Hello everyone

I've been looking over the internet A LOT over the past days, trying to decide on an upgrade over my stolen bike. I would very much appreciate your opinion as to what bike should I get-

I'm looking for an all-black bike, preferably an Specialized; any other brand would do though (for a road bicycle). It would be nice if I can pick up some more speed with it (as compared to my previous MTB).


As for a 29er MTB, I've narrowed it down to either an Specialized Rockhopper (currently out of stock at the LBS), or the Carve Expert. Here's a comparison chart of the 3 models I've narrowed down to (on the MTB side):

https://www.specialized.com/us/en/bik...CARVEEXPERT29/

Would have to exchange the crankset/chain to a bigger one (especially on the most expensive one, the Carve, which has a smaller outer chainring), as I'm already used to have a higher ratio (even though now I use higher shifts in moderation).


However I've been wondering about the possibility of getting a road bike instead, been trying to weigh in the pros and cons to it, when compared to a MTB. I see lots of you guys prefer road bikes for your commute, perhaps more so than MTBs?
Particularly, I lifted up this -almost all black- Allez at the Specialized LBS, and the lightness (compared to a MTB, at least), got me really impressed-intrigued. The lone seller girl there (who seemed rather clueless, the owner wasn't around) said it would be totally useless on anything other than perfect pavement and very light traffic, is this true?

So far I've also been looking at some of the Secteur black bikes.
My estimated budget is between $1000 and $2000.

I'm moving work schedule from Monday and Tuesday so I can go looking at all the LBS, I'd appreciate it if you help me get a better idea (read, be a little less clueless ) as to know what to look for.

Thanks very much for your opinions!

I haven't ridden a drop bar bike with skinny tires in like 25 years, but I think that sales chick doesn't have a clue. If the roads are utter crap, you'll want wider tires and the stock wheels may not hold up for long, but if the pro riders can race on cobblestones in France, then you can commute on a road bike.

The trick will be to find one that will allow you to use a rack (if that is your thing) and fenders (if you're into those). Just took a peek at the Specialized site and it doesn't look like the Secteur or Allez readily accepts rack(s) or fenders.

Something that may be of interest, if your LBS can order it, is the Tricross Triple. This should endure abuse a bit better than the other road orientated offerings.

Thanks for the suggestion

I always carry a backpack, so no rack; fenders could be nice, I guess, but it's not a priority.

For me,that bike would suck on anything but perfect pavement. The alloy fork combined with skinny tires would have my CT throbbing after just one commute. YMMV or course.

I had a Spec Crosstrail and a GF Montare. They were fun to bounce around on,but the suspension forks and mondo tires got old. Having to spin up that heavy rubber from every stop,and the bike bouncing every time I hit the brakes or stood out of the saddle. For me,the only suspension worth having on the street was a HeadShok,and if I'm going to spin fat tires they're going to be light 26" Marathon Supremes. MTB's just don't give me the performance I want on the street. Just put my Dew Deluxe back into rotation this weekend. In terms of weight and tire width,it's pretty close to the Crosstrail and Montare,but the rigid frame just makes it handle so much better in congested traffic. Easier to point and shoot,no reaction to hard braking or mashing to catch a light.

If you're not actually going to be riding off road,I'd suggest one of Kona's Dews or Marin's urban line. I think they'd be just what you're looking for.

I've found that a cyclocross-ish bike is the right mix for me. It might be a good idea to take a look at the Tricross, or Trek's CrossRip. There are many companies with less-widely-available models as well.

Some is going to suggest if so it might as well be me. A black surly Cross Check, take off the decals, build it up with your choice of black parts. it's works great with any type of bar you can put some pretty fat tires on it, single speed, IGH hub, 2x10, 1x10 whatever you want. You have the budget to make your dream commuter a reality and the cross check is just the platform to do it on.

that's what I did 7 years ago and I still love it.

^^^ this

It's taken me 5 years of commuting, and at least as many bikes, to finally come to this conclusion.

Have a look also at Kona Jake and Norco Threshold (which is what I have, but it may be hard to find in the U.S.)

FWIW I am commuting on a Pake C'Mute and am loving every minute of it....

Same cyclocross style wide tire capable, cheap but still a solid build. I contemplated this frame and the surly cross check but the Pake has a longer headtube and and was much cheaper. I ride on crap streets everyday with 28c tires and think you can not beat the balance between cushion and speed.

It as sold as a frame only, which is what I was looking for and may not work for you, but it is def worth a look....

The Surly Ogre would be my choice given your lean towards mountain bikes. I like the Specialized Secteur too. Both come in black!

You're hitting the sweet spot in Specialized line with the Allez and Secteur. Stick to a below 1500 budget, no reason to goto 2000, actually 1000 unless you want to consider picking up your road riding. The Sectuer Disk is tempting but disk si just marketing premium for now. standard brakes work fine and not worth the extra cost. The real sacrifice is no rack, and clampon race fenders. Can you handle this? I'm a roadie at heart so this is my natural preference.



If you wanted to go road style. I'd get a Soma Smoothie get a Tiagra build kit, fenders and a rack. Coolest commuter on the block and ride like a wet dream.

Edit: I just pointed out the road bikes since it is wat Im drawn toward. If you really prefer the mt bikes consider a cross bike or a road bike that allows wider tires. You have a huge budget to work with and can land the perfect commuter educate your self on the options.

OP, just out of curiosity, why did you link to the Specialized US site when IIRC you aren't in the U.S.?

Models can vary from region to region. For example, the Tricross has like 5 different build/trim levels in the U.S. but there is only one available in Colombia. Unless you have someone in the States who can buy you a bike and ship it to you, then you really should be working with your LBS as to what models they can get.

Unless you ride in the rain alot. Or ride in the snow. Switched to discs after glancing off a car when my rim brakes packed with snow. Haven't had anything but discs on my commuters in 12 years.

The Secteur isn't typical of most drop bar disc bikes,but you can rack and fender it. Bicycle Times put SKS's on it,and it def has frame braze-ons;couldn't tell from the angled pic if there's a mount behind the derailleur or not. If not,there are road bike racks that mount to the QR.

After literally burning through THOUSANDS of dollars of rims on my (rainy and gritty) commute I beg to differ.

I might as well, since both Specialized-only local shops run out of some models every now and then, and I guess most ppl replying might be more familiar with it anyway.
I could very well tell a guy in the US to send me the bike, but then I won't have the 2-year theft insurance (not that it did me much good this time around, anyway.. )

Locally there's Trek shops, Specialized, shops with Giant (but the colors/logo on those bikes are too flashy), Cannondale, Scott, and the price just starts going up from there. Of course there are crappy bikes by the mile, too, but I'm not ready to give in to those yet

Couldn't really go looking for bikes today because of work appointments, still managed to pass by a small shop that was recommended to me, turned out they only had roadies (Italian brands, I think) and the cheapest one was +$2750

For some months now I've been wanting to own a Specialized, I like their design, and there are official shops I can easily purchase from. LOTS of people now have suggested me to instead get a somewhat decent -but 'nameless'- frame and put some barely decent components, to eliminate any fear of theft (or even being assaulted!)

For now I think I'm going to try one more time with a black frame and cover any visible letters or decals with either black tape (perhaps reflective on top of adhesive), or even paint. It won't look 'as pretty', but that's the whole point. I might wrap some plastic bags around it or something similar to try and make it 'uglier' as well.

If I have to end up getting another bike (that is, if I get the new one AND an insurance replacement stolen, too ), then surely I'll pretty much have to go with a cheaper option. Thanks everyone for the suggestions so far and I'll look into them as well.

I had a couple of near-wipeouts too from frozen rim brakes back in December. Discs are a very good idea.

May I ask as to why that is?

I'd hazard a guess because he rides in the city? The only drop bar bike I've ever owned that's gotten any serious mileage was my Ti cross bike. It was Ti,so no rust or scratching issues. Had discs,full fenders,and reasonable tires. The fact that it had drops was pretty much moot;I rode it for what it was and spent like 95% of the time on the hoods. Drop bars aren't super useful in they city where you can't go very far without having to stop,so multiple hand positions aren't a big deal. And I won't ride anything less than 28's in the city,our roads are just too bad.

Stix, if you are ONLY looking at Specialized, you could look at the Sirrus. Road ready, but I think the newer ones (depending on the model) have 32's on them. Might get the speed you're looking for, but a little more versatility if you bounce around paths.

Mines pretty comfortable (have one with a carbon fork), can keep up with most roadies, and I'm good taking it on imperfect pavement.

The crosstrail also looks like it might fit your bill as well. Good size gears on it, but mountain bike comfort. Just depends how comfortable you're expecting the ride to be.

To explain myself better, I'm looking at Specialized partly because it's one of the few brands where I get official distributors offering a 2 year theft insurance, which in light of recent events, is a huge plus for me.

Actually today I had a bunch of bike shop dealers offering me to assemble a bike from scratch, but there's no insurance for builds, unless I pay for that separately. The MTB models I'm interested in (basically, an all-black frame) are sold out right now, but I was assured a new batch of bikes will arrive in a week or so.


^ I saw this Allez for just about $1000 and fell in love with it <3, I may get it as a secondary (road only) bike for the weekends (to make my theft revenge complete haha).

Or maybe not, I'm pretty freaked out about getting on a flashy bike right now unfortunately.
As I've been talking with people about my stolen bike these past days, I've been told more than a share of theft 'horror stories'


*Thanks again for the suggestion on the Crosstrail. I saw it today in person, and even though the price was somewhat low, tbh it didn't do much for me; I'm still going to have to keep looking and thinking about it though.

Typical American teen- I got my driver's license and promptly forgot about the bike (plus it got stolen).

Finances and medical issues have pretty much ruled out ever riding w/drops again.

Ah, sorry to hear that.

Trek 520 is a great reliable bike with a heavy towing capacity.

Thanks for the tip I don't really carry anything besides my backpack, and for the moment I want to switch to Specialized.

Towing capacity? You mean with a trailer? I've hauled over 100 pounds of stuff in my trailer, and I find I can do this on any bike, from an old English 3-speed to a racing bike with thin tires.