I originally posted this in another thread, but since a couple of people thought it was good, I thought I would make a thread out of it. Maybe it would be useful to someone, as another forum member pointed out:
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Coasting
* C50: A bit like driving a BMW 540... smooth on smooth roads, smooth on rough roads. Take the hands of the handle bar and start typing text messages, have a meal, a coffee...whatever. The C50 is solid comfort and stability.
* Extreme-C: Like driving a BMW 3-series coupé with wide tyres... Smooth on smooth roads, smooth on rough roads, but requires attention. I noticed that it just felt "better" to keep the hands on the handle bar.
Pushing it hard on a flat road
* C50: Still like driving a BMW 540, accelerates fast but please let me know a bit in advance if I have to swerve to avoid a pothole. This bike is really awesome going straight, hard and for long. Comfortable, efficient, stiff, but still forgiving enough. A damped sound of best possible quality. Once momentum is up, it encourages to continue past lactic acid and dry throat. Fatigue your fellow competitors to give up.
They might use their NOS on the specced out rice-rocket, but you will end up beating them in the end.
* Extreme-C: It is comfortable, and it is fast, but it is not made for pushing hard on flat roads. It manages it well, but lets you know that it is not what it was meant to do. It might have to do with the slightly more nervous personality of the Extreme-C.
I bet I go faster on the Extreme-C because the fit is better for me, but the C50 feels a notch better on the flat sections.
Climbing
* C50: The C50 is a bike that climbs best from the saddle. Getting out of the saddle just feels like wasting energy. Climbing from the saddle feels solid. You go up fast, but keeping a steady fast speed feels 100% more natural than dancing around out of the saddle.
* Extreme-C The Extreme-C is made for climbing, and it shows. When climbing, I get a speed of 1-2 km/h more, out of the Extreme-C, than the C50 and my heart isn't about to explode at the top of the hill. It doesn't matter if you're sitting down or standing up. Every pedal stroke is transmitted to the pavement. Before the Extreme-C, the only bike that had the same joy of climbing, was the 2007 Orbea Orca. (made for the mountain loving Bask separatists of the Euskatel team) I loved the Orca, and have been longing for the same kind of love. The Extreme-C got it. It just feels SO right.
The bike for made for climbing, and it shows.
Descending
* C50: Solid, secure, smooth, safe... I felt like the C50 was never going to let me down on the descents. Whether the speed is 30km/h or 70km/h, the bike never feels twitchy or out of control. The C50 just takes whatever you throw at it. The higher the speed, the better... Turns with a solid feel, brakes with a solid feel, it just never feels out of control.
* Extreme-C Make sure you stay focused. The Extreme-C is a light and nervous, perfect for climbing, nice for descending, but at speeds over 50km/h, it isn't really a pleasure to be on. A bit scary, good for the adrenaline rush, but not by any means as rock solid as the C50. It isn't twitchy, but the light feeling is really emphasized on the descents too. My neck and shoulders were stiff after having squeezed the handlebar to the bottom of the curvy descent. I am not yet 100% used to the bike, so I assume I will become more relaxed, but the C50 doesn't require any attention as such when going fast.
Coasting
* C50: A bit like driving a BMW 540... smooth on smooth roads, smooth on rough roads. Take the hands of the handle bar and start typing text messages, have a meal, a coffee...whatever. The C50 is solid comfort and stability.
* Extreme-C: Like driving a BMW 3-series coupé with wide tyres... Smooth on smooth roads, smooth on rough roads, but requires attention. I noticed that it just felt "better" to keep the hands on the handle bar.
Pushing it hard on a flat road
* C50: Still like driving a BMW 540, accelerates fast but please let me know a bit in advance if I have to swerve to avoid a pothole. This bike is really awesome going straight, hard and for long. Comfortable, efficient, stiff, but still forgiving enough. A damped sound of best possible quality. Once momentum is up, it encourages to continue past lactic acid and dry throat. Fatigue your fellow competitors to give up.
They might use their NOS on the specced out rice-rocket, but you will end up beating them in the end.
* Extreme-C: It is comfortable, and it is fast, but it is not made for pushing hard on flat roads. It manages it well, but lets you know that it is not what it was meant to do. It might have to do with the slightly more nervous personality of the Extreme-C.
I bet I go faster on the Extreme-C because the fit is better for me, but the C50 feels a notch better on the flat sections.
Climbing
* C50: The C50 is a bike that climbs best from the saddle. Getting out of the saddle just feels like wasting energy. Climbing from the saddle feels solid. You go up fast, but keeping a steady fast speed feels 100% more natural than dancing around out of the saddle.
* Extreme-C The Extreme-C is made for climbing, and it shows. When climbing, I get a speed of 1-2 km/h more, out of the Extreme-C, than the C50 and my heart isn't about to explode at the top of the hill. It doesn't matter if you're sitting down or standing up. Every pedal stroke is transmitted to the pavement. Before the Extreme-C, the only bike that had the same joy of climbing, was the 2007 Orbea Orca. (made for the mountain loving Bask separatists of the Euskatel team) I loved the Orca, and have been longing for the same kind of love. The Extreme-C got it. It just feels SO right.
The bike for made for climbing, and it shows.
Descending
* C50: Solid, secure, smooth, safe... I felt like the C50 was never going to let me down on the descents. Whether the speed is 30km/h or 70km/h, the bike never feels twitchy or out of control. The C50 just takes whatever you throw at it. The higher the speed, the better... Turns with a solid feel, brakes with a solid feel, it just never feels out of control.
* Extreme-C Make sure you stay focused. The Extreme-C is a light and nervous, perfect for climbing, nice for descending, but at speeds over 50km/h, it isn't really a pleasure to be on. A bit scary, good for the adrenaline rush, but not by any means as rock solid as the C50. It isn't twitchy, but the light feeling is really emphasized on the descents too. My neck and shoulders were stiff after having squeezed the handlebar to the bottom of the curvy descent. I am not yet 100% used to the bike, so I assume I will become more relaxed, but the C50 doesn't require any attention as such when going fast.
