Which roadie to pick from
 

Looking at a couple roadies to replace my StumpJumper project bike (to much reach with drop bars) and was looking at a few road bikes.

Wondering what every ones opinions are on these. I will be riding most flat surface to work and will be putting a few racks on them.

Centurion Ironman Road Bike

Trek 1200

Mike,

In my very humble opinion, the biggest difference (other than handlebars) would be frame material; the DS Ironman being Cro-Moly, would be a little more compliant road shock wise as compared to the 1200; the Trek would be a bit more responsive out of the saddle due to the stiffer Aluminum rear end.

I presume you'll put drops back on the Ironman, since you were going to do that with your Stumpy project. Personally, I would choose the Ironman; a bit rarer breed C & V wise, and a bit more comfortable. But, it won't have eyelets for racks. You'd have to use a seat post mounted rack for the Rear. The 1200 has eyelets front and rear.

Thank for the input

My personal choice would also be the Ironman, but I tend to favor Centurions, and steel frames.

I'm a fan of steel frames, so that's my bias. It just rides better than aluminum - especially earlier aluminum frames. It's also supposed to be more durable over the long run (assuming it's kept from rust.) The assumption is that rust is less prone to bend like steel is and will fail catastrophically after a certain age. I've never heard of that happening in the real world, but that's what the "experts" say.

That being said, the colors on the Centurion. 0.o eek!

I like the colors on the Trek & the fenders would be nice for a commuter. I'd be torn, honestly.

If your only going short distances the Trek will be comfortable. I have owned that same Ironman only mine was original. It was a nice bike but the color was wrong for me. My Trek is very fast and handles very well. I have not owned it very long but so far it is pretty comfortable. My longest ride on it has been only 20 miles though. I hope to get out next weekend for a 35 mile ride on her to see how she handles some hills.

You can`t go wrong with either bike. Get both. You will end up with 4 or 5 anyway if you hang out here too long. :)

Have you checked out this thread? It makes you want an Ironman.

http://www.bikeforums.net/classic-vi...aint-jobs.html

Im leaning towards the Iron man I had an 88 DS Master I built up with 600 STi and I miss it. Just gotta sell the Stumpy first

I have a red/white Ironman, bought new in '86, that got me back into riding after a few years lay off. Recently put an MTB stem on it to bring the bar up to saddle height. Steel is real as they say.