"Courtesy Bicyclist Magazine, Petersen Publishing Company" and feaured in the December 1996 issue
Red Rose Imports is a distribution company less than a year old. Formed by Greg Kreider, the company was started in order to import bicycles from Carrera and Moser. Sitting in the office one day, we came to the conclusion that no one on staff had ever ridden either a Carrera or a Moser. There was only one thing to do: Make a call.
We did the action photo shoot for this feature the day before I got to start riding this bike, and by a curious turn of events I found myself playing supermodel on the Sampson Classico while our model on the Carrera charged by the photographer with a delighted smile on his face. Every now and then he'd stop next to me and say something like, "really stiff!" There's nothing like watching a really strong rider dance on a bike to make you covet his ride.
The Carrera EL-OS is a visual marvel. According to Kreider, Carrera frames are completely chromed before they are painted. Following the chroming process, the rear triangle is masked for painting and then the frame is sprayed in the selected color. This is a step that I think not enough painters pay enough attention to. Too often I see frames where the masking wasn't properly affixed and the result is invariably a small amount of overspray that is never removed. Special points to the painters of this frame for a job well done. The second phase of masking is where the stencil for the Carrera name is layed down as is the stencil for the detail work. After a clear coat, the final decals and head tube badge are added.
My first ride out made me feel as if I were ready for the Tour de France, or at least as if I were riding a bike ready for the Tour de France. Equipped with Campagnolo Chorus components, the Carrera EL-OS felt every bit the product of European tradition. While I could distinguish the action of the Chorus Ergo levers from those of the Record group, I could distinguish no other differences on a new bike. Right down to the one-finger brake action, the Chorus components performed excellently. This bike measures out pretty traditionally, too. Our test bike came with a 58-centimeter seat tube (measured center to center) and a 57-centimeter top tube. A 73-degree seat tube angle put my hips just far enough behind the bottom bracket to pedal comfortably.
What seemed so well-balanced about this bike was how I didn't feel as though I had to make a concerted effort to shift my weight backward when I stood on the pedals. Out-of-the-saddle efforts had a catlike agility and left me feeling like I was a stronger and more efficient rider than I am. Much of this feeling comes from the incredibly rigid bottom bracket area of the EL-OS tubeset. The ovalized cross sections of the seat- and down tubes didn't allow for much sideways flex, but they still retained enough resilience and give in the vertical plane so that this bike didn't wear on me during longer rides.
Compared to my old SL frame, the Carrera EL-OS was every bit as comfortable to ride, but my ability to transmit power to the drivetrain felt as if it had been improved dramatically. The one tried-and-true test for me has always been to do hard, out-of-the-saddle jumps. It's rare to find a bike that won't demonstrate some front derailleur rub, but with the Ergo properly adjusted, I couldn't find any. This bike easily makes my top five of all time.