Road Cycling - Help with pricing and a few entry level questions

I've been shopping around the LBSs in my area recently for a new entry level (read: lower priced) road bike. At one, I was given a seemingly alluring offer of a 2004 Specialized Allez Sport International 105 Ultegra mix (I copied this down quickly on a business card, I figure if I'm wrong someone will know what I'm talking about) for $800 that he said had come in for a little over $1000. Interestingly enough, $800 was the number I foolishly threw out as an absolute price max.

Maybe it's just my nature not to trust salespeople but I had a few other parts of the deal that seemed strange. He said the bike that would fit me was the 58cm and that he had 1 being put together ATM and another in that size yet unassembled. He only had a 56 put together and that looked much to small for me at 6'0" 170 lbs. Is he just trying to sell me what he has left in the store or is 58 really an ideal size for me?

If anyone has any other suggestions for a road bike that would cost under $700, I would take them gladly. Thanks.

I am not telling you to buy the bike by no means. But you should be measured first to know for sure. Go to this site for help in measuring. http://www.wrenchscience.com/WS1/Secure/Fitting/Height.asp?aes=r&dept=cmp&anms=false. It should give you a idea. But as far as being 6' and worried about the frame. Don't be I am 6'1 and I measure out for a 58 cm. I have a longer upper body then lower. And might too. Check the site and and see if it helps. Good luck!!!

I've been shopping around the LBSs in my area recently for a new entry level (read: lower priced) road bike. At one, I was given a seemingly alluring offer of a 2004 Specialized Allez Sport International 105 Ultegra mix (I copied this down quickly on a business card, I figure if I'm wrong someone will know what I'm talking about) for $800 that he said had come in for a little over $1000. Interestingly enough, $800 was the number I foolishly threw out as an absolute price max.

Hmmm... I'm not sure where you're located so I can't say for certain but the Allez Sport (even int'l models) are Tiagra/105 mix and not Ultegra/105 mix. However, the USA model of the Allez Sport is MSRP at $820. The Allez Elite which is full 105 is listed at $1090 and the Allez Comp which is full Ultegra is listed at $1630. I would imagine that an Allez in Ultegra/105 mix trim would fall in somewhere around the $1300 range for the aluminum frame version and $1500 for the steel frame version.

On average, I'd say that a 58cm frame would be typical for a 6'0" rider. Average doesn't mean that it's right for you, but it's certainly not flagrantly out-of-line. I'm thinking that your suspicion that he's trying to sell what he has rather than what you need is misplaced.

Quite possible, but it's sad that a general distrust for anyone trying to sell anything has been a gain to me overall in the past.
I would say that I am fairly well (should I say average?) proportioned in that I don't have really long legs or arms and his estimate may have in fact been a very accurate and educated one.

I copied down the description of the bike exactly as he said it and he was pretty clear about it being the Int'l edition, not the US because of some major differences.

Fair or not, I'll still try to haggle down the price :D

I copied down the description of the bike exactly as he said it and he was pretty clear about it being the Int'l edition, not the US because of some major differences.

Did he do some component substitutions on the bike? Because there's a discrepency. Here's the link to Specialized's official description of the International version of the Allez Sport Triple (http://www.specialized.com/SBCBkModel.jsp?spid=5965&JServSessionIdroot=i6xy19gqaw.j27008).

The bike you described seems to have had a component upgrade. Sometimes shops will do this.



Fair or not, I'll still try to haggle down the price :D

If he did do a component upgrade on the bike (depending on exactly what was upgraded) then $800 is a pretty fair price considering that the original spec of Tiagra/105 for that bike is lower level than Ultegra/105. You may not be able to get him to come down much in price. However, see if he can cut you a discount on other things you might need such as a helmet, lights, spare tubes, pumps, minitools, clothing, shoes, etc... Many shops will give new bike buyers something like a 20% discount on accessories at the time of purchase.