Pearson Carbon Audax Pro: A comfy, modern & fast (ish) long-distance bike

So I'd been lusting after a modern bike, preferably carbon framed, for a while. I do really like BMCs, but couldn't quite bring myself to shell out crap loads of cash on something with race geometry when what I really like doing is long rides, where comfort for a long time in the saddle is more important than speed.

One thing the longer audaxes I've done (specifically the Green and Yellow Fields, which was the longest I've done so far at 190 miles) have taught me is that a steel track frame probably isn't the best tool for such rides, and as I don't want to wear my lovely vintage Colnago into the ground, I wanted something more modern and practical.

This frame came up on eBay and seems to have everything I'm looking for - light weight, decent quality carbon, mudguard mounts and most importantly 'sensible' geometry. It's something of a mystery to me why so many road bikes are sold with race geometry when, for what the owners will use them for, a bike version of a 'grand tourer' would be much more suitable, but anyway - it was well priced so I snapped it up.

Carbon might seem like a funny choice for a bike like this, as the received wisdom is that 'steel is real', but it performs well on weight, comfort and fatigue life. I was interested to read what Mike Hall, the round the world record holder, said about choosing carbon:

“Over the past few years I’ve become a proponent of carbon for longer rides. I’ve found that I’ve cracked any metal bike over a long period of time. Steel, alu or titanium, I’ve cracked them all through long-term use. If you look at fatigue tests, carbon frames perform better. A bad carbon frame will fail, of course, but I’m a fan because it’s a more damped ride."

I reckon it'll be fine for me then, especially as I weigh about 58kg...

I gave Pearson a ring to ask about the frame as I couldn't find a picture on the internet of one with the wavy seat stays, and apparently it's a few years old and one of the Italian made versions (the new ones are made in Taiwan). The quality of the carbon seems very nice, based on a good look at least, and it's obviously not had much use (It was sold to me as unused, but I think it's had some. The sellers were the family of the chap who owned it before who had died: they'd literally found it in a box in his loft, so I wasn't going to make a fuss/ask too many questions).

I'm going to keep a record here of what I build it up with, as much for myself as anything, and hopefully get some advice. It's probably fair to say it's not going to be a typical LFGSS build, but hopefully at least someone will find it of interest! I'll stick up a better photo when I can but have just moved and have no internet...

This is going to be awesome.

2013: all about dem Audax.

Nice. Love the seat stays.

Rival will look good on this.

^^^Lots of forum audaxes please Ed, if anyone has to organise them it should be you!

Vesalius there are lots of audaxes already, Ed doesn't need to organise them, just do it! I don't know if the future of long rides for me is organised rides or just doing long rides off my own bat/with a few others, I just know I generally prefer longer rides.

2013: all about dem Audax.

Funnily enough it may well be 2013 before it's built as I don't really have the required monies at the moment!

So I've already got the matching Pearson carbon seat post and Pearson stem. I've also got the black Rival group I bought off Tenderloin, which I think as he says will look good on this - I think it's definitely going to be a carbon stealth audax bike, although I might go with some more white to go with the Pearson logo or some other bits of colour to finish it off (I have a thing about yellow, but not sure how that would look)!

My dream group for it would have been Red '2013', or Red Black, but for £250 the Rival is a lot of groupset and will function well, it'll just be slightly heavier, so I think I'm probably going to stick with it.

I'm currently thinking about wheels. I think what I want is carbon rims which are slightly aero in profile, so in the 30-45mm sort of range.

What I'd really like is Zipp 303s, but they are silly expensive, so I'm currently thinking about Reynolds Attacks, but a bit put off by reports of bad braking performance, which if true would make them a no go.

If anyone's got any thoughts on this I'd appreciate the input...

Vesalius there are lots of audaxes already, Ed doesn't need to organise them, just do it! I don't know if the future of long rides for me is organised rides or just doing long rides off my own bat/with a few others, I just know I generally prefer longer rides.

Oh yeah don't worry I've got a few on the radar already, even if I have to go solo, it's just nice to have friends!

My first audax the ditchling devil i had to do the majority of the second leg solo as my mate's knee packed in in Brighton :( Was still great fun for me, unfortunately not for him...

Not that they are reynolds attack or zipp 303s but planet x are doing a set of 32 spoke open sport to 105 hubs for 119 quid, that'd be perfect for audax

The open sports can take up to a 32mm tyre apparently

Funnily enough it may well be 2013 before it's built as I don't really have the required monies at the moment!

I'm the same too, likely to be finished late 2012/early 2013, just got all the part slowly coming through (650B mudguard, 42c tyres, 46/30 crankset, etc.) for my audax bike.

With that frame, I wouldn't really worry too much about the weight if you're used to old steel frame, just a decent handbuild wheels and reliable component will make a huge difference.

wider rims is a must for audax.

It's probably fair to say it's not going to be a typical LFGSS build, but hopefully at least someone will find it of interest!

Well, in my opinion 'typical LFGSS builds' can go suck an egg. This project sounds like a proper bike actually designed for proper riding! I'm excited to see what you do with it. On another note, I must join you for an Audax sometime.

@heythrop yes that would be fine but I want something a bit more blingy :)

I've got Mavic rims on my other bikes (with CX-ray spokes and ceramic Open Pros on my fixed) but I think I want carbon rims on a carbon bike. Plus the slight aero advantage of an aero rim adds up to more over long distances than short so in a way it's easier to justify them for an audax bike than anything else ;)

Mike Hall (mentioned upthread) used the 'Thirty Two' 32mm Reynolds carbon rims on his round the world trip which are the more expensive versions of the Attacks.

I've already had the conversation with Scherrit about how Dura Ace would be the perfect groupset for an audax bike as it's mechanically the most reliable and easier to set up and so on than SRAM, but I just can't do it: I find modern Shimano so ugly!

Less rotating weight = easier up hills and easier to push the wheels round Ed, so I want as light as possible while still being tough, but I think there aren't many wheels I'd have a problem with given my weight. It'll be getting 25mm tyres, so as long as they're wide enough for this they'll be fine, although the wider profile of the Zipps is one reason I'd really like the 303 rims...

Well, in my opinion 'typical LFGSS builds' can go suck an egg. This project sounds like a proper bike actually designed for proper riding! I'm excited to see what you do with it. On another note, I must join you for an Audax sometime.

One of those mouldy Chinese ones maybe :)

Definitely, I want to do some more in the second half of the year after my recent erm, break.

What's your aim? I mean is there's a particular Audax you wanted to do?

Mine was to do the 1200km Audax (but first got to do the 400k and 600k one).

I don't know what my audax aims are now, I don't even know if I want to carry on with the audax UK thing, it all depends on stuff. Mostly new flat related stuff, buying a new place and doing it up is pretty time consuming it turns out!

Whatever they end up being, this should be good for it as long as I build it right.

Having mentioned the Thirty Two's I guess they should be on my list too - they are quite a bit cheaper than the Zipps despite being the premium Reynolds option.

What I'm wondering is if other wheel makers do anything similar, is there anything I've missed?

Helpfully it turns out you can try Reynolds before you buy:
http://www.reynoldscomposites.co.uk/ride.html

Also helpfully, my parents are gifting me with an overly generous birthday present because my sister has been fiscally demanding (again) and I forgot that when you rent a flat you get six weeks worth of deposit back, so this build may now happen a bit faster than expected :)

Y'know, this is the first I heard of using carbon rims for audax (or long distance ride generally).

Is it advisable? I don't remember seeing any carbon rimmed bicycles during some audax.

The Reynolds wheels work for Mike because he was using disc brakes so he won't have to worry about rims braking on carbon rims.

This was a, if wordy, ok comparison of reynolds vs zipps and the pros/cons of carbon clinchers (Assuming you aren't getting tubs!)

http://redkiteprayer.com/2012/07/carbon-clinchers-are-they-ready-for-prime-time/

"The retailers I spoke to noted that what they aren’t seeing returned are Enve’s new SES rims and Zipp’s Firecrest Carbon Clinchers. While I can’t speak to the new SES carbon clincher (I don’t even know anyone who owns a set), I can say that I’ve taken both the Firecrest 303s and 404s down Las Flores, and though at a certain point the brakes howled like a dog for a full moon, braking remained consistent and the wheels remain perfectly true."

HED Jet 4 FR 2012 ? 23mm wide C2 clincher wide rim and 46 deep carbon section .. good braking on the aluminium rim and great aero.

Slightly off-topic, but also slightly on-topic, brakes for the new breed of ultra-wide carbon rim. Which ones?

I considered buying a set of HED Stinger 9's, but the braking track is 28mm wide, way beyond what my EE brakes will clamp, which is why I went for Zipps- aerodynamically poorer than the HED's but I can stop.

Is it advisable? I don't remember seeing any carbon rimmed bicycles during some audax.

The Reynolds wheels work for Mike because he was using disc brakes so he won't have to worry about rims braking on carbon rims.

I don't see why not. When you've got the majority of the pro peloton on them it seems unlikely that I will be more demanding on my wheels than them. This year's Tour, for example, wasn't characterised by exploding carbon wheels, despite some big descents.

Unless I looked away from Eurosport at that point...

You don't see carbon rims on audax rides because the riders are mostly of the 'if it ain't broke don't fix it' school of thought, older and more change resistant. And unlikely to shell out on a pricey pair of blingy carbon wheels.

In many ways carbon rims make more a lot of sense for long rides: they're lighter so you can go further with less effort, they should be more rigid and unlike a malleable aluminium rim they won't deform from impact. This video gives a very graphic illustration:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VtebbEjnlQ

I think that guy who wrote the 'Are carbon clinchers ready for prime time?' piece has an axe to grind to be honest. And Britain is definitely not Malibu. That said, when you find posts like this:

I had the same failure with my Reynolds Attack rims on that road. These were the 2011 version with the newer "blue" brake pads and heat resistant braking surface. I'm now on Kysrium SL's and very happy.

It *is *worrying because the new 2011 version was meant to have beefed up sidewalls and better braking performance and heat dissipation.

I have to say I've gone off the Attacks a bit now anyway because I thought they come with DT Swiss hubs, but they don't: they come with cheapy hubs and you have to buy the Thirty Twos to get the DT hubs.

I do think I'd trust the 303 Firecrests more. They're just hideously pricey.

Great project Fox.

I don't see why not. When you've got the majority of the pro peloton on them it seems unlikely that I will be more demanding on my wheels than them. This year's Tour, for example, wasn't characterised by exploding carbon wheels, despite some big descents.

The Pros are on Tubs, not clinchers. It's like comparing Apples and Oranges.

In many ways carbon rims make more a lot of sense for long rides: they're lighter so you can go further with less effort

Again, Tubs are lighter, many carbon clinchers are heavier than decent aluminium rims. Obviously they will be more aero but will you really feel the benefit of this during audax paced rides?

That said 303FC are amazing wheels and top of my wishlist before I had a pair of unmissable Bora 2s brought to my attention.

Fox, have you considered tubs?