Originally Posted by
big chainring
The bikes you are looking at are nice entry level bikes. I would certainly ride one and have often thought about buying one. I've been riding bikes for 40 years and havre ridden everything from low entry level 35 pound steel bikes toItalian super bikes. There is very little difference between the bike you are looking at and one that costs 10 times as more. Believe me. What ever these guys on the forum say, its simply not true. They have bought into higher dollar equals better(faster) bike. A bike isnt fast, the rider makes the bike go fast.
Having owned everything from a Wal-Mart bike, to a hybrid bike (Trek 7.1), to an entry level LBS road bike (Specialized Sequoia) to a mid-Level road bike (Specialized Allez) to my current Saxo carbon Roubaix, I can tell you that there is a HUGE difference between each of these....especially in components...let alone an entry level bike compared to a bike that costs 10X as much. No question, the "engine" is the most important part of speed, but there are MASSIVE differences in the entry level versus high end bikes. Buy the best quality you can in your budget up front and ride the heck out of it.