Originally Posted by Grumpy Pig
Since you brought it up, I've always wondered what the answers to these questions are. Thanks for starting this thread for people like me who have always been too afraid to ask.
- I have $2000. Should I get a Specialized or a trek?
- What is better - aluminum, steel, carbon fiber or titanium?
- I'm 6'1" and 190 lbs. What size bike should I get?
- Should I upgrade my Sora system with that Dura Ace stuff?
- On my weekly hill climbing triple century, I like to maintain a 28 MPH average on the uphill sections.
My local shop is Walmart. Are they a good shop?
Ah. Never fear, I have the answers you are looking for.
1) Specialized and Trek are junk. Save that $2000 as as down payment on a Colnago.
2) They are all better, depending on who is riding them. Whatever I'm riding is better than whatever you are, if it's different. If the same, I will buddy up to you then drop you like a sack of **** on the next hill.
3) No question about it, you need a 48. Sure, it'll be a little awkward, and you'll need a 700mm seatpost, but when you're down in the drops (BTW, you *DID* flip your stem, right?!), you will look like a racer-dude and that's what's important.
4) Well, Sora is junk. And so is Dura-Ace. You should dump that Japanese crap and get Campy instead (you can rebuild it! (tm))
5) That's a pretty slow average, but with some intervals you might be able to bring that up a little bit. But you're probably old (like, 25) so there's not much hope for you. Maybe you should just quit riding.
Walmart is great! Have them assemble your bike for you, saves a lot of time and you don't have to buy special tools.
Have fun!