calliebear9

Well triples are pretty hard to find. So I have resigned myself that compact may be the way to go. I really only found the Lexa with a triple, and I know this sounds bad, but I just don't care for the aesthetics of the white bike with the thin lined geometric shapes. They make a blue compact that is much nicer looking. So they make very few triples and when they do put them in ugly dresses. Girl gets no love.

Anyways...i tried a Madone 3.1 today too. It was a men's but fit fine. It def has more spunk than the Lexa. But I am concerned on the geometry. I felt like my legs were going up into my belly. Yes, rider issue not bike issue.

I also road road a Synapse today and really liked it. I road the alum and the carbon. I think the synapse alum just moved to top of the list. It felt very spirited when I rode it, much livelier than the Lexa felt to me. And I am not sure I want to shell out $600 more for the carbon. This way I can ding it and put it on my hitch rack and not feel too bad. And it gives me room to get a seat, pedals, etc. very comfortably in budget.

a1penguin

If it fits and you like it, I think you have found a winner! Buy the aluminum and bank the $600 for things like clipless pedals, GPS or a professional fitting. The synapse is a great bike; I really like mine!

bigredkevbot

I'm certain that others have said this but comfort is paramount once you meet some of your basic tech specs/weight needs. I am a recent convert on the Specialized Allez series as far as a range of bikes to suit a variety of riders.
Try a few bikes in a wide variety of specs. Learn how a bike that's out of your price range feels compared to one in it. I'm a bigger guy and I went with an aluminum frame with a carbon fork; many of the modern aluminum frames are lightweight. I ride between 20-35 miles 5 days a week.
I can't get comfortable on a trek, I don't know for the life of me why.
Giant and Fuji both make outstanding women's and men's bikes for intermediate road riders (people who want a slicker smoother ride, with room to grow).
Try to get something with ergonomic road bars, and at least a 105 groupset. The tiagra groupset while solid, will not support you on longer more serious rides.
As far a "granny" gears or triple cranks go, don't fret; the smaller chain rings on modern road bikes are great for going up those endless steep hills.
As for the Cannondales you mentioned above: I rode a few Cannondale frames when I was looking at bikes. The brakes were significantly lacking. IMO tektro brakes just do not compare to Shimano and other companies. They had mechs in the store to tighten everything before my ride, and still unresponsive. I live near high traffic areas so solid braking is a must-have. The frames are superb and will always hold a special place in my heart. The geometry is typically more aggressive than other setups (I kept my bike in a more upright position for my city rides, but I can remove a spacer and flip my stem to get a more aggressive geometry).
Hope this helps!

joejack951

Is it even worth asking where you heard this?

bigredkevbot

I didn't have to hear it anywhere, I have seen a few people who get bikes equipped with Tiagra groupsets, and then want to do half centuries or more and have problems training. 105 gives the rider plenty or room to grow.
Dont get me wrong, as I said above, the Tiagra is a solid groupset, but IMO it doesn't support a lot of growth for a rider. For touring it works great.

MRT2

I too am scratching my head at this. I have done 50 and 60 mile rides on 9 speed Tiagra. (sora front derailleur) Current Tiagra even better 10 speed, and pretty much equivalent to 105 from just 4 or 5 years ago. If folks are having problems completing a 50 mile ride on current Tiagra, it probably isn't the fault of the components.

Fwiw, I recently had a conversation with the owner of my favorite LBS on this topic. I asked him if it was time to consider a component upgrade to 105 or Ultegra. He said dollar for dollar, the biggest performance gain is to upgrade the stock wheels, which is a weak point on a lot of entry level and intermediate road bikes.

joejack951

As MRT2 noted, the problem wasn't the groupset. Any group can shift poorly if adjusted improperly. If I had to wager why you may be more likely to see someone having problems with a lower groupset, it would have to be that those same people spent far less on their bikes so are less likely to spend extra getting them serviced (or spending the time to learn how to do it themselves). Likewise, whoever set them up might not have tried as hard as they would have on a Dura-Ace bike given the different expectations of the buyers. Rest assured though, Claris, Sora, and Tiagra are all reliable groups and can be set up to shift very nicely.

MRT2

Right, and also beginners need to learn how to shift, including not cross chaining, knowing when to use the small and big chainrings, anticipating hills, and not shifting under load. As for components going out of adjustment, the biggest issues with that happen when the bike is new. Bike mechanics refer to it as "cable stretch". I suspect some folks don't take advantage of the 1 to 2 year free adjustments many bike shops offer.

I have been through this with my wife, who is still learning how to use the road triple, having previously used old vintage 10 speeds and mountain triples. Though it is just the lowly 2300 group, and thus a couple of levels lower than what OP is looking for, it works well enough. That said, one day on a ride, she threw her chain, and complained it was making bad noises. She was cross chaining, using the big chainring with the 28 tooth gear on the cassette, then tried to shift to the small chainring on the middle of a hill while practically standing on the pedals.

coasting 

i have had ultegra, 105 and tiagra...at one time simultaneously. i can't understand how tiagra holds anyone back.

calliebear9

can anyone else elaborate on the brakes? They are my main concern. I want good brakes because I live in NorCal where we have hills. Are they really bad? Does it make sense to replace them? This model is the top aluminum so if I need better brakes I will need to go with carbon. And in that case it might change my mind because the carbon is so much more. I can get a Giant Avail Comp 2 in carbon for less. Or I guess I could go back to the Lexa.

MRT2

Can't comment on that specific brake model, but I have Tektro canti brakes and they seem alright. Not perfect, mind you. They required a little tweaking to get them just right, but after a few adjustments, and switching from the stock pads to kool stop salmons, they stop well now without squealing.

I think you are overthinking this. Unless you build a bike from the frame up and buy only the finest parts, there is a chance you may eventually need to switch out a component including but not limited to;, a stem, a seatpost, a saddle, a cassette, a chainring, a brake set or pad, a tire, or a wheel. But that is all down the line. Right now, just buy one of the bikes in the top two or three of your short list, get it fitted, and ride.

joejack951

Buy the bike that fits your budget. If after a few rides you feel the brakes aren't cutting it, you can always swap out the calipers for something better. Shimano Tiagra calipers are about $30 each and will provide plenty of stopping power. 105s aren't much more (~$40 if you shop around) if you really want a matching group.

a1penguin

If you want better brakes, you can often replace the brake pads with softer, grippier pads. They will wear out faster.

gsa103

The vast majority of braking is from your front brake, so you really only need to upgrade the front. When dual pivot brakes first came out it was common for the front to be dual pivot with an single pivot rear.

calliebear9

I went back today intent on taking a longer ride to make my final choice....and the bike was gone with no others due to be coming into stock. I snoozed and lost. Sigh. There is a chance one other store might be getting one this weekend, but then they are moving to 2015 models with disc brakes, which I don't want. Ah the saga continues.....

NormanF

But disc brakes are good! I don't know how I lived without them. They're light and powerful and they may not look traditional but they do work! That's why new road bikes are now finally being spec'ced with them.

calliebear9

Don't they complicate changing tires?

NormanF

In some ways its simpler, disconnect the cable, remove the wheel and change the tires. When you're done, reconnect the cable.

I haven't needed to yet since my tires have flat protection.

joejack951

What disc brakes are you using that require a cable to be disconnected to remove the wheel?

calliebear9

Also this....Not in any way am I thinking I am like a pro rider or will ever be a pro rider or want to act like one or say "I only do what the pros do", but when I saw the Tour de France, I don't remember seeing any bikes with disc brakes. I would have thought that those riders would want the best and most updated technology for their bikes since they probably cost as much as a small car, and they had the rim brakes. So I was thinking that maybe disc brakes are not as good as the riders weren't using them and now I am seeing them on "lower tier" bikes- like the entire 2015 line of Giant Avail Advanced all have disc brakes.

joejack951

UCI-approved road bike disc brakes coming in 2016, says WFSGI's bike man | road.cc

NormanF

I run mechanical disc brakes.

joejack951

I run a front Avid BB7 on my cross/commuter bike and some Hayes mechanical brakes front and rear on my MTB. I don't have to touch the brakes to remove the wheels on either bike.

Willbird

It also depends on exactly what your training regimen on the bike will be. I recently started adding some structure to my daily rides, hard one day, recovery the next, aerobic zone the next, then a hard day again.

It is a far different thing riding the same roads with a maximum heart rate of 120 than it is to ride without any HR goals :-)......I use all the cogs and the triple on a 120 heart rate recovery day. When I was just riding "junk miles" every day I never used the small chainring.