New bike shopping brain overload
 

I just realized that I've spent the last 2 hours (TWO HOURS!) on my LBS website looking into the details of the two or three bikes I'm interested in, then googling bike reviews, then googling "Shimano hierarchy" and the like. I've been obsessing about small differences in similar bikes at a similar price point to the point of insanity.

Then I remembered that when I left the shop after test riding one of the bikes today I was soooo happy. Any of the ones I'm looking at will be a huge step up from my current ride and I just need to go have some wine and stop thinking about it.

I assume this is normal. (Please don't tell me it isn't.) Rant over :D

Once you realize that a) all brands build to a given price point, so parts are gonna be similar at that price and b) the fit of the frame is infinitely more important than the bits and bobs hanging off it, then it basically comes down to how it feels on the test ride. :)

Now go back and find something far better, a bike with a SA 5w.

This is the same negative phenomenon I tried to describe in a post entitled "The Way It's Going, I Will Never Buy A Light!"

There's way too much information out there to make a decision about anything these days. I'm learning, little-by-little to rely more on my instinct and less on the reviews.

I bought a GT Outpost Mountain Bike for $300 in 1996. It was the first new bike I had purchased in about 20 years, so I knew nothing. I just liked it. It turned out to be the best purchase I ever made and I am still using it, as a mountain bike, as a commuting bike, and as a touring bike, to this day.

Go buy a bike. Then ride the heck out of it.

You're ok.

It's not unusual for me to spend 2 hours every day looking at bike stuff on the internet. It's a life long obsession/hobby. The result: there are 16 bikes in my garage at the moment.

I know exactly how you feel. I've been trying to understand brakes over on a different thread. Information overload!

I just bought a bike that looked good that I could select the colours of.

That makes it much easier :)

its that small differences in price point of the parts that are reflected in what the bike costs..

bike brands are names painted on the frame, they buy everything else..

the Product Manager's job is specifying all those bits and pieces..

then those choices are transmitted to the factory that actually makes the bikes.

a few factories make multiple brands for various importers, Few Very Large factories.

I feel your frustration.
I want a new mtb bike but I can't even decide if I want a hard tail or full suspension- then there are the various wheel sizes, and then there are all the different options at my price point. It's so overwhelming that I haven't pulled the trigger on anything and don't know when I will. I'm usually not indecisive about such things, maybe if I procrastinate long enough, something will fall in my lap and force me to make a decision.

It's funny, lately I've been researching the heck out of bikes to reduce my stable. At first I thought I could get it down to two, a rigid MTB + a do-everything-else commuter/tourer/road bike, but I think I might end up at three, rigid MTB + fast road bike + commuter/tourer (currently eyeing up a Surly Ogre).

If you want to talk about obsessing about nuances and other small details, you've come to the right place.

You sound quite normal to me! :D

I agree with no1mad on the given price point of all brands, as well as the frame fit being the most important. I felt exactly the same way when I was shopping for bikes for the very first time since I was a kid. When you're a kid, especially the baby girl of the family, you just go along with what Daddy says at the time, and trust it. I tend not to do that anymore though. :lol:

I just wrote a blog post similar to your story. Check it out here, if interested. Thanks!

+1

:lol: I'll admit that Lola's sweeping frame, champagne/light pink color scheme, and European details were a big part of the reason I was drawn to her.

+1

there's nothing wrong with being vain.

i will say, however, that my ride really polarises people, half think it great and fun, the other half hate me automatically (but never challenge me to a race on equivalent bikes :lol: ) ... which is great because I have new interesting people to talk to and a list of people that I can ignore.

This is my plan! I think the OCD set in only after reading too much online. Going to test a few more tomorrow (Can't buy until after my b-day later this month) and figure out what feels best. And... well, if it comes down to more than one I'll just have to pick the pretty one like acidfast7. That doesn't bother me even a little.

Oh, but don't come back here and tell people what you bought expecting to be forgiven for it. No matter what you buy, we will all beat you up for it until you feel horrible and never ride again. Wink, wink. ;)

Unless it's an Electra Townie, then no winking.

Obsessing gives you something to do while you save up the money.

If you think of it as the only bike you will ever own, then it is very hard to make a decision. However, if you think of it as the first in a series of bikes (N+1), then the decision is not so daunting. I'm up to 5 bikes myself. I usually buy a new (or good used) bike frame/fork every year, swap parts from the bike I ride (or like) the least, and then sell that frame.

As others mentioned, most complete bikes have essentially the same components. Higher end bikes have better grades of components, but at some point you are paying more money for bling and lighter-weight parts rather than better quality. The trick is to buy a bike with high quality components that are the best value for the money (eg, Shimano 105 or Ultegra).

The frame is the heart and soul of a bike, and that is what you should focus the most attention on. First, make sure whatever you buy fits you right. You will not enjoy riding the nicest bike in the world if it doesn't fit you right. Also, pick a frame that you like the appearance of -- colors, decals, whatever rocks your boat. Ugly bikes can be useful if you commute and park your bike in high-theft areas or just don't care how things look. However, most people get pleasure from owning things that look nice to them.

I care how my bikes look and have a lot of fun picking bar tape, a saddle, tires and other parts that pull it all together. My most recent bike was built from a used but good-quality frame and fork that are 13 years old, but it has nice components and details that make it look very nice (to me).

+1 to this, more than anything! I've tried all manner of bikes...ridden friends' track bikes, gone SS/FG, gone back to multiple gears, tried clipless/toe clips/no clips, etc...but believe it or not, the bikes I love to ride the most out of several styles I own are the ones with similar frame sizes/geometries: the Schwinn Racer's and the [God help me] Takara Kabuto (post-tweaks). They make the ride comfortable (but fast enough) and fun, and their components are certainly nothing to brag about. You're certainly going to obsess over this stuff online (I still want to buy more bikes/try different components, despite being threatened with divorce should I act on said impulse), and there's nothing wrong with that, but go with what no1mad said and test-ride it...find the frame size/geometry that best compliments your style of riding (this may also take some stem/handlebar/saddle tweaking, as well) and ride the hell out of it! Make no mistake, people here will critique your every decision, but at the end of the day the one important question you need to ask yourself is "Do I actually enjoy riding this bike?", and the answer should be something akin to "Hell yes!".
:)

You have fully considered ALL options, right? You've thought about internally geared vs externally geared. Variable (Nuvinci N360) vs select speeds (everything else). Roller vs coaster vs drum vs disk vs caliper brakes. Battery vs dynamo lighting. Center vs side vs no kickstand. Full vs half fenders. Spats or not. Front rack or not. Steering stabilizer or not. He he he he :-)

In Amsterdam, colors are easy; black & white. Well, unless you get a Workcycles Gr8 which can be any combination (up to 7 different colors on one bike) of any of 210 RAL colors.

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=350444

Now, just relax and make a decision :-)

Only 2 hours? Definitely not normal.

Just go for the one that gives you the biggest grin. Everything else can be fixed.