Road Cycling - new bike

this site has never failed me for good advice and whatnot so heres my situation. im buying a road bike (my first one, o boy!) my goal is to start racing. i only have $750 to spend on the bike. ive already gone to every local store i could find and here is what ive found: a cannondale r400, specialized allez sport and a trek 1200. all for 750. the cannondale had sora components but a good frame , the sport had tiagra components and a carbon fork but the frame wasnt as good. they said the r400 was more upgradable. the trek 1200 had a carbon fork and tiagra components. personally, im leaning more towards the trek but im open to any advice

I picked up the sport while in FL and liked the ride better than the Trek. Not sure what you mean about the frame, and I only have about 300 miles on it so far, so will decline comment accept that I am one big boy, and the ride is very nice!!

Shifts and braking are flawless, but with only 300 miles it's too early to tell. My only complaint was the wheels, and particularly the front. After about 75 miles got some "ratttle" in the front, thought it was the reflector, turned out it was spokes, tightened the loose ones to keep riding since my time in FL was limited. Asked the BS down there to check it out before they boxed it and sent it up to me. At about 200-225 miles here, the spokes were driving me INSANE. Put the whole bike on the stand, round was off, true was off, and tension was off. Rounded it off, trued it up and tightened all the spokes. Put another 100-125 on it since than without a single problem, and wheels have stayed perfect. I don't actually fault the bike, but the dealer. My local dealer would have checked the wheels better from the get go. I was itching for a TREK, since that's what I had experience with, but am VERY pleased with my Specialized, and will probably upgrade next year if this puppy holds up, meanwhile I'm going drop another 50-75 pounds with this one!

I have a trek and there great.I would go for the trek because they are so smooth and it will last for years

There is nothing wrong with the Allez frame. The bike is just as upgradeable as the others. Is the Tiagra a 9spd setup? If so, you are already ahead of the game, since everything up from there is 9 speed, while the Sora stuff, being 8 speed, will require more new parts to upgrade to 105 or above, most notably the shifters. Go with the frame that fits you the best and is the best combination of comfort and stiffness for your riding style.

I have an allez, and there is nothing wrong with the frame. In fact the frame, fork, seatpost and seat are the only things i have not upgraded. And The allez is not hard to upgrade as all, not harder than any of the others at least. You will also be happy you dont have sora, that stuff is junk. I will recomend the sport, becuase I'm bias and i know its a good ride.

Ask them if they have any of last year's models. I was going to get a giant ocr3 with a compact frame and sora 8-speed. I ended up getting last year's ocr2 with tiagra 9-speed for $50 more.
On top of being a more lengthy and more expensive upgrade, the Sora also splits the shifters up between the brake lever and this little knob at the side of the hoods; meaning you can't usually shift in 1 direction from the drops. The carbon fork and tiagra components, IMO, put it above the cannondale.

this site has never failed me for good advice and whatnot so heres my situation. im buying a road bike (my first one, o boy!) my goal is to start racing. i only have $750 to spend on the bike. ive already gone to every local store i could find and here is what ive found: a cannondale r400, specialized allez sport and a trek 1200. all for 750. the cannondale had sora components but a good frame , the sport had tiagra components and a carbon fork but the frame wasnt as good. they said the r400 was more upgradable. the trek 1200 had a carbon fork and tiagra components. personally, im leaning more towards the trek but im open to any advice


I too have an Allez sport ('03 model, tiagra/105), and it has been great. I have about 2500 miles ont he bike without a problem. I was deciding on bikes in the same range that you are looking at. For me, I liked the ride of the specialized more than the Trek. You should ride them and see what you think. I would not put too much weight in the song and dance about the specialized frame versus the cannondale frame versus the trek frame. Did the slaesman give you a reason for his opinion? Buy what feels best when you ride it. In the long run, the Cannondale will probably cost you more in component upgrades.

this site has never failed me for good advice and whatnot so heres my situation. im buying a road bike (my first one, o boy!) my goal is to start racing. i only have $750 to spend on the bike. ive already gone to every local store i could find and here is what ive found: a cannondale r400, specialized allez sport and a trek 1200. all for 750. the cannondale had sora components but a good frame , the sport had tiagra components and a carbon fork but the frame wasnt as good. they said the r400 was more upgradable. the trek 1200 had a carbon fork and tiagra components. personally, im leaning more towards the trek but im open to any advice

nick481, advice...Stay away from SORA if you can afford 9spd now...The C.dale with sora will cost you more in the long run to upgrade. As far as the sport and the 1200, opinion - pretty evenly matched. The sport has more of a sloping geometry than the 1200. advantage sport - 105 rd. Possible advantage 1200 - tiagra brakes vs the generic on sport. Also, you might check with your lbs, around here some 1200's have been shipped with an ultegra rd vice tiagra on occasion. Decision...Yours. Also Slvoid brought up an great point. See if they have any last years models..I was looking for a brand new bike and wound up with a previous years model and got a sweet price on it.

Bottom line - Like others have said.. take them for a test ride and find the bike that fits you best, makes you feel like riding forever and if it is a tie breaker... maybe the bike that has the color you want could be a deciding factor...

Good luck!

I agree with the other posts and this is a subjective venture. I would stay away from Sora. Ride them and you'll be able to rule at least some of them out. Not to confuse things, BUT ... if you have a dealer near by look at the Felt F80. Tiagra/105 mix I think it's at $800 but I'm not sure. They seem to be great bang for the buck right now.

I was just down at the LBS and saw a Schwinn Fastback with 105 components and a carbon fork for $749. I think that's a pretty good deal.

I was just down at the LBS and saw a Schwinn Fastback with 105 components and a carbon fork for $749. I think that's a pretty good deal.
I'm not too familiary with that particular bike but a few facts about the company...

1993 schwinn files bankruptcy

11 Sep 2001- Court finalizes bankruptcy and the closing of Schwinn.

2001 - Present - Schwinn is now Pacific Cycle still using Schwinn name.

105 are solid components..Not familiar with the schwinn frame.

There are other bikes out there with similar components and price.. However, if you like it, thats all that matters!