SeaBee

Have mercy and patience with me, but this just tickles me...

To elaborate - with all the options available, what makes you pick one frame above the other for an upgrade or new bike. I am slowly evolving my bike and was just wondering when it came to that point.

So what does it? I have the measurements a bike should have to fit me. But then after that, what then? How do you pick between all the frames? I mean, there a heck of a CAAD9 following here - why's that? What makes that bike so popular - much better? How do you choose between all the brands, let alone their sub-types. Marketing? Price? Comfort? Brand-name? (That said, there's a couple I'll skip having heard horror stories of their SA support...)

Carbon? Currently have alu bike with carbon fork and stays. What are the benefits and disadvantages of a full carbon frame? What I know is it's stiffer and lighter, but it's more prone to destruction in case of "laying it down less than gently" (crashing). But by how much? By the time you've fallen badly enough to break a carbon frame, won't you have put a crack in an alum frame as well? And how much of an issue is it, since I haven't (touch wood!) really crashed as yet. Saying that before a ride this afternoon is looking for trouble, I know... What about the "carbon fatigue" theories? The only carbon experience I have is with squash rackets.

So there you have it. I'm not even remotely on my way to a shop to buy something. I just want some opinions and ideas what to keep an eye on for if I ever do decide it's time. And I figured now's a good time, since I'm most likely not the only one having a quiet time at work!

rollin

This isn't a thread it's mare the basis for a forum!

Factors in choosing my bike:

Fit
Fit
Fit
Dealer support
Reputation of the manufacturer (through other users)
What I liked the look of
Price

I then test rode around 6-7 bikes. Settled on one.

That said I have 3 - one steel, one aluminium and one full carbon.

I found carbon seat stays made no difference at all over my full aluminium.

stapfam

There is only one way to check if a bike/frame is an improvement over your existing bike and that is to test ride it. Bit difficult with a frame and forks purchase but is possible if it is a normal frame that is already made into a bike. Then on the test ride take along your wheels so that any improvement. downgrade is not down to them.

I was lucky when I bought my Boreas frame/fork deal as the shop owner had one built up for himself and he is the same size as me. This made up into a good bike and a bit later I decided to go C.F. Bought a TCR-C frame and managed to ride a TCR-C beforehand. A year later and I still prefer Boreas but the TCR was affordable. C.F.is different so perhaps I just prefer Ally bikes.

Machka 

First ... I rode several different bicycles which I was either given or picked up relatively inexpensively over a period of many years. By riding them, I was able to determine what I wanted in a bicycle ... so I made a list of requirements.

Then I sat down at the computer and looked up all the bicycles I could find that would meet the requirements on that list from all the bicycle companies I could find. My list of possible bicycles ended up being somewhere near 50 bicycles.

Then I started narrowing the list down by things like price range, shipping, reading reviews, etc. My new list contained 12 bicycles. At that point I decided that I would like to go custom, seeing as several custom bicycles had made that list of 12, so that knocked several off-the-rack ones from the list. And I reluctantly had to let the idea of a Thorn bicycle go because of shipping costs. And a couple more were dropped because of price.

The final decision was partly because because it met my list of requirements, partly because of price, partly because I could get it custom-built to fit me, partly because there was a dealer in my town, partly because it was Canadian, and partly because I just like the bicycles.

And several months later ... my Marinoni Ciclo arrived.

unbelievably

I bought my DeRosa Neo Primato because I thought it was pretty.
Initally ordered it based on looks and pedegree alone. Got tired of waiting.
I was told it would take 6 months to come in. At 9 months,
I figured I couldn't wait any longer and bought a CAAD9. Love it.
However, my LBS still had to go through with the ordering of the DeRosa.
After another 5 months, I saw it hanging in the shop and thought I had to have it.
Told him I was interested and he immediately told me I could have it for 30% off MRSP.
SOLD!

AEO

ride several different styles/models, you'll quickly find out what you like and don't like.

Tapeworm21

Eeny, meeny, mineey, moe.

Honestly, I saw the bike and it called to me. 5 days later the Tarmac Expert was sold and the SL was ordered. Sooooo glad that happened.

waterrockets 

I just waited for a good deal on the used market. I was just looking for a high-end bike I'd heard good things about. It passed the test ride, and I liked the looks of it, I bought it.

mustang1

I cant talk of my 2nd bike, since I'm still on the first, but I guess something similar applies.

I knew I would buy from one of 3 LBSs near work so I got to know a few sales guys there. I narrowed it down to price/looks/fit. In the end I narrowed down to Trek 1000 and Specialized Allez. I liked the Allez's fewer spoke count wheels, colour, and what I read online about Trek and Specialized. But he real crunch was the close-out deal where I got 25% off (Specialized dealer started it's sales earlier than Trek dealer, and Trek didn't offer as much of a discount anyway, once it finally went on sale).

So I pulled the trigger on the Allez and I've liked it ever since.

I do want a nicer bike, but I dont have enough experience with bikes yet, nor do I know what I really want in a bike (nicer components and lighter wheels, a gneerally lighter bike I guess) but I also want to keep costs in check; once the bike gets pricey, I'll have to look after it a whole bunch more.

Ames

I think there are a lot of very good bikes that are out there and the primary factor in my last purchase (road and mountian bike) was based on the LBS personnel and support by the bike building company. I visited several bike shops in a 50 mile area (closest is about 25 miles) and browsed and fould one with friendly, knowledgeable staff with a good attitude. When you find a place were the employees seem to enjoy their work they do a better job for you.

That said I did pick out bike brands and visited the LBS's that carried the brands I picked.

StanSeven

I spent a long time deciding on my previous bike taking test rides. I had no real idea of what frame material I wanted and tried them all. Within the same material, geometry and the way the bike is constructured makes a considerable difference in the ride and feel. So I tried maybe 15 bikes over several months. Fortunately most of the LBSs let me take long test rides - one place gave the bike for a three day weekend and another kept sending me out on difference models for an entire Saturday.

Besides materials, I learned alot about top tube length, how seat and head tube angles affect the ride, chain stay length, etc. By then I knew what I wanmted.

That was the prior bike - research, lots of riding, and logic. But bike lust also enters in. I went into a bike store and saw my current bike, took a short test ride, asked if they had my size in stock, and ca,e by a couple days later to pick up the build. No research, long ride, or logic - just liked the way it looked.

zatopek

Here is another idea. Since you know what size frame to buy, invest in a decent build kit. Then, shop the web for deals on used frames on eBay, Craig's List, etc. or "new" older/discontinued models from online shops. Buy an Alu frame, a Ti frame, a carbon frame and a steel frame. Build up each frame with your build kit and ride each bike for 6 months before building up the next frame. Repeat until you find what you like most. Then, over the years, you can purchase more components to build up all the frames until you have a stable of sweet rides. Granted, this will take time, energy and a bit of coin. I've been doing this for a while and have found my cycling is energized by alternating between my different frames. Also, because I am constantly building and breaking down bikes, I've become a pretty good mechanic and can pretty much do all my own work.

botto 

fit.
feel.
bang.
buck.

DaveSSS 

Fit is important. I know exactly what I need in terms of frame reach (not just the TT length) and the head tube length I need, with the headset and spacers. I also check the steering trail to be sure it's not too fast or too slow. Once a frame meets my requirements, I look at it's cost to weight and look for obvious design features that may be good or bad for me. The color scheme also has to be right. I'm not paying big bucks for a frame that's the wrong color or has graphics so ugly I can't stand to look at it.

For a 135lb rider, it's not hard to find frames that are overly stiff and uncomfortable. I've owned a few high end frames (of the day) that were horrible, like the C'dale 2.8 and a Litespeed Ultimate.

I don't put any stock in lifetime warranties. I rarely keep a frame more than 4-5 years and quite often only 2-3 before moving on to something else. I also don't need shop support, so I haven't bought a frame at a local shop in 15 years.

I also don't think that brief test rides are of much value. There are just too many variables that will skew your impressions. When I build up a bike, it will have the saddle, bars, wheels, tires and air pressure in the tires that I prefer. I'll have the proper saddle height, reach and drop, so I'm making an apples to apples comparison with my current bike. On a typical test ride, the saddle height may be in the ballpark, but that's about it.

I might ride a frame for several hundred miles before deciding whether it's a keeper or not. If not, then it goes on E-bay. That's where my last loser, a 51cm Cervelo R3 went, after 200 miles.

kbtommy

I'm relatively new to the game, but based on my previous bike I had a general idea as to what I wanted and didn't want, and learned from some of the impulsive mistakes I'd made in the past. I was looking for size and fit first, then components, then price. I did a ton of research, narrowed it down to 6 or 7 bikes, then tracked down shops that had 'em. Test rode every single one (many at one shop, which ended up becoming "my shop"), and the first five I was sort of "meh". The sixth one... I knew within minutes. I ended up going for a long-as-hell test ride, came back to my LBS and the guy took one look at the expression on my face and said, "That's the one, isn't it."

And thus, next week I'm picking up my Specialized Roubaix Elite. I'm so excited I might explode.

Snapperhead

A cool paint job!

celerystalksme

how i choose...

1) find frames that would seem to fit
2) learn as much as i can on them on the internet and through other cyclists
3) consider what i have learned and wittle down the list
4) consider the aesthetics
5) test ride my final picks
6) consider cost if i'm on a buget
7) pick the one that feels best and fits budget if i set a budget for myself

i've wound up with 3 carbon bikes and 1 aluminum...and i'll be picking up a steel bike in the coming months...

Banzai

The one that made me smile the most when I test rode.

The Aluminum/CF Six13 was at the bottom of my candidate list when I went shopping. As I was riding a full CF bike after the Six13 test ride, I thought about the Six13 and just started grinning.

That's all it took.

wfrogge

#1 Feel
#2 Fit
#3 Look of the bike
#4 Price

umd

Lets see...

1) Specialized Allez... was cheap and thought it looked better with the sloping top tube than the equivalently priced Trek I was considering at the same shop. Didn't know how to tell how well they fit, they both seemed ok. The Specialized IIRC had better components as well.

2) Giant TCR... went in to [a different] shop to get Ksyriums after I kept breaking spokes. Was convinced by salesguy to get whole new bike on closeout for $2000 with the wheels I wanted (which were $750 I think). I was doing a lot of riding on one particular very rough road and their reasoning was that the carbon frame would be more forgiving. They weren't wrong. Additionally, the bike was 5 pounds lighter than my Allez, which was immediately noticeable on climbs.

3) Specialized Tarmac SL... Joined a team and most people were getting this bike, since we are sponsored by Specialized. Wanted to be on a Specialized bike for pictures, and would be a good opportunity to build a lighter bike. Wanted an SL2 but they were hard to come by at the time.

4) Specialized Tarmac SL2... not hard to get anymore. "Team" model had more favorable geometry (lower head tube). Thought it would be lighter but turned out not to be...

Bob Ross

I'm not proud, I'll admit it: The bike has to first look good to make my short list.

Something about it has to flip my switch. I have to be attracted to it in the first place before I consider whether it will fit, or how it feels, or any other consideration. I have to be attracted to it, otherwise I'd be perfectly happy with my old bike, no?

But once it makes the short list, ah, then the fun starts. Because now there's a metric, to which other competitive frames can be compared. So then I start with the "what else is out there that is in some way similar to this bike that I was initially attracted to?" Note that at this point I no longer have to be attracted to a bike in order to consider it; if Bike B is in some way the equivalent to Bike A, I'd have to be an idiot not to at least put it in contention. From that point on it becomes a data-collection process. Make a list, narrow it down, start test riding 'em when the list gets to a manageable size, and pick the one that still gives you a woodie after all the objective and subjective data has been parsed.

PaulRivers

Test riding, test riding, and more test riding. I'd ride a bike for 10 minutes - if I still liked it, I'd ride it for another half hour. If I still liked it, I'd come back and take it for another 45 minute test ride another day. If I still liked it, that was pretty much it and I bought it (well, I didn't like the paint job, so I ended up getting the next bike up when it was on sale, but my "which bike" decision making process was basically over).

haimtoeg

I bought my Dogma because someone did an exceptional sales job on me and the price was excellent.

FatguyRacer

1. Team deal
2. Team deal
3. Team deal

My last 2 new frame purchases were based on this criteria, The IF CJ was a team deal from 10 years ago and this month we get the new CAAD 9 frames. The Lemond i'm currently riding is also a ex-team frame that I got from a teammate after my CJ broke back in August. Call me cheap if you want, but I have a hard time paying 5K+ for a bike that doesn't have a engine.

If the economy didnt suck as much as it does right now and money were so tight in my house, I might have pulled the plug on the team Super Six instead of the less costly CAAD9.

CastIron