Thoughts on Trek Y-Foil 66/77 road bikes?
Josh Carter
Hi all,
I'm starting to ride more often, and not just for commuting anymore, so
I've been thinking about upgrading my road bike. I currently have a
Cannondale R300 which has served me well for several years, but I'm
thinking it might be fun to upgrade to a higher-end bike. With me being a
hard-core techno geek, the Trek Y-Foil road bikes caught my eye quite
quickly, and I'm wondering if anyone here has any experience with them.
Are they a genuinely Good Thing(tm), or a marketing gimmick? Are they
reasonably durable? Any feedback would be most useful.
Thanks,
Josh
ago...@dd.palmer.edu
Well, durability is a toughie because the bike hasn't even been out for
a year yet. As a mechanic at a Trek dealer, though, I still see 5000 series
OCLV's and 2000 series carbon/aluminum Trek's on a regular basis, and they are
holding up very well. I wouldn't worry about the longevity of Trek's carbon
fiber offerings if I were you.
As far as the ride of the 66 and 77, they can best be described as
magical. I have only been on a 66 for a brief period of time, but the frame is
super stiff in the bottom bracket, but still very comfy. This is achieved by
the beam. While it doesn't pivot like a Softride would, it has enough travel
to noticeably flex underneath you, giving a plush, absorbent ride. Paired with
the overbuilt rear triangle/BB shell/downtube, you get the best of both worlds:
efficiency with comfort! I would highly recommend taking one out for a test
ride.
Steve
>Thanks,
>Josh
Jim Deering
Josh Carter wrote in message ...
>Hi all,
>
>I'm starting to ride more often, and not just for commuting anymore, so
>I've been thinking about upgrading my road bike. I currently have a
>Cannondale R300 which has served me well for several years, but I'm
>thinking it might be fun to upgrade to a higher-end bike. With me being a
>hard-core techno geek, the Trek Y-Foil road bikes caught my eye quite
>quickly, and I'm wondering if anyone here has any experience with them.
>Are they a genuinely Good Thing(tm), or a marketing gimmick? Are they
>reasonably durable? Any feedback would be most useful.
>
>Thanks,
>Josh
I have about 750 miles on my Y-Foil 66.
Overall handling is excellent. The only significant difference between
the Y-Foil and a top-of-the-line diamond frame is the rear suspension.
It really works. The first time I rode the bike I had to force myself to
stay seated over bumps that I normally get out of the saddle for. A couple
of times I have stopped and checked the tire pressure - it just seemed too
smooth.
However, there is this little problem...
Bouncing. When I am riding slowly, like at the start of a club ride,
spinning with little pressure, I tend to bounce above 90 rpm. When
pushing hard, like at the end of a club ride, I can easily get up to 100 rpm
without bouncing. Uphill, the tendency to bounce increases if I stay
seated.
I have convinced myself that this is actually a feature because it makes
me concentrate on riding smoothly. But this is something you should
consider before buying. At 200 lbs., 6'-3" I ride the 62 cm. I don't know
if size is a factor. My advice is that if you normally spin at high rpm
(100+) then you better try the bike before buying.
Other advice:
Forget about the front suspension. You don't need it.
Get the Flight Deck computer. When riding hills, you always know how
many gears your have before shifting the chainring.
There really is only room for 1 water bottle. You can put a 2nd bottle
behind the seat, but then it hits the seat pack. You can mount two
bottles side-by-side behind the seat, but your legs brush them on the
down stroke.
Jim
Chris Neary
"Jim Deering" <jdee...@idt.net> wrote:
>I have about 750 miles on my Y-Foil 66.
>Overall handling is excellent. The only significant difference between
>the Y-Foil and a top-of-the-line diamond frame is the rear suspension.
Isn't the Y-foil frame slightly heavier than the the 5XXX OCLV frames?
Chris Neary
dia...@aimnet.com
"It doesn't get any easier - you just go faster" - Greg Lemond
David Rees
It has to be heavier.
Mojavetred
I ride a Trek Y Mtn Bike and live in an area that gets a lot of strong winds.
A big cross wind across my Y frame has a definite affect on handling and when
riding a ridge line the wind has made it a challenge to stay on the trail. I
would guess it would be the same on the Foil and perhaps worse?
Scott
Jim Deering
Mojavetred wrote in message
<199806010311...@ladder03.news.aol.com>...
I haven't had any problems with cross winds on my 66.
Jim
Josh Carter
Hi all,
I want to thank everyone for their feedback and follow up on my Y-Foil
saga: I test rode a Y-Foil 66 a few weeks ago, and again this morning.
Finally, after pondering the purchase for way too long, I bought it. I'm
sure it will be a great bike for the things I want to do (longer endurance
rides, etc.), and it sure does look bitchin'. :)
Thanks again for the great advice. It's pretty rare when highly
opinionated bike enthusiasts agree on something, especially a wacky bike
like the Y-Foil, and yet almost everything I've seen in this thread and on
the web speaks very highly of the bike. BTW, the only advice I didn't
follow was Jim's recommendation for the Flight Deck system; unfortunately,
the bike didn't have FD-equipped shifters, and the shop had dropped the
price by $300 on the in-stock bike, so I went ahead and bought it as-is.
Replacing the STI shifters for the FD computer is pretty pricey, so I just
bought the Trek Radar computer instead. Had the bike come with FD
shifters, though, I certainly would have bought the computer to match.
Best regards,
Josh