Road Cycling - if my tall ass can afford it

been looking for new roadbikes in a 64cm. was watching the Fuji Team for $1399 at Performance, and I saw this steel bike at gvhbikes called the Viner Competition which is also avail in my size and with a cheap-o carbon fork and a triple comes out at about the same price. give up free tunes, get no tax.

which would you get? i'd like a triple, which isn't a no-fuss option from performance, and i'm not a racer so i'd like the comfort if it's not too heavy. how does the viner's steel compare to a reynolds 853?

thanks (and sorry for all the asking and no buying yet!)

What you need to do is to go to a few bike shops and try a few bikes.
The most important thing is fit. The next issue is finding a bike that fits that suits the type of riding you want to do. There are a lot of nice bikes in that price range. If you get lucky and find a leftover '03, you can find a really nice bike in that price range.

no

no no no no no

i'm sorry for sounding a bit frustrated, but you have no idea what you're suggesting. you must have missed something in my post. I ride a 64cm and there is a total of 1 bike in my size in the entire DC area - i've been to no fewer than nine LBS's.

if you include 63cm and 62 there are maybe 4 bikes total that I could ride and they're not actually the bikes I have any interest in buying, nor do they fit well since they're smaller, nor are they all in my price range.

so please don't give me the generic "ride a bunch of bikes and buy what fits you best" blurb. i'd like nothing better than to do that but here in Lilliput you gotta take what you can get, and for me that's no test rides and buy based on other info.

by the way - the one bike that is in my size in this town is a 64cm '03 Fuji Roubaix and the LBS wants $1100 for it even though Performance cleared them out last month for $699. so the only thing that bike was good for was a test ride.

i was hoping to get some advice on that Viner steel frame and what ppl thought of it compared to an x-fusion alum frame with carbon stays - like if the Viner has a good ride or if the Fuji Team is really comfortable or if the Viner frames are heavier and lower quality than a typical Reynolds 853 bike.

not to belabor the point, but there are absolutely no steel or x-fusion/carbon stay bikes in my size to test ride anywhere around here. esp not steel.

sorry again for being testy.

the Viner is supposed to be a Dedacciai COM 12.5 steel frame if that helps anybody to advise me. i've never heard that name before and have only heard tell of the different reynolds tubesets

no

no no no no no

i'm sorry for sounding a bit frustrated, but you have no idea what you're suggesting. you must have missed something in my post. I ride a 64cm and there is a total of 1 bike in my size in the entire DC area - i've been to no fewer than nine LBS's.

if you include 63cm and 62 there are maybe 4 bikes total that I could ride and they're not actually the bikes I have any interest in buying, nor do they fit well since they're smaller, nor are they all in my price range.

so please don't give me the generic "ride a bunch of bikes and buy what fits you best" blurb. i'd like nothing better than to do that but here in Lilliput you gotta take what you can get, and for me that's no test rides and buy based on other info.

by the way - the one bike that is in my size in this town is a 64cm '03 Fuji Roubaix and the LBS wants $1100 for it even though Performance cleared them out last month for $699. so the only thing that bike was good for was a test ride.

i was hoping to get some advice on that Viner steel frame and what ppl thought of it compared to an x-fusion alum frame with carbon stays - like if the Viner has a good ride or if the Fuji Team is really comfortable or if the Viner frames are heavier and lower quality than a typical Reynolds 853 bike.

not to belabor the point, but there are absolutely no steel or x-fusion/carbon stay bikes in my size to test ride anywhere around here. esp not steel.

sorry again for being testy.

Sorry I can't offer any advice about the bike you are looking at, but I would say keep looking for bikes in your size and don't just settle on one. It is getting a little late in the year, for closeout deals, but that doesn't rule them out. Some of the best deals I have seen for bikes and frames have seen have been for frames that are either quite large or quite small. I would start calling bike shops farther away from you to see what they have, you may get lucky even if you have to drive a bit.

Dedacciai is one of the more well known steel companies and there steel is used on a lot of high end bikes. I have never ridden a bike with it, so I cant comment. I have a Specialized Allez Elite Cro-Mo with Columbus Foco steel tubing. I am very happy with this bike.

hey, thanks bg. i guess doing a phone hunt with a wider radius is a good call.

I ride a Viner steel, compact frame. It is the "Nemo" steel, which is a Colombus made product. This bike replaced 2 aluminum frames that I broke. It is a better ride for distance, accelerates fairly well and climbs with a solid confidence. The welds are very clean and overall quality is excellent. On another note, Gary, at GVHBikes is a good source of info and a very fair person. I have purchased 3 frames from him and have felt confident that I got a good deal.
Good luck and ride, ride, ride.

GVH has a good reputation here in Oregon though I haven't had first hand experience. $1370 + shipping for a Dedacciai steel with full Ultegra and that component mix is a solid deal and definitely better than the aluminum Fuji. But then, I too prefer steel.

55/Rad

thx tarantula, thx again rad.

sounds like i've finally found a steel bike in my size then, and happily it doesn't cost a fortune.

Viner has been around awhile. Solid rep. Like others I haven't ridden the Deda steel but have heard naught but good about it. Same goes for GVH. If you must buy sight unseen a source like that is no doubt better than Performance.

No knock on Performance they're great if you know exactly what you want but if you've got questions......they don't always have answers.