New bike decision
10-01-09, 05:45 PM
#1
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New bike decision
I, am thinking about a new rode bike. I have a Specialized Rubaex elite with 800 miles on it and I hate it. I would like something made in the USA but I have been told that Cannondale will all be made in japan for 2010. Does anyone have any suggestions. I also posted this on the road bike forum with the skinnies. ECB1
10-01-09, 08:10 PM
#2
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I guess the big question is what material do you want it made of. Trek Modone Project One bikes are made here in the state if you like Carbon Fiber. Waterford and Co-Motion both do steel, and Seven Cycles does Ti bikes. The one thing that they have in common is that they are not cheap, but most offer a custom built bike. There are a lot more companies that I didn't mention, but they are out there if you want to do a little leg work.
10-01-09, 08:18 PM
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What is it that you hate? Do you want a more upright seating position? Or do you want it to be even racier?
Anyway, I do have a suggestion. There are plenty of American made bikes, I have one. I ride a Gunnar Sport. If you want something racier, try the Gunnar Roadie.
Anyway, I do have a suggestion. There are plenty of American made bikes, I have one. I ride a Gunnar Sport. If you want something racier, try the Gunnar Roadie.
10-01-09, 08:26 PM
#4
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SEVEN does steel/ Ti/ and carbon...hope to be scoring an AXIOM STEEL next year myself...
Independent Fabrication... lots of options... you will have to cough up some $$$
Independent Fabrication... lots of options... you will have to cough up some $$$
10-01-09, 09:00 PM
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Whoah! Don't like the Roubaix? I 've heard nuttin' but good stuff about the bike and comfort.
Not sure where they are made but the Giants look sweet. Huge BB and headtube. Lots of high end bikes don't have a free replacement policy from what I've read. Some require a few hundred as a fee.
It would mean more to me to get a free replacement if it aint my fault that it fails, like my Lemond.
Not sure where they are made but the Giants look sweet. Huge BB and headtube. Lots of high end bikes don't have a free replacement policy from what I've read. Some require a few hundred as a fee.
It would mean more to me to get a free replacement if it aint my fault that it fails, like my Lemond.
Last edited by Mr. Beanz; 10-01-09 at 09:06 PM.
10-02-09, 07:03 PM
#6
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The bike feels O K but everything keeps going out of adjustment and I am very fussy with my equipment. I have had the gears adjusted 2 times, I had to replace the rear wheel and now the crank set is making noise. I don't think an $1800.00 bike should be that way. I do like the raised front end but I wonder if it causes me to loose any speed. ECB1
10-02-09, 07:26 PM
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IMO, those are the wrong reasons to dislike the bike. Cables sometimes stretch more than just 2 months like most free tuneup programs. Gina's bike took about a year to dial in just right. A minor adjustment here and there, maybe every other month. If you are unhappy, just replacing the cables may help a bunch, cheap fix.
Actually sounds like you need a new mechanic. Wheels are just about always replaced on stock bikes. Especialy as a heavyweight. WHen I bought my bikes, I alredy had plans to go with a more durable wheel. I had Dep V's built even before I bought my lst bike,
If yo udo your won maintenance, it's great.. Those annoying trips to the shop, gas and time consuming ar eliminated. It takes about 30 seconds to adjut the gears whileout on a ride.
Don't be fooled thinking tht a more expensive bike, American or not, is going to make these problems go away.
True story. My buddy has a $3000 DeRosa. Nice wheels and Ultegra equipped. He was having problems with the rear shifting while we were out on a ride. His bike kept skipping, very annoying. He stopped and wanted to head back. I asked why it was so bad. He had taken it in to the shop and asked. The guy at the shop said,"you have Ultegra, ,that's why we sell Dura Ace, it works better!"
I said BS! It took me about 30 seconds to dial in the rear derailleur and he had no problem with it for the next 3 years till he snapped the frame. (steel
)
The upright postition, don't fall into the trap! It's not the bike! MY wife's bike is a Pilot (tall headtube) and she's made toast out of guys on bikes riding $5000 and up Time/ Madones/Tarmac/ racing machines!
Actually sounds like you need a new mechanic. Wheels are just about always replaced on stock bikes. Especialy as a heavyweight. WHen I bought my bikes, I alredy had plans to go with a more durable wheel. I had Dep V's built even before I bought my lst bike,
If yo udo your won maintenance, it's great.. Those annoying trips to the shop, gas and time consuming ar eliminated. It takes about 30 seconds to adjut the gears whileout on a ride.
Don't be fooled thinking tht a more expensive bike, American or not, is going to make these problems go away.
True story. My buddy has a $3000 DeRosa. Nice wheels and Ultegra equipped. He was having problems with the rear shifting while we were out on a ride. His bike kept skipping, very annoying. He stopped and wanted to head back. I asked why it was so bad. He had taken it in to the shop and asked. The guy at the shop said,"you have Ultegra, ,that's why we sell Dura Ace, it works better!"
I said BS! It took me about 30 seconds to dial in the rear derailleur and he had no problem with it for the next 3 years till he snapped the frame. (steel
)The upright postition, don't fall into the trap! It's not the bike! MY wife's bike is a Pilot (tall headtube) and she's made toast out of guys on bikes riding $5000 and up Time/ Madones/Tarmac/ racing machines!
10-02-09, 07:33 PM
#8
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IMO, those are the wrong reasons to dislike the bike. Cables sometimes stretch more than just 2 months like most free tuneup programs. Gina's bike took about a year to dial in just right. A minor adjustment here and there, maybe every other month. If you are unhappy, just replacing the cables may help a bunch, cheap fix.
Actually sounds like you need a new mechanic. Wheels are just about always replaced on stock bikes. Especialy as a heavyweight. WHen I bought my bikes, I alredy had plans to go with a more durable wheel. I had Dep V's built even before I bought my lst bike,
If yo udo your won maintenance, it's great.. Those annoying trips to the shop, gas and time consuming ar eliminated. It takes about 30 seconds to adjut the gears whileout on a ride.
Don't be fooled thinking tht a more expensive bike, American or not, is going to make these problems go away.
True story. My buddy has a $3000 DeRosa. Nice wheels and Ultegra equipped. He was having problems with the rear shifting while we were out on a ride. His bike kept skipping, very annoying. He stopped and wanted to head back. I asked why it was so bad. He had taken it in to the shop and asked. The guy at the shop said,"you have Ultegra, ,that's why we sell Dura Ace, it works better!"
I said BS! It took me about 30 seconds to dial in the rear derailleur and he had no problem with it for the next 3 years till he snapped the frame. (steel)
The upright postition, don't fall into the trap! It's not the bike! MY wife's bike is a Pilot (tall headtube) and she's made toast out of guys on bikes riding $5000 and up Time/ Madones/Tarmac/ racing machines!
Actually sounds like you need a new mechanic. Wheels are just about always replaced on stock bikes. Especialy as a heavyweight. WHen I bought my bikes, I alredy had plans to go with a more durable wheel. I had Dep V's built even before I bought my lst bike,
If yo udo your won maintenance, it's great.. Those annoying trips to the shop, gas and time consuming ar eliminated. It takes about 30 seconds to adjut the gears whileout on a ride.
Don't be fooled thinking tht a more expensive bike, American or not, is going to make these problems go away.
True story. My buddy has a $3000 DeRosa. Nice wheels and Ultegra equipped. He was having problems with the rear shifting while we were out on a ride. His bike kept skipping, very annoying. He stopped and wanted to head back. I asked why it was so bad. He had taken it in to the shop and asked. The guy at the shop said,"you have Ultegra, ,that's why we sell Dura Ace, it works better!"
I said BS! It took me about 30 seconds to dial in the rear derailleur and he had no problem with it for the next 3 years till he snapped the frame. (steel
)The upright postition, don't fall into the trap! It's not the bike! MY wife's bike is a Pilot (tall headtube) and she's made toast out of guys on bikes riding $5000 and up Time/ Madones/Tarmac/ racing machines!
10-02-09, 08:17 PM
#9
Senior Member
The bike feels O K but everything keeps going out of adjustment and I am very fussy with my equipment. I have had the gears adjusted 2 times, I had to replace the rear wheel and now the crank set is making noise. I don't think an $1800.00 bike should be that way. I do like the raised front end but I wonder if it causes me to loose any speed. ECB1
10-03-09, 07:02 AM
#10
Junior Member
Thread Starter
Thank you guys, I think I will give it a little more time and learn to work on it myself as Beanz suggested, my wife will kill me for dropping more money on a new bike. ECB1
10-03-09, 08:39 AM
#11
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BTW, my Lemond came with a stock Bontrager crank. At about 8,000 miles, it started creaking, few thousand more, the BB needed to be replaced. About 1,000 after the BB was replaced, creaked some more. All work done by shop guys cause I don't have a BB tool.
I got tired of it knowing I would someday upgrade anyways. I had it R&R'd by a buddy (excellent mechanic). He said there was nothing wrong with the BB , only that the previous mechanic did a lousy job. One side was torqued bigtime and the other was loose.
Well I picked up an Ultegra (outboard bearing set up) on an online store on ebay (whelandsprocket). I got a new Ultergra crank BB INCLUDED for $139. No bidding, just buy it on online stores. It would have cost a bunch more at the LBS as I would have had to buy the BB separate.
Makes a world of diffeence, stiffer, NO CREAKING and smmoth and quiet. Try that route if youhave a stock crankset. Which aren't usually too good to start with!...$150 is much better than $2500 and your wife will still love ya!
I got tired of it knowing I would someday upgrade anyways. I had it R&R'd by a buddy (excellent mechanic). He said there was nothing wrong with the BB , only that the previous mechanic did a lousy job. One side was torqued bigtime and the other was loose.
Well I picked up an Ultegra (outboard bearing set up) on an online store on ebay (whelandsprocket). I got a new Ultergra crank BB INCLUDED for $139. No bidding, just buy it on online stores. It would have cost a bunch more at the LBS as I would have had to buy the BB separate.
Makes a world of diffeence, stiffer, NO CREAKING and smmoth and quiet. Try that route if youhave a stock crankset. Which aren't usually too good to start with!
...$150 is much better than $2500 and your wife will still love ya!
10-03-09, 09:22 AM
#12
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BTW, my Lemond came with a stock Bontrager crank. At about 8,000 miles, it started creaking, few thousand more, the BB needed to be replaced. About 1,000 after the BB was replaced, creaked some more. All work done by shop guys cause I don't have a BB tool.
I got tired of it knowing I would someday upgrade anyways. I had it R&R'd by a buddy (excellent mechanic). He said there was nothing wrong with the BB , only that the previous mechanic did a lousy job. One side was torqued bigtime and the other was loose.
Well I picked up an Ultegra (outboard bearing set up) on an online store on ebay (whelandsprocket). I got a new Ultergra crank BB INCLUDED for $139. No bidding, just buy it on online stores. It would have cost a bunch more at the LBS as I would have had to buy the BB separate.
Makes a world of diffeence, stiffer, NO CREAKING and smmoth and quiet. Try that route if youhave a stock crankset. Which aren't usually too good to start with!...$150 is much better than $2500 and your wife will still love ya!
I got tired of it knowing I would someday upgrade anyways. I had it R&R'd by a buddy (excellent mechanic). He said there was nothing wrong with the BB , only that the previous mechanic did a lousy job. One side was torqued bigtime and the other was loose.
Well I picked up an Ultegra (outboard bearing set up) on an online store on ebay (whelandsprocket). I got a new Ultergra crank BB INCLUDED for $139. No bidding, just buy it on online stores. It would have cost a bunch more at the LBS as I would have had to buy the BB separate.
Makes a world of diffeence, stiffer, NO CREAKING and smmoth and quiet. Try that route if youhave a stock crankset. Which aren't usually too good to start with!
...$150 is much better than $2500 and your wife will still love ya!
10-03-09, 08:49 PM
#13
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Ahhhh GYPZ!!!! We rode together last week. This guy is a strong MOFO!
10-03-09, 08:57 PM
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And he rides Specialized!...Great motivational success story for the Clydes but it's his story to tell. Maybe he will start a success thread about it!
...Great motivational success story for the Clydes but it's his story to tell. Maybe he will start a success thread about it!
10-03-09, 09:23 PM
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10-03-09, 10:16 PM
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The bike feels O K but everything keeps going out of adjustment and I am very fussy with my equipment. I have had the gears adjusted 2 times, I had to replace the rear wheel and now the crank set is making noise. I don't think an $1800.00 bike should be that way. I do like the raised front end but I wonder if it causes me to loose any speed. ECB1
My bike snap crackled and popped for about the first 1000 miles. i took the bike apart, re assembled it, torqued everything to spec, this is important on Carbon Fiber bikes. no more noise, cables are finally stretched out and settled in, both derailleurs dialed in. spokes on both wheels retensioned.no more flats since i put gatorskins on it.
