Obsessing Over Bikes Is The Ultimate In Escapism

Arguably this is the very best time of year to ride a bicycle here in this particular part of the world:


And for this reason I've been very grateful to have a new excuse to do so.  After all, I am a semi-professional bike blogger, and I've got to review this Tresca!


Today's ride was 30 miles up and down "River Road," where yesterday I took my plastic Fred Sled.  So how do the two bikes compare?  Well, my first thought upon hopping on the Tresca was, "Yeah, the plastic bike is definitely smoother."  However, I soon forgot about all that, and the rest of the time I was mostly just thinking, "This bike feels great!"

It makes sense that overall the Specialized would feel a little "nicer" than the Tresca.  It's lighter, it's crabon, and it's got Dura Ace on it.  (Sure, the difference in feel between 105 and Dura Ace is pretty small, but it is there.)  At the same time, the retail price on the Specialized when new would have been a whopping $4,000 (it's a 2018 model that has long since vanished into the Specialized archives), whereas the Tresca is about half that.  So while the Specialized does come off as a bit more refined, and really is an excellent race bicycle, there's no way that refinement is worth two grand.  Indeed, depending on what you're after and who you are it may be worth nothing.  Anyway, of course you've always got the option of spending $4,000 for the Dura Ace version of the Tresca, which comes with crabon wheels and the whole schmear, though honestly I have no idea why you'd bother given how well this bike performs in its budget guise.

Of course the best comparison to the Tresca for testing purposes would be something like a Cannondale CAAD13 105, which is aluminum, equipped similarly, and also slightly cheaper at $1,800.  I have not ridden an aluminum Cannondale since owning one a full nine (9) CAADs ago (it had one-inch headtube for chrissakes), but I will say I remember it being a great bike, and based on what I've heard the CAAD[X]s still are, at least in terms of ride quality.  On the other hand, the latest Cannondales do have BB30 bottom brackets, which scare me, and are enough to sway me towards the Tresca without even trying the Cannondale.  But on the other other hand, you buy a Cannondale through a bike shop, which is absolutely a selling point if you want in-person technical support, fitting advice, and all the rest of it.

All that aside, with over 100 miles now on the Tresca, I still think it's excellent.  And while I reserve the right to put forth critiques and criticisms as I continue to get to know the bike, if I were a paying customer I'd continue to feel quite good about my purchase.  Of course I still need to try the thing in an actual bicycle race, and fortunately I'll have the opportunity to do just that in the not-too-distant future.  I'll keep you posted.