Mr_Pacman

Hey everyone,

I've read multiple older threads on here and still a bit confused. My last bike purchase was a Giant Iguana over 22 years ago and it's time for something new. I haven't used a bike in over 10 years and here are some specs:

I'm 6'2, 195 lbs, 38 years old.
I plan to use this bike for recreational/fitness purposes only. I'll ride on the street, paved bike paths and some hard packed crushed rock. I would say 80% street/paths and 20% or less hard packed crushed rock.

I plan to ride in decent weather. No rain,mud or snow.

Other info is that I have had 3 lower back surgeries, with the last one being a spinal fusion at L4/L5. So, I would prefer something with a bit more of an upright seating position. Also, I plan to avoid any major bumps as I don't want to re injure my back, but having bigger tires might be a benefit?

I live in Calgary, Alberta, Canada and popped into a few different stores. One of the stores (Bow Cycle) carries Cannondale, Norco, Specialized, Kona and various other brands. The other stores seem to only carry Trek and I wasn't impressed with the customer service I received, so Trek is out of the question as they don't carry it at the big store where the sales reps were helpful.

I'm looking at the Norco Indie and the Cannondale Quick series. I want to spend around $800 to keep it reasonable. Disc brakes are not important to me as I don't plan on riding in the mud or rain.

The store has 3 Cannondale bikes which are similar in price and I can't figure out which is best for my needs.

They have:
Quick CX4
Quick 4
Quick SL3

Are there any main differences between these bikes? I know the CX4 has slightly wider tires. Would that give a bit more cushioning with my back issues?

Any thoughts on the Norco Indie 2,3 or 4?

Any input would be appreciated.
Thanks
James

Joelpatrick

The Quick 4 and SL3 are basically the same bike with the SL3 having component upgrades and a slightly different frame. Both have a carbon fork, same wheels and same size tires but the SL3 has the 9 speed Deore over the Quick 4's 8 Speed Alivio which is what you're really paying extra for.

The CX 4 is interesting because its the only one in the CX line that doesn't have a suspension fork. It's an alloy fatty rigid fork. It's components are a step below the Quick 4. It comes with 700x35 tires which I don't think will give you a huge noticeable difference from the 700x32 on the other two bikes. The CX should have a little bit stouter wheels as CX line is supposed to cater to a little bit of off road riding where the regular Quick line is a little bit more road oriented.

It looks like you'll be riding on pretty tame terrain and I don't see the 700x35 tires offering that much more "cushion". Tires are an easy change anyways. I say ride them all and pick which one feels the best as I don't think you can go wrong with any but don't see the value in the CX 4 over the Quick 4 as they should be priced similarly. I have a 2013 Quick 4 and and am very happy with it. I paid about $639 before tax when I originally purchased it but you may be able to get it cheaper during the off season.

Tsagg

I almost bought the SL3 over the Trex 7.5FX I settled on. With your size you will definitely need the XL size frame. I found the L frame to feel noticeably smaller than other L bike frame sizes. I'm 6'0" tall. I heard C'dale sizes run small. At least when I was looking to order the SL3 in the states it was out til the end of April for the white one. The baby blue was readily available. Maybe it's different for some reason in Canada. Good luck. I'd go SL3 from your choices.

Sheik_Yerbouti

If you're in Calgary you should check out bikebike on 17th ave. You'll get excellent service. In Calgary, the pathways get pretty bumpy from the winter so you'll want some fatter rubber and even light suspension with your back.

Mr_Pacman

Thanks for all of the replies.

I ended calling a small Cannondale dealer in a town 1 hour away and they didn't have any of the Quick bikes in stock, but offered to check the Cannondale warehouse for any 2012's. Turns out they had a new 2012 Quick 3 in indigo blue (I wanted white, but blue is fine) at the Cannondale warehouse which they offered for $690 which I thought was a decent price, as the 2013's are $899 locally and nobody seems to be offering discounts at all. I work in sales and visit the hospital in this small town a few times a month, so I'll pick up the bike on my next sales call there.

They also had new 2012 Quick 4's in black for $580, but I went with the Quick 3 only because I've read the components are slightly better and probably worth the $110 difference and I didn't really want a black bike. I know it sounds silly to buy based on color, but my 22 year old Giant is black and I wanted something a little different, especially since I tend to keep my bikes for a very long time.

I placed an order over the phone and it should be ready to go in a week or so.

Thanks again for all of your help and suggestions. I'm looking forward to getting back on a bike and riding after years of back troubles.

James

DowneasTTer

Congrads on your new ride. It sounds to me as if you got a great deal. I looked at the quick series in Dec. before picking a Giant Escape RX 0. My wife and I tested the couple of Quick SL 1's and enjoyed them. The sealing deal for us was the LBS (which we have had great experiences with) sells Giant and for the basically the same bike from Giant I was able to reduce the cost my $400 (for two).

pierce

the most important single thing is the frame size. too big is unsafe and uncomfortable. a little too small can be partially compensated with a long seat post and stem, but too much too small will be uncomfortable too.

Mr_Pacman

I bought an XL frame which seemed to fit well. The cross bar was higher than what I'm used to with my old Giant (I still had clearance for my groin, but not the 4 or 5 inches on my old bike), but the Large size was too small. Other brands that I tried (Kona, Norco, Specialized) were too big in the XL and too small in the Large.......so I went with what was best.

pierce

yeah, different brands have different geometries. I've noticed that Specialized bikes tend to fit folks with long torsos.

hiaruga

Congrats On your final choice PAC. I had a similar decision to make as our intended riding courses were the 99% the same. Folks on this forum are very experienced and after reading my share of threads and test riding different bikes--I ended with a 2013 C'dale Quick CX 2. I like knowing it has a little front end travel just in case I needed it.

Regards,

Hiaruga

Wanderer

Consider a "Thudbuster" for your seat, to help absorb bumps. And, if the bike will allow it, a 40 on the rear of that bike will improve ride considerably. 35s and below are harsh on the rear (much more so than a 40) but 35s seem to have no effect on ride when on the front, but improve handling by a wide margin.

pierce

If you do get a thudbuster, I'd suggest the short one, not the long one, for a mostly-road bike. the long one is suitable for a hard core mountain bike rider on a hard tail who wants to do drops and such. the long one is very likely to run into a rack if you have one, also when it travels 'down' it also goes quite far 'back'.

downsides: they are expensive. the 'elastomer' (rubber) spring things wear out and need replacing, and I'd suggest using a fairly stiff one, you don't want this thing to float like a spring, just take the shock out when you hit a hard bump.

Mr_Pacman

I'll probably give it a shot with the stock components first for a while to see how it goes. I'm not planning on hitting many bumps and only want to stick to paved smooth surfaces until I can assess how my back is going to handle everything. Plus, it's been so long since I've been on a bike, I want to get used to how the stock one feels and then start swapping things out, if necessary.

The first purchase I want to make is an inexpensive, wireless computer that can do odometer and speed. Nothing fancy, just something reliable and cheap. Any suggestions for a decent computer? I've already got a helmet and also want to buy a lightweight bike lock, although I don't plan on parking the bike often.

James

pierce

A base model Catseye will be as good as any. I've got a base model Specialized, it works nicely enough, too. even the most basic ones give you time, speed, total odometer distance since forever (can be reset, but is very buried), trip distance, trip travel time, trip average speed, max speed. for the numbers to be accurate, you need to set your tire size, as that changes the effective wheel circumference.

next step up goes wireless, then you add a sensor to the crankset for cadence, then they add GPS and start getting really expensive

Dilberto

Good choice, OP. You cannot go wrong with Cannondale - even though the USA-made, pre-2010 bikes were the BEST, in my opinion.

tshunnar

Hi James

Can you please tell me which dealer you got your new ride from at the end. I live in Calgary as well and would love to get the quick 3. I was at Bowcycle and about to get the quick 4 for $710. so if I can get the quick 3 for the same price, that would be awesome. I am also 6'2" and around the 195 lbs so if XL fits you it should also for me. I tested the XL size of quick 4 and it felt good. however, I am just wondering if there is any difference between the 2012 and 2013 models for both the quick 4 and 3?
FYI, I've been to BikeBike as well and they don't carry a lot of brands other than Romulus and the service there seems to be great.

Thaer

Mr_Pacman

Thaer,

email me at jdixon1974 at gmail . com

tshunnar

Just did. Thanks James