Road Cycling - opinions on bikes bought from online retailers

I'm thinking about purchasing a road bike wich I plan to ride to work 13 miles each day. I have a lot of money invested in my mountain bike and don't to break the bank on this bike. I'm thinking about buying the tirreno razzo 2.0 from performance bike. do any of you have one of these bikes or have a strong conviction about them.

I think there is little risk provided you know what you want in terms of size and components. The only major downside is you can't try it out like you can at a LBS. Know who you are dealing with and how they would resolve an issue you might have after purchase.
jsh

Tirreno has been around for less than a year and from what I can see, are gaining a good reputation for value. Performance has discounted them once already and with their coupon - 10% on bikes + the discounted price - can be acquired for a very competitive price. As for online retailers, Performance is as big as it gets and shouldn't be too difficult to deal with if you have problems. Supergo offers similar deals on their house brand - Scattante - and are worth checking out also. Performance and Supergo are owned by the same company, as is Nashbar, and represent 3 of the largest retailers around. This translates into less risk....

55/Rad

a good friend just got this deal from these guys:
http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/motobecane/legacypro.htm

he's really happy with it.

about the performance bike - the razza 2 seems okay and is very affordable, but a small upgrade to the Fuji Roubaix Pro (also from performance) might be worth it to you because on a road bike (way more so than mtb of course) steel is thought to be more comfortable for bikes in this price range.

one strange thing about performance though: you can only by the tirenno bikes on their website even though their retail stores carry several other brands (including Fuji).

if it were avail in my size i'd have bought a roubaix pro by now, but i'm really tall so i'm still poking around for affordable steel bikes in a 63 or 64cm.

good luck!

Performance retail stores here (Chicago -north and Northbrook) carry Tirreno bikes in their stores.

If you do not know how to fit a bike, you might reconsider. I bought my Scattante CFR from Supergo and love the bike...but I had to buy a different seat and a shorter stem. Plus the bike needed tweeking to get it perfect. For me, that was fun. But, if you don't know how to deal with that, buy from your local bike shop. The extra cost will be well worth it.

I have a bike that I bought online from Ibex. http://www.ibexbikes.com/ I'm very happy with it. I had to make a slight adjustment to the front dreailler (sp?) and one spoke was a little loose on the rear wheel. Other than that, no problems. There was a sizing guide on the web site. I would say that if you're not mechanically inclined or not sure, buy from your LBS. You can save some serious coin by buying on the net.

By the way, I adjusted the derailler (sp?) after consulting the Barnett's manuals in the mechanic's setion of the fourms. I read the article on wheel truing on Ken Kifer's site. http://www.kenkifer.com/bikepages/skills/spokes.htm It might not be perfect, but it works pretty well.

JR, since this is your first road bike, I recommend you go to a good LBS and buy from there. You're talking about an $850 bike (on sale) and Performance Online can't help you with fitting. I'd hate for you to spend all the money and end up with a bike that doesn't fit ya. Although it will cost a little more, it will be a lot easier to deal with your LBS, than Performance Online. It really doesn't "cost" more 'cuz your really "paying" for their fitting service and you will also be able to test ride bikes from the LBS before you buy it. Make sure you go to an LBS that you trust, though. Not all LBS are created the same. Good luck and post your new ride when you get it.

Yep - got mine there yesterday, and they price-matched to the web - 20% coupon, so pretty fair price for picking up a bike with 105 components and having it same day for under a grand.


Performance retail stores here (Chicago -north and Northbrook) carry Tirreno bikes in their stores.