements took off as cycling went mainstream. Prior to this bike racing was very limited in popularity.
Your bike looks very different from the Cinelli shown below as a result of this. I still wonder what the advantage of the sloped top bar is that now is so popular.
[IMG][/IMG]

[TwoUptons]

I think the sloped top bar is largely about matching the configuration of the bicycle to the intended use.
A racing bike (like the Cinelli) will have the rider leaned way over, so by the time you get the seat in the right place, you have a flat top tube.

For a commuter/fitness bike, the handlebars encourage a much more upright position, so a sloped top tube for the same distance from the seat to the ground.

There may also be some structural advantages to moving things around with carbon vs metallic frames, but I don't know...

And then there's the ever-present "that's what looks cool this season..."

Not too far from the camera industry, now I think about it

-Eric

[ZombieArmy]

Now that looks super slick, even has White Wall Tyres

Gangsta white walls!

You Tube

You Tube

[Sailor]

In my teens in the fifties, I was a bicycle sports racer, and often wondered how to improve the technology of the bike. (I was still at school and had to use second hand parts from older riders for my bike - an English hand built Claude Butler - I had saved my pocket money for).
In 1980 I ordered a Cinelli from the Milan factory as the latest example of the technology. Yet it was only after the Iron man contests that design improvements took off as cycling went mainstream. Prior to this bike racing was very limited in popularity.
Your bike looks very different from the Cinelli shown below as a result of this. I still wonder what the advantage of the sloped top bar is that now is so popular.
[/url][/IMG]

I think the sloped top bar is largely about matching the configuration of the bicycle to the intended use.
A racing bike (like the Cinelli) will have the rider leaned way over, so by the time you get the seat in the right place, you have a flat top tube.

For a commuter/fitness bike, the handlebars encourage a much more upright position, so a sloped top tube for the same distance from the seat to the ground.

There may also be some structural advantages to moving things around with carbon vs metallic frames, but I don't know...

And then there's the ever-present "that's what looks cool this season..."

Not too far from the camera industry, now I think about it

-Eric

Yeah, we're talking apples and oranges. The bike in your picture looks like what I'd guess people would call a road bike today - which has a different purpose than a fitness/commuter/urban bike with the geometry of my new bike - as well as with its predecessor: an aluminum (and heavy) friend with which I've covered over 29,000 miles during the last 10 years. As far as "racing" bikes are concerned, I know little about them, but I do know that my daughter's tri-bike, with which she has successfully completed three Iron Man contests, also has appendages not unlike the ones on my new bike. Nothing mystical, stylistic nor structural about them - they simply allow the rider to periodically enjoy a slight change in body position while riding. I've no idea whether they will be useful to me, since I've only ridden the bike a couple of times since I took delivery on Friday.

Jer

---------- Post added 08-04-2019 at 11:00 PM ----------

Gangsta white walls!

william de vaughn- be thankful for what you got (original) - YouTube

That was the major selling point.

Jer