AusTai

I was near the local Performance Bike shop during lunch and stopped by afterward. Had to check out the '09 Scattance CFR Sport on clearance. Wow, it's a light bike. 105/Tiagra components and full carbon frame for a damn good price. From another thread I started on the CAAD9, I see many recommendations for a good aluminum frame over a cheap carbon frame. What does cheap carbon mean, however? I was told that the CFR is actually made by Fuji, but that doesn't mean much to me. Is Fuji a good framemaker?

I'm very tempted. Talk me out of it, please!

DiabloScott

People will snicker at you behind your back.
Shouldn't matter to you, but you should know.

kazz

THe Scatt's look nice. Im looking at a R-330 Tripple as my first road bike. If I had the money I would def check out the CFR

AusTai

Yep, wouldn't be surprised, but no problem with me.

Hunt-man

The only think wrong with Scattante is the name, Scattante. I have a R660 and it has been a great bike.

Crash716

i ride a 5k Specialized....there have been times where i have been beat by guys on Scattantes...

it's about the engine not the bike...if i didn't get a team deal i would be riding a much cheaper bike.

johnny99

As far as I know, "Fuji" does not make bicycles any more. They buy frames from generic Taiwanese factories and slap their name on them. Performance Scat does the same. Perhaps they buy from the same factory.

I know some people who own Scat carbon bikes (not the current model, but probably not much different). They look like good values for the money. The owners are happy with them. I expect they are about the same quality/value as the Bikes Direct. At least with the Scat bikes, you can test ride them first to make sure they are the correct size. Also, the shop will help you with fitting and the bike will be built up and ready to ride when you pick it up. And if there are any warranty issues, you can just bring the back to the local shop instead of packing it up and shipping it to somewhere.

I do agree that Scat is the dumbest name ever for a bicycle (or for any non-toilet product).

mihlbach

That frame appearst to be identical to the Pedalforce ZX3 frame, If it is indeed the same frame, this it is made by ADK, a Taiwanese company that owns a factory(ies) in China. There was a group buy for this frame a couple years ago, which I took part in. Its a very nice frame for the price. The fork isn't stiff enough for me, but I'm 200 lbs. The same frameset is sold under a variety of brand names.

AusTai

I went back to the store for a test ride and possible purchase. Figured I can easily return it given Performance Bike's 100% satisfaction guarantee. OK, I didn't have biking shoes on (they offered) and didn't really push it on the ride, but the brakes felt very BLEH and the shifting not much better than the Campy on my current bike. In fact, I miss how I can "dump" the gears on my Campy. Maybe if I took it up some hills, I'd change my opinion. Or maybe if the price drops some more. Oh well.

Mansram01

You should look at the Scattante CFR Race Road Bike. The components are better.

johnny99

You said the bike had Tiagra components, right? That's on the low end of Shimano's quality scale. Shifting does get noticeably crisper as you move up Shimano's product line.

cyclefreaksix

I'm going to test ride the Scattante CFR Comp tomorrow. Nice looking bike, but why Scat??

willdtw

I just bought the cfr sport about 8 weeks ago and I love it. This is my first bike so I don't have much to compare it to. The people at performance have been very helpful as well with the exception of fitting. Just make sure the bike fits you. They initially tried to set me up with one that was too small but with the 100% satifaction guarantee you could take it back even if they did. I have been having a lot of fun on my bike. I've ridden about 1,400 miles total so far. I did my first century after 5 weeks with in 5:09. I have also got my 50 mile average speed up to 22.1 on this bike.

AusTai

Yes, the shifters were Tiagra. I'm now thinking of getting the bike (or maybe the CAAD9 7) and switching out the components with my old bike, which is full Campy Mirage from 1999. That would allow me to use my current, lighter wheels, too. They all should fit, right? Though the CFR does have external BB bearings, so I guess I'd have to use that crankset.