help a newb pick a bike
 

Hi, I am trying to upgrade from my el cheapo bike from dick's sporting goods to a nice road bike for my short commute to school everyday.

Saw these two bikes on craigslist. Felt f90 team issue for $400 (talked him down to $300), and trek superlight? SL1000? for $3500 (talked him down to $300 as well).

Both bikes are about 7 years old. Felt f90 team issue bike has had been serviced recently with chain and cassettee replaced. Trek bike has been ridden for about 50 miles total, with no signs of use (or so he claims)

I like both, but trek one seems to have that sloping line that resembles female bikes, but not that big of a deal.
Trying to see which is a better deal.


Specs
Trek (not much listed)
It weighs just 22 lbs. total. It has Shimano integrated brake/shifters, and a triple front crankset with an 8-speed Shimano Tiagra rear cassette; Bontrager handlebars, crankset, and tires.


Felt
Frame and Fork
Frame Tubing Material: Felt F-Lite butted 7005-aluminum
Wheels and Tires
Hubs: Felt aluminum
Tires: Vittoria Zaffiro, 700 x 23c (47cm: 650c) *replaced with continental gator skin
Spoke Brand: 14g stainless-steel
Components
Brakeset: Dual-pivot
Shift Levers: Shimano
Rear Cogs: SunRace, 8-speed: 12-24
Front Derailleur: Shimano Sora
Rear Derailleur: Shimano Tiagra
Saddle: FELT 1.3 Road
Handlebar: Felt 1.5 aluminum
Handlebar Stem: Felt 1.3 aluminum


thanks in advance everyone!
https://s16.postimg.org/r5g7ttzed/00...Yj_600x450.jpg
https://s16.postimg.org/ozlwzbvxx/00...r_1200x900.jpg

So, you negotiate the purchase price of a bike, then walk away?

The components on each bike are roughly the same quality -- Shimano 2200/Sora/Tiagra mix. Both bikes have aluminum frames and carbon forks. Both have single blade Shimano shifters with thumb buttons, so shifting will work the same on each (with the exception that the Trek is a triple.) In my mind, it comes down to frame size, the bike's condition, and gearing.

Getting the right size frame is really important. How tall are you? The Felt looks to be about 54 cm, which can fit someone in the 5'6" to 5'10" range. The Trek looks a bit smaller, which explains the steeper sloping top tube. It might be 50-52 cm, and if so, it'll fit a rider roughly 5'2" to 5'6". (Judging by the seatpost and the really tall stem setup, it seems the current rider is too tall for the bike.)

How hilly are your rides going to be? The Trek has a triple crankset, which will give you lower gearing to climb hills. The Felt has a compact double crankset, which can give you some climbing gears, but you'd need to swap out the rear cassette to something with bigger cogs than 24 teeth (cheap and easy).

More detail on the bikes:
2009 Felt F95 Team Issue
2006 Trek 1000

The Trek because of the Low Miles.

Man, I wish i could find those kinds of bikes for that kind of money around here.

Anyhow, the only real difference in spec between the bikes, is the triple on the Trek.

That, and i'm with SkyDog75, the Trek appears to be a Small (50-52cm) and the Felt looks like a 54cm (M)

For the same cost, get the one that's closest in size to what you're riding now, if your current bike fits properly.

problem with word choice, I didn't talk them down, I should have said "I asked them their rock bottom price" and these are the prices they gave me, which happen to be the same for both.

thanks for the detailed answer. I am sure you hate all these newb questions that pop up time to time.
I am not riding in a hilly area, it's pretty flat and commute is pretty short (about 5 miles per day unless i decide to ride for longer for workout).

Height wise, I am 5'7, so both will fit fit for me I think. Trek "could" be slightly small, but the seller said it fits 5 to 5'8 comfortably.

so as far as the $$ are concerend, $300 is a pretty good price for either one?

Fit is the most important thing to consider.
Both are road bikes. How will you carry your books, laptop, clothes, etc.?

Felt f90 team issue was made from 2004 to 2006 according to Bikepedia with the MSRP from $610 to $699 so the Felt is more like 10-13 years old. 2006 Felt F90 - BikePedia
2004 Felt F90 - BikePedia The components are entry level.

Bikepedia shows the years the SL 1000 was made 2001 to 2007 so it would be 9 to 15 years old depending upon when it was made. The MSRPs were $600 to $680. Sometimes you can date a bike by simply looking at the inner side of the crank. Most crank manufacturers have a date stamped in the metal. That will give you within a few months of the date it was made. 2001 Trek 1000 - BikePedia 2007 Trek 1000 - BikePedia

The older the bike, the less I would be willing to pay for it, especially if it shows signs of wear. You should go through any bike 10 years or older and make sure all of the rubber parts like the tires and brake pads are good. The other thing about the Felt is the carbon frame. Make very sure it has not been damaged in any way since carbon frames fail catastrophically when they do and give you little warning. These are NOT the mixte frames that were women's bikes in the past. Lots of bikes no longer have the standard diamond frame that was typical of a "man's" bike.

I think the bike in this thread is a Felt F95 team issue. The pic and specs match the 2009 model year -- I posted the link above.

I think this one's a 2006. Bikepedia doesn't have a matching picture, but I think the orange paint on this bike is the "Flare Duotone" color listed on Bikepedia.

It might be the picture angles, but they look like very different sizes. The Trek looks small. The Trek at least looks like it has eyelets for a rack.
Commuting to a college campus, and only a short ride? I'd choose neither, or at least you have some good $$ to invest in some hardcore locks. Any other transportation for when it rains? If not, you will want a bike that will accept full fenders front and rear.
If you are just planning to use a backpack or messenger bag and not ride it in the rain, you need to figure out what size bike you need first and then go with which one will fit you better.

300 is too much for almost a decade old entry level road bike. You can get a brand new Trek 1000 for 650-700, and that comes with LBS support, knowing that it will actually fit you, and warranties. I think each bike is about $100 over priced.

It depends a lot on where you live. In some places, bikes are in demand and prices are higher. In other places, not so much. For example, a bike that might sell for $300 in a heartbeat in New York City might sit unsold for weeks at $150 in my rural little corner of upstate NY.

I live in Florida, and it's perfect weather to ride these days. It's a small private graduate school with only 400 students and lots of cameras in the parking lot. I think my $10 master lock should be deterrent enough.

As far as the age is concerned, aren't these pretty reliable? Trek has not been ridden a lot. Felt has been ridden for quite a bit, but has recently been tuned and parts replaced.


Trek one must have sold recently, because the ad disappeared. Now the only question is, do I want a used bike for $300 or should I spend a little more and get a new one like suggested?


i dig the look of the felt, though!

anyone know what year / model this is?
it was priced at $300 as well.

https://images.craigslist.org/00505_...w_1200x900.jpg

Not so good here. Snow and high winds. Bah humbug.

Yes, you're right. A lightly-used 7-year-old bike should be a reliable ride.

A well-used bike, on the other hand, will need maintenance more often as things wear out. It's good to hear that the Felt's previous owner kept up with maintenance, but the parts he didn't replace yet -- like the shifters, for example -- have used up some portion of their useful life. Overall, it would still likely be a reliable ride.

Personally, I lean toward used bikes. Lots of people buy bikes thinking they'll take up a new hobby, but they ride it a few times and put it away in the garage. It depreciates and I can score a like-new bike a few years later at half price.

But there's something to be said for new bikes, too, especially if you're not mechanically inclined. New bikes shouldn't need major work for many miles, while a used bike might. If you're paying a shop to do that work, it adds to the cost of a used bike. New bikes also come with warranties, and some people don't mind paying a bit extra for that peace of mind. You'll also get at least a rudimentary fitting with a new bike, and can be reasonably sure that you're buying a bike that's the right size for you.

I'm sure it's a great place to ride but you haven't acknowledged the rudimentary question of do you know what size bike you should be riding. That should be #1 on the list. Both bikes appeared to be quite different sizes.

Colleges are usually a hotbed for bike theft. I would at least invest in a good u lock as well. 300 is a lot of money to protect with a $10,master lock.

Do you already have a way to carry anything you need to take? Not all bikes have rack mounts.

I still think 300 is too much. There are better bikes out there for that kind of money.

I have a medium size bike (52cm or so i believe) that fits me well. Felt bike is around that dimension and the seller is about the same height as I am. Assuming our body proportions aren't way off from each other, hopefully I will fit okay.


colleges tend to attract a lot of bike thieves, but I am in a quiet/rich suburb area (not by choice) with lots of old folks. Plus, it's a medical/health professional graduate school, I really hope there isn't anyone stupid enough to steal a bike to jeopardize their future. And there are security cameras in every 10 ft or so. We are being monitored for something we don't even intend to do :)

Since you some of you guys suggested that there may be some other parts that may eventually need servicing down the road, do you guys think it's smarter to purchase something newer?

I found a cannondale CAAD8 2013 or 2014 model with 150 miles on it.


Is the newness of the cannondale and fewer mile worth $150? I was really hoping he'd go $400, but he didn't budge from $450.

I wasn't ready to purchase $450 bike yet, so went for the felt team issue. It's in great condition and rides very smoothly. Thanks everyone for your advice, even though I was only left with one choice to choose from anyway.

Lots to learn from!