View Full Version : need ROADIE Bike guru help
jsigone
10-11-07, 12:35 AM
cross posting from the other side but oh well, here it goes.......
Looking to get a new bike in the next week or so. Only have 1300 TOPS to spend. I just spent 19k on my wedding coming up on this saturday and have a bit left over. Was looking at the Motobecane Le Champion for $1100. Anything else out there better? I don't mind upgrading the frame later when cash comes back in. Currently riding an 05' Felt F90 with trips and sora shifters (23lbs in 58cm), I need an upgrade. I've put over 7k on that bike. A light weight steel bike would be nice too, saw Bianchi Eros but cheap shifter are not much better then the soras I have now. I'm more of a MTB guy so don't know all too much on roadies but I do ride them alot!!!
Other contenders
http://www.jensonusa.com/store/produ...a+Bike+07.aspx
http://blbikes.com/itemdetails.cfm?catalogId=39&id=1459
VanceMac
10-11-07, 08:33 AM
The Bianchi and Motobecane are both great deals. Another full-Ultegra option here (http://www.leaderbikestore.com/pd_ld_736r3.cfm) just for comparison.
mateo44
10-11-07, 08:35 AM
cross posting from the other side but oh well, here it goes.......
Looking to get a new bike in the next week or so. Only have 1300 TOPS to spend. I just spent 19k on my wedding coming up on this saturday and have a bit left over. Was looking at the Motobecane Le Champion for $1100. Anything else out there better? I don't mind upgrading the frame later when cash comes back in. Currently riding an 05' Felt F90 with trips and sora shifters (23lbs in 58cm), I need an upgrade. I've put over 7k on that bike. A light weight steel bike would be nice too, saw Bianchi Eros but cheap shifter are not much better then the soras I have now. I'm more of a MTB guy so don't know all too much on roadies but I do ride them alot!!!
Other contenders
http://www.jensonusa.com/store/produ...a+Bike+07.aspx
http://blbikes.com/itemdetails.cfm?catalogId=39&id=1459
If your wedding registry included a few $2k bikes, you'd be all set!
BigSean
10-11-07, 08:37 AM
cross posting from the other side but oh well, here it goes.......
Looking to get a new bike in the next week or so. Only have 1300 TOPS to spend. I just spent 19k on my wedding coming up on this saturday and have a bit left over. Was looking at the Motobecane Le Champion for $1100. Anything else out there better? I don't mind upgrading the frame later when cash comes back in. Currently riding an 05' Felt F90 with trips and sora shifters (23lbs in 58cm), I need an upgrade. I've put over 7k on that bike. A light weight steel bike would be nice too, saw Bianchi Eros but cheap shifter are not much better then the soras I have now. I'm more of a MTB guy so don't know all too much on roadies but I do ride them alot!!!
Other contenders
http://www.jensonusa.com/store/produ...a+Bike+07.aspx
http://blbikes.com/itemdetails.cfm?catalogId=39&id=1459
If ya can stretch it to this model Id say go for it. Those riding the Motobecane say they are good bikes.
http://bikesdirect.com/products/mercier/draco_wcs.htm
Indolent58
10-11-07, 09:08 AM
cross posting from the other side but oh well, here it goes.......
Looking to get a new bike in the next week or so. Only have 1300 TOPS to spend. I just spent 19k on my wedding coming up on this saturday and have a bit left over. Was looking at the Motobecane Le Champion for $1100. Anything else out there better? I don't mind upgrading the frame later when cash comes back in. Currently riding an 05' Felt F90 with trips and sora shifters (23lbs in 58cm), I need an upgrade. I've put over 7k on that bike. A light weight steel bike would be nice too, saw Bianchi Eros but cheap shifter are not much better then the soras I have now. I'm more of a MTB guy so don't know all too much on roadies but I do ride them alot!!!
Other contenders
http://www.jensonusa.com/store/produ...a+Bike+07.aspx
http://blbikes.com/itemdetails.cfm?catalogId=39&id=1459
IMO you should be looking for a bike with a frame you are going to be OK with for a while because there are parts compromises in this price range, especially in regarding wheels. The Ritcheys on the Motobecane, while light, are not rated well and don't sound all that durable. Really none of the wheels on $1100-1300 bikes are going to be that good, so that's where you will want upgrade.
Still, the Motobecane is a good deal for a light bike. You say you would like a better drivetrain, but you don't say what you do or don't like about your current frame. If you want a smoother ride you might consider the carbon frame Motobecane Immortal Pro ($1300) from BD or the Bottecchia CF Ultegra bikes ($1100) on eBay.
jsigone
10-11-07, 10:44 AM
Yah I'm looking for a smoother ride, yet strong bottom bracket. I can make the Felt alum frame BB sway a bit hammering DH at 45+ which is scary. I'd hate to get a CF bike that has more lateral flex. Steel would be nice but the parts that come on them in my price range sucks
Now that I found that bianchi for a bit more then the LeChampion, I'm thinking of that. I'll have the strength on the BB with the alum and carbons stays and still Ultegra shifters. I'm going to go to that bike shop prolly on sunday and do a test ride. But I do like the immortal Pro. I just need to do some more HW on the frame stiffness of that bike.
Smaller wedding = better bike!!!!
ronjon10
10-11-07, 11:06 AM
Smaller wedding = better bike!!!!
Exactly. A wedding is a one time event. A very slightly better bike will get you up that hill a minute or two faster for every ride!
jsigone
10-11-07, 11:10 AM
the wedding is paid for.....this is what I have left over...and I just dumped $800 into getting a xbox 360. It's ummm a recovery tool after those long BF rides, yah thats it:p
In my head was debating having a 2k bike or have both a new bike AND the 360. Since I don't have my second job again I'll be spending more time here at home and on the bike:D
tinrobot
10-11-07, 11:20 AM
XBox 360 and a new bike...
Will you have any time left over for your new marriage?
jsigone
10-11-07, 11:31 AM
everything is under control, she lets me go out an play if I'm good:D
Indolent58
10-11-07, 11:44 AM
Yah I'm looking for a smoother ride, yet strong bottom bracket. I can make the Felt alum frame BB sway a bit hammering DH at 45+ which is scary. I'd hate to get a CF bike that has more lateral flex. Steel would be nice but the parts that come on them in my price range sucks
Now that I found that bianchi for a bit more then the LeChampion, I'm thinking of that. I'll have the strength on the BB with the alum and carbons stays and still Ultegra shifters. I'm going to go to that bike shop prolly on sunday and do a test ride. But I do like the immortal Pro. I just need to do some more HW on the frame stiffness of that bike.
CF bikes are usually pretty stiff at the BB. There are tons of reviews on the Motebecane Immortal CF frameset on Bike Forums and RBR. If you are flexing the BB on the Felt you will probably do the same on most any steel bike.
take a drive to this shop: http://www.bicyclediscovery.net/
they sell BD bikes...look at them, test them, ask questions, and if ur happy do the do...see http://www.bicyclediscovery.net/robisp.html
Indolent58
10-11-07, 11:56 AM
take a drive to this shop: http://www.bicyclediscovery.net/
they sell BD bikes...look at them, test them, ask questions, and if ur happy do the do...see http://www.bicyclediscovery.net/robisp.html
Interesting. I didn't know you could get those bikes locally. Too bad they don't have the Motobecane CF models.
bikesdirect_com
10-11-07, 12:06 PM
Interesting. I didn't know you could get those bikes locally. Too bad they don't have the Motobecane CF models.
They do
They just received 10 CF Motobecanes in yesterday
Ultegra level
mike
jsigone
10-11-07, 12:06 PM
I'll stop by there sunday when I got to BL bikes near the sports arena.
DaveSANYYZ
10-11-07, 12:25 PM
Wow, and they're in SD too!
ronjon10
10-11-07, 03:18 PM
everything is under control, she lets me go out an play if I'm good:D
That's because the ceremony hasn't happened yet :p
Grumpy Pig
10-11-07, 03:53 PM
$19,000 for a wedding? How many women are you marrying?
Wooo hooo . Congrats Jeff I did not know you were getting married! You should have invited you us ALL :)
Wow, and they're in SD too!
yep...I called them b/c I am a member of SDBC and you can get 10% off stuff there...and they said that they can order any BD bike listed...
I have seen a few pop up on the silver strand and the local Performance in Bonita
mike told me about it...
thomson
10-11-07, 06:32 PM
Congratulations
jsigone
10-11-07, 11:18 PM
Wooo hooo . Congrats Jeff I did not know you were getting married! You should have invited you us ALL :)
I wish I had the room and more $$ to do so:D
jsigone
10-12-07, 12:08 PM
16-17lbs
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v234/Handgod/IMG_7747sm.jpg
19-20lbs
http://img258.imageshack.us/img258/3294/pict0096ra3.jpg
19-20lbs but with 105's
http://i179.photobucket.com/albums/w298/rtc247/IMG_2851.jpg
I need to three sided coin:D
I thought I needed compact but found out my trips had a 42T in the middle, so a 39T would be fine on the standard doubles.
thedips
10-12-07, 12:58 PM
yea better to slide into a very solid groupset like ULTEGRA than a lower tier set and have to upgrade not only your components but your components and frame...
BigSean
10-12-07, 02:47 PM
I need to three sided coin:D
I thought I needed compact but found out my trips had a 42T in the middle, so a 39T would be fine on the standard doubles.[/QUOTE]
Id go with the Cannondale.;)
Oleanshoebox
10-12-07, 03:40 PM
Yo that masi at the bikesdiscovery place is hawt.
Crash716
10-12-07, 04:12 PM
i would consider....
almost every bike shop has a 0% financing for a year....if your credit is good you shouldn't have any problems...if you don't have the cash right now and think you can pay it off in a year...this is the way to go...get a better bike...higher value and pay it off over the next year.....
i know Trek, specialized, and performance all have it...
hope that helps bro...
i don't know how tall you are but if you want you can try out my Fuji Team RC if you want to get an idea..
What size you ride? I've got a really nice 59cm 9spd DA Paramount that's collecting dust. :)
jsigone
10-12-07, 11:50 PM
I ride a 58 ride now, but looking for something 55-56 range, smaller so I can have the seat a hair higher and be more tucking and aero. I'm 6'2 but flexy too. With the current bike, there is about a 4" seat/bar drop and I'm catching alot of wind even in the drops. I'll prolly just run a 110mm stem rather then a 100mm that will most likely come on it. My SS has about about 6" drop and I'm able to coast to 46-48mph where I'd max out at 38-40 on the same hill. Fully tucked on both bikes. This would also translate to flat land speed as well.
I like everything I hear about eh C'dale but the 105's are throwing me off there.
DaveSANYYZ
10-13-07, 01:55 AM
Have you tried the bikes in person yet?
Dan has tried the C2C, but said it isn't lively enough. I have an older C'dale caad8 and I picked it over the comparably priced bikes at the time because I like the liveliness. But yeah, if the others are all ultegra's I would've picked them too. I assumed you've already checked the price of the 2008? Some road forum posts say C'dale lowered the price their 2008 bikes.
jsigone
10-13-07, 02:04 AM
C'dale won't list thier cost on thier sites, Blk Mt Bikes in Mira Mesa is the closest dealer, I'm gonna check and see what they have.
Two of the bikes on the list I should be able to ride on Sunday, I can't do jack for crap on the LeChampion since it's mail order. Plus I'm thinking the LeChamp will be the cheapest one, considering a 1200 bike has 92 bucks of taxes attached to it. So that is the sticker I'm looking for. At that 1300 out the door, the LeChamp is $200 cheaper which can go for a spare set od wheels since the stockers aren't as good as the American Classics they had last season.
Pepper Grinder
10-13-07, 03:41 AM
Why does everybody encourage buying now, even going as far as to suggest financing the thing? Have you thought about waiting a little bit and seeing what your financial situation looks like then, if you can't find the bike you want within your budget? Why compromise now when you can get what you really want later?
Happytime
10-13-07, 04:57 AM
Why does everybody encourage buying now, even going as far as to suggest financing the thing? Have you thought about waiting a little bit and seeing what your financial situation looks like then, if you can't find the bike you want within your budget? Why compromise now when you can get what you really want later?
Peer pressure! (http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=342570) :p ;)
thomson
10-13-07, 05:08 AM
Have you tried the bikes in person yet?
Dan has tried the C2C, but said it isn't lively enough. I have an older C'dale caad8 and I picked it over the comparably priced bikes at the time because I like the liveliness. But yeah, if the others are all ultegra's I would've picked them too. I assumed you've already checked the price of the 2008? Some road forum posts say C'dale lowered the price their 2008 bikes.
I totally agree with the C2C assessment. The Bianchi Coast to Coast are a more relaxed geometry and set more for longer and slower type of riding. The Bianchi Born for Performance (B4P) line is the traditional race geometry.
Mo'Phat
10-13-07, 08:11 AM
Jeff! I understand fully the "want it now" feeling you've got. But, for $1200-$1300, you are looking at decent framed with decent groupsets, and okay wheels.
If you are able to put that cash away, and add just $100 a month to it, by the time spring rolls around, you could have $2000 to put towards an excellent frame, excellent groupset, and sick wheels.
Your Felt works great (it's just heavy, and you think Sora is bad...) and is a terrific rain/training bike. I say keep the Felt for the time being, save up, shop around, and get a bike that won't be a compromise for you.
PS, The San Diego Velodrome swapmeet is coming up in November...$1300 could get you an amazing bike, or all the parts necessary for an amazing bike.
PPS, My Leader frame was $640 (frame, fork, headset), I bought my DA groupset on Bikeforums for $800, and it came with the wheels, which I sold for $500, I bought the rest of the parts at the Swapmeet for about $200 total, and the wheels were a holdover from my old bike. So, I spent about $1140 for my bike...add $450 that I spent on the wheels a year earlier.
...all I'm saying is that $2000 opens up an entirely different class of bikes.
...However, if it were me, I'd rather ride a Bianchi...there's marketing cache and a bling factor that (sorry to say) Motobecane doesn't have.
I ride a 58 ride now, but looking for something 55-56 range, smaller so I can have the seat a hair higher and be more tucking and aero. I'm 6'2 but flexy too. With the current bike, there is about a 4" seat/bar drop and I'm catching alot of wind even in the drops. I'll prolly just run a 110mm stem rather then a 100mm that will most likely come on it. My SS has about about 6" drop and I'm able to coast to 46-48mph where I'd max out at 38-40 on the same hill. Fully tucked on both bikes. This would also translate to flat land speed as well.
I like everything I hear about eh C'dale but the 105's are throwing me off there.
Man, you're looking at the wrong bikes if you want to coast down a hill fast. :) It's fun passing Tandems on descents, but you won't do it on a DF. :)
thomson
10-13-07, 03:24 PM
Man, you're looking at the wrong bikes if you want to coast down a hill fast. :) It's fun passing Tandems on descents, but you won't do it on a DF. :)
Why do you proselytize so much on the virtues of a recumbent? According to you, everyone on a diamond frame is on the wrong bike.
jsigone
10-13-07, 08:44 PM
I rarely just coast down hill, I'm usually in the tallest gear I have to meet mach speed records set by myself. I just can't pedal DH on the singlespeed, so that is truly the only bike I need to coast with. And I found there was a big difference in my aero position.
Mo, I can't really phathom spending 2k on a bike, if I wanted a 2k bike I would have not gotten my XBOX
(800 bucks or so right now) which would have given me a 2100 budget. I'm willing to spend $1300 which is about the same as any of my MTBs are worth in my stable. I really like the bling factor of the Bianchi, having good parts as a base and also marked down from MSRP of 1750 to 1200!!! And it has a rear CF seat stays should add extra plush. I need to test ride it and see if it has the speed I need from it (it's still 3-4lbs lighter then my felt!!!!). The Moto spec wise is NICE, but I'd fear I'd have to upgrade the frame later on if the alum design is stiff and too harsh. It was part if the original plan and getting a PF CF frame to replace it with. The Cdale has great frame rep but I don't want to step down in groupo, I've done that already when I bought my felt with Sora. I don't want to feel I need to upgrade again. Knowing DA is race verison of Ultegra and few grams lighter, I'd be happy with the Ultegra groupo which most people seem to be happy with.
Why do you proselytize so much on the virtues of a recumbent? According to you, everyone on a diamond frame is on the wrong bike.
Notice the smileys on my post..... Ever try keeping with a bent downhill? :)
I rarely just coast down hill, I'm usually in the tallest gear I have to meet mach speed records set by myself. I just can't pedal DH on the singlespeed, so that is truly the only bike I need to coast with. And I found there was a big difference in my aero position.
Mo, I can't really phathom spending 2k on a bike, if I wanted a 2k bike I would have not gotten my XBOX
(800 bucks or so right now) which would have given me a 2100 budget. I'm willing to spend $1300 which is about the same as any of my MTBs are worth in my stable. I really like the bling factor of the Bianchi, having good parts as a base and also marked down from MSRP of 1750 to 1200!!! And it has a rear CF seat stays should add extra plush. I need to test ride it and see if it has the speed I need from it (it's still 3-4lbs lighter then my felt!!!!). The Moto spec wise is NICE, but I'd fear I'd have to upgrade the frame later on if the alum design is stiff and too harsh. It was part if the original plan and getting a PF CF frame to replace it with. The Cdale has great frame rep but I don't want to step down in groupo, I've done that already when I bought my felt with Sora. I don't want to feel I need to upgrade again. Knowing DA is race verison of Ultegra and few grams lighter, I'd be happy with the Ultegra groupo which most people seem to be happy with.
Ever consider Campy?? Shimano Brifters can't be rebuilt if they die. (I killed the set of DA's on my Paramount). You can still run shimano cassettes, but get better shifting of Campy. Since you have a ride, consider doing what Dan did and build something up the way you want it. Start with a good framest, or do like I did, and collect the parts over time and then get the frameset. That's how I got into my Aero.
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