Looking for suggestions on a new Bike
#1
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Looking for suggestions on a new Bike
So I've been riding a Giant OCR3* for over 15 years now** and I'm thinking about upgrading. The local bike shops (of which there are two) appear to be locked into a specific brand so any advice I get is likely going to be geared to what they sell. And I'm not really clear on what I want. The Giant has been fine, I just have the vague sense that I can do better -- especially with a decade and a half for them to improve the engineering.
I'm a semi-serious rider. I get out almost every weekend and twenty miles is no big deal. But I don't do centuries (at least not yet), organized rides, or races. Some basic criteria.
# I don't do off road, but the roads around here are indifferently paved. Something that can't handle a bumpy surface or the occasional pothole is going to be a problem.
# It gets hot here. As in, until it hits three digits its merely warm.
# It gets cold here. Occasional freezing temps are to be expected (gotta love the desert)
# Wind and hills are a thing here. Especially the wind (< 10mph is "no wind today")
# The ability to mount saddle bags is a plus. I haven't actually gotten the current bike configured that way, but I keep thinking I should.
I don't have a specific budget in mind yet, but $1500 is easy and over $5k I'd really have to want it.
Any thoughts,
Kevin
* As fair as I can tell, this is Road Bike, generic
** Though at this point whether or not its the same bike is becoming a philosophy question (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ship_of_Theseus)
I'm a semi-serious rider. I get out almost every weekend and twenty miles is no big deal. But I don't do centuries (at least not yet), organized rides, or races. Some basic criteria.
# I don't do off road, but the roads around here are indifferently paved. Something that can't handle a bumpy surface or the occasional pothole is going to be a problem.
# It gets hot here. As in, until it hits three digits its merely warm.
# It gets cold here. Occasional freezing temps are to be expected (gotta love the desert)
# Wind and hills are a thing here. Especially the wind (< 10mph is "no wind today")
# The ability to mount saddle bags is a plus. I haven't actually gotten the current bike configured that way, but I keep thinking I should.
I don't have a specific budget in mind yet, but $1500 is easy and over $5k I'd really have to want it.
Any thoughts,
Kevin
* As fair as I can tell, this is Road Bike, generic
** Though at this point whether or not its the same bike is becoming a philosophy question (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ship_of_Theseus)
#2
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Giant have some good deals; TCR Advanced and up or Defy Advanced are both really nice. Specialized has the new bike with that new kind of shock which many have said is nice, but really any bike company makes good bikes. You might want to narrow it down to which shop you prefer and then go from there.
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I'm a big fan of the Trek Emonda. I have a SLR, but the SL6 comes with Ultegra and is a great value. If you're lucky you might find one on sale. I bought my SLR 2 years ago this month and saved 20% on a custom build.
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With that price range I think you should at least give this a spin:https://www.specialized.com/us/en/me...rt-etap/128746
It is $5500 but comes w/ Etap and beautiful paint.
It is $5500 but comes w/ Etap and beautiful paint.
#5
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If there is an FAQ I missed please feel free to point me to it. But what is Ultegra, Ultegra2, 105, etc? It appears that it refers to standards or brands for components. But what do you get from pushing up the cost categories? What should I be asking about in terms of what components a bike comes with?
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Tons of resources on the web. You should really educate yourself first before posing a very generic and vague question in hopes that someone will give the answer you're looking for. And none of the #'s you posted have any relevance to your choice of bikes, except for perhaps the first, and even that's not a huge consideration.
Try searching road bike groupsets, groupset hierarchy, endurance bike geometry, racing geometry, cyclocross vs gravel vs road, etc.
Try searching road bike groupsets, groupset hierarchy, endurance bike geometry, racing geometry, cyclocross vs gravel vs road, etc.
#9
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For better or worse my attempts to google for information was met with a lot of pages trying to sell bikes and precious little information on how they were different. I'll try some of the keywords you suggested. Thanks.
#10
Kit doesn't match
Lighter weight; functionality of the three groups I mentioned is pretty similar.
When you say saddle bags (that are, um, bags that attach to the saddle ), do you actually mean panniers? If so, narrowing to only those bikes that have 'braze ons' that can support racks is going to eliminate a lot of great options. If you're going to tour, then you want to look for touring bikes, which look much like typical road bikes, but are different in important ways. If that's only a remote possibility, I'd say forget it -- use your current bike for that instead.
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What brand do the LBS carry? Unless you have reasons to not patronize those brands there's nothing wrong with getting a bike from them. YOu'll get the added benefit of technical support and a chance to build good relations with them which might prove to be useful later on. They can certainly help you answer many of your questions. Once you have some options from them then you can ask more specific questions here to get some unbiased comments. My suggestion is to just go and talk to your LBS first. There's no commitment to buy.
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I intend to buy local if it makes sense. I just don't want to get locked into the house brand because that's what they carry. Unless brand doesn't actually matter that much and pretty much every line is equivalent. The one I prefer carries Trek.
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Those are a few of the component sets (groupsets) offered by Shimano. In your price range, those likely would be 105 and Ultegra, with DuraAce possible at the top of your price range. You might consider Ultegra, it's a fantastic group, thought 105 is dandy too if you want to save a few hundred dollars.
Lighter weight; functionality of the three groups I mentioned is pretty similar.
Lighter weight; functionality of the three groups I mentioned is pretty similar.
When you say saddle bags (that are, um, bags that attach to the saddle ), do you actually mean panniers? If so, narrowing to only those bikes that have 'braze ons' that can support racks is going to eliminate a lot of great options. If you're going to tour, then you want to look for touring bikes, which look much like typical road bikes, but are different in important ways. If that's only a remote possibility, I'd say forget it -- use your current bike for that instead.
Kevin
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Most carbon bikes do not have eyelets for racks and fenders. If you're planning to ride it for commuting and have both these features then you're probably looking at an aluminum or steel, or titanium.
In any case, if your LBS carries Trek, you could do worse than looking at a Domane or Madone, perhaps a 5-9 with Ultegra Di2 for around 5K (like maybe 3500 USD).
In any case, if your LBS carries Trek, you could do worse than looking at a Domane or Madone, perhaps a 5-9 with Ultegra Di2 for around 5K (like maybe 3500 USD).
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Here is your bike. It's almost as fast as a pure road bike, more comfortable, capable of going on gravel and you can put a rack.
https://www.specialized.com/us/en/men/bikes/road/adventure/diverge-expert/119015
It's carbon and it has ultegra with hydraulic disc brakes.
https://www.specialized.com/us/en/men/bikes/road/adventure/diverge-expert/119015
It's carbon and it has ultegra with hydraulic disc brakes.
#16
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The Trek Emonda and Domane both get excellent reviews and you should definitely test both.
Get the bike you fall in love with. If the bike doesn't feel right after 20 min test ride, move on to the next. There's tons of great bikes out there, find the one that speaks to you.
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Here is your bike. It's almost as fast as a pure road bike, more comfortable, capable of going on gravel and you can put a rack.
https://www.specialized.com/us/en/me...-expert/119015
It's carbon and it has ultegra with hydraulic disc brakes.
https://www.specialized.com/us/en/me...-expert/119015
It's carbon and it has ultegra with hydraulic disc brakes.
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Here is your bike. It's almost as fast as a pure road bike, more comfortable, capable of going on gravel and you can put a rack.
https://www.specialized.com/us/en/me...-expert/119015
It's carbon and it has ultegra with hydraulic disc brakes.
https://www.specialized.com/us/en/me...-expert/119015
It's carbon and it has ultegra with hydraulic disc brakes.
This is along the lines that I'd recommend, as well - I'm all about the Adventure/Gravel category. Jamis also has the Renegade Expert, which is carbon/105-level at $2700, though many manufacturers are offering something similar. Pop on some 35c with some knobbies if you want to want to get off the beaten path a bit or put on some 28c or smaller slicks if you're going to primarily ride on pavement (and those 28s will help with the indifferently paved roads). On top of that, they're generally equipped for racks for touring/hauling. Good stuff all the way around.