thilly

ive been riding for a few years with some crappy SportChek bikes. this year i feel i should buy a more serious bike. i do 120 km rides mainly on the road, but i do want to try some dirt trails. from what ive read, i think should get a hybrid bicycle. something with shocks at the front fork, a light frame, and a comfortable handle bar and seat. im not quite sure how much i should spend. i was thinking about $1000 should get me an entry level bicycle for what i want to do. i live in Toronto and this shop https://www.dornellas.com/DOrnellasHome.asp seems to be a popular choice in my area, more specifically Scarborough.

any help is appreciated

novacoke

Look at a cyclocross option as well.

thilly

is that a brand? i just see events when i google 'cyclocross'

CbadRider

Cyclocross is a style of bike, like a road bike or a mountain bike. They work well on both roads and off-road terrain.


https://www.bikeforums.net/forumdispl.../23-Cyclocross

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyclo-cross

Boudicca

You should get a decent bike (way beyond entry level) for $1k, and Dornellas has a good selection. If you're in the east end, you could also look at Skiis and Bikes on Don Mills or at Gears off Laird. You may not need front shocks unless you are doing serious off-roading, and a cyclocross bike will be lighter and easier to handle.

What do you mean by "comfortable seat"? It sounds counterintuitive, but a softer seat is (imho) actually less comfortable over the long term as it squishes the wrong things.

Vivi

The trek bike store at yonge and davisville has some nice dual sports bikes such as

https://www.trekbikes.com/ca/en/bikes...eries/8_4_ds/#

May be worth checking out.

thilly

cyclocross bikes dont seem to have suspensions on the front fork. is that alright for dirt trails? in my experience, theyre pretty bumpy. ive never ridden a bike without front fork suspensions.

ill look into the trek store on yonge. is cyclopath a good store too? ive seen a couple downtown. im also consider MEC, Mountain Equipment Co-op.

Vivi

Cycle path is a pretty good store. They carry Norco and DeVinci. I think it depends on your price range.
They offer unlimited tuneups which is nice ! The one on YongeEglinton that is.
I think they're definitely worth a look.

There is also Gears at Eglinton and Laird which I'm planning to buy my hybrid from. They offer lifetime tuneups as well.

thilly

thanks to everyone for all the input

ill check out Gears when i check out Trek, they dont seem very far apart.

thilly

what do you guys think about Specialized bikes?

renton

Good quality bikes.

alanknm

If you want to look further east in Pickering and Ajax there is
pedal performance www.pedalperformance.com - Specialized, Argon 18, Colnago, Pinarello, Cannondale
just down the road from there there's Bay Cycle and Sports Baycyclesports.com - Giant, Norco

In Ajax, there's Northern Cycle northerncycle.com/ Trek, Kona

Scarborough has Dornella's or you can check out Cycle-solutions in the Beach or their other store on Parliament street..

Those are the stores that I've dealt with personally at one time or another.

thilly

im picky with travelling and would rather find something in scarborough. ive looked through Dornellas site but havent taken a look in the store yet. i do plan to. ive been told that theres a cyclepath on main street and highway 7. im usually in that area so ima check that place out too. ima check the Trek store at yonge and eglington though. its close to the highway. maybe ill try the pickering store too.

i guess you cant really go wrong with quality from the many brands that are out there.

alanknm

If you want to go on long rides, then you may want to go with a either a road bike (my preference) or a performance hybrid. The problem with a hybrid on long rides is the upright riding position and what is usually mountain bike gearing. A compromise between the two is a cyclocross bike.

As for ride quality ? My cheap Trek hybrid is a hardtail and I have more problems with vibration fatigue with that than I do with my roadbike (none) . Mind you, that's an apples and oranges comparison. The Roubaix that I ride costs 5 times more than the hybrid and it's a full carbon endurance road bike. In your price range, If you are looking for better ride quality then look for a bike with an alloy frame with a carbon front fork.

Make sure you also add some more $$ for pedals and shoes if you go the road/cyclocross route or even with a hybrid; your feet will thank you.

A decent MTB or road shoe will run you $120-$160 and clipless pedals anywhere from $60 (for MTB type) or $120-$150 and up for road pedals. I'd tack on $200-$300 for shoes + pedals + $50 other stuff.
If you get a road bike you'll need a good floor pump that will take Presta valves or if you have a decent one that takes Shrader valve stems them buy some Presta/Shrader adapters - about $5 or something like that.

Don't forget to get a decent multitool,

The most important thing is to get a bike that fits you. Getting properly fitted is worth it's weight in gold. A good shop will match shoes/pedals that are appropriate for the kind of bike you and they will make sure that the bike is properly fitted to you before you walk out the door with it.

nondes 

A bike that's good for both road and trail will always be a bit of a compromise. I started out with a hybrid and it served me well for several years, but then went on to get both a road and a mountain bike and the hybrid doesn't get much use now. I see a cyclocross bike as something I would use if I am riding a mix of gravel and paved roads or fairly smooth trails - not for serious off-road like the Don Valley mountain bike trails, for example.

It's always best to use a dealer that's close to home for future tuneups and repairs. The Trek store and Cyclepath on Yonge are both good and close together so you can cross-compare between them.

thilly

awesome, thanks for all the info! i think im goin to buy a cyclocross bike.

i went to the cyclopath at main street markham and he recommended that norco would be the best bang for my buck at around the $800 price range. he also said that the difference between a $850 cyclocross bike and a $1000+ would make the $1000+ bikes worth buying. the quality of the parts is a lot better, he said.

should i invest towards a $1200 bike instead?

alanknm

If you think you may want to upgrade the components on your bike in the future, then buy the bike that has the best frame that you can afford.

If the $1200 bike you are talking about is the Norco CCX2 then you get the Shimano Tiagra 10 sp groupset instead of the Sora 9 sp and a carbon fiber front fork instead of alloy.
Tiagra should be smoother shifting especially when climbing hills and having the extra gear on a compact double can make a difference in maintaining your cadence on variable terrain.

I'd would go with the CCX2 because of the carbon fork. It has better vibration damping which can really take the road buzz sting away from your hands on long rides.

I'm considering getting a cyclocross bike myself to use as "rain bike" since they'll take fenders and have disc brakes which are nice to have when it's wet and messy out.

Since you want to go on dirt trails then the cyclocross bike is a good choice. If you leave out the dirt trails then an endurance road bike is a better choice, especially considering the conditions of a lot of roads in the GTA. Norco's Valence line looks to be quite reasonably priced and appears to be comparable to the offerings from pretty well everybody who builds bikes in that category. Endurance bikes tend to have a slightly more relaxed geometry, longer wheelbases and have much better vibration and shock dampening. They are designed for racing on rough roads and cobblestones (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris%E2%80%93Roubaix ). They aren't quite as snappy on turns as a regular road race crit bike but they are amazingly firm and smooth on rough roads.

One more thing to add to your shopping list is a couple of pairs of good bike shorts. You won't get far without them.

Good luck and post a picture of your new ride when you get it.

Boudicca

Just remember that by the time you add the tax, a $1200 bike will come in well over that.

thilly

to alanknm
yeah an endurance bike would make sense for me. i do love riding on the road but its the inside streets that i truly love riding through. i jump off of curbs, over pot holes, and some streets have cracks that look like mini ramps that i jump of off. its kind of an unusual ride to most people, but thats just what i do when i ride my bike some times lol. just finding places to jump off of. thats why i wont buy an endurance bike. doesnt seem like its built for what i wanna do.
but i will check out the Shimano Tiagra 10 speed.

to Boudicca,
lol yeah i know. thats why i asked to see if its worth buyin over a $800 bike.

when i stop being lazy ill check out D'Ornellas shop