New Year, New Bike?
 

Longtime browser/stalker/lurker on BF, but a noobie poster....looking for your opinions on a road bike around the 2K price point. Me -- I'm a mid to late 30's, fitter-than-I-was-6-months-ago-but-not-great type who spends a few hrs each weekend wrestling the east bay hills on my 9yr old aluminum hybrid. This has got me hooked on biking again, but now I fear it may be time to switch up my wheels.

What’s your best bet for the money, and why should I share your opinion? Thought I'd ask the locals first, since you appreciate the weather and terrain.

Anything Cannondale, I have one I am biased. I would get top of the line CAAD9, then with spare cash upgrade the parts to your liking (better saddle, different handlebars, different post), or/and buy cycling stuff (shoes, pedals, clothes, helmet).
Another option is to get CAAD9 on ebay, Then build it from ground up with components you want. Only thing "to spec" on my bike at this point are the wheels and the frame. Didn't really plan it that way, but kind of turned out that way.

I second that vote for C'Dale.

I have a 2007 CAAD8 Frame that I built up with mostly Campy Chorus.

It ended up costing me around $2600 - 2700 maybe to build it.

I love it.

The new Tarmac may be the best bang for the money, or a Caad9

Thanks guys -- your opinions seem to mirror the theme on the Trek 5000 vs CAAD 9 thread on the road bike board. I sensed that even without the cracked frame, most people would have gone for the Cannondale. So what's the deal -- aluminum better than carbon at this price, or just personal preference? Tarmac looks interesting though....

Why don't you go ride a few bikes and see what happens? when I bought my first roadbike in 20 yrs. I had ideas of Trek or C'dale and ended up with a Specialized.

Fuji has some nice bikes for the money. I advise riding several different kinds and see what you like.

Best by far bang for buck
But you have to be strong
You have to not care what people say
You have to enjoy a bargain
You have to be able to live through being called names. Ugly names.

www.bikesdirect.com

For killer deals on Specialized and Cannondales check out: Go Ride Bike Shop

Here's a list of their closeouts: http://www.goridebicycles.com/Site/Closeoutlist.htm

Forum member, zorrov999 (Angel) bought his Specialized bike their at a killer price under $2k. Worth a shot checking them out in Redwood City and testing out a few bikes.

Good luck!

Wow - thanks. Those are some impressive deals, Gee3. After clicking the link in your post I actually resembled my avatar for a about 3minutes. RWC is a bit of a drive from the east bay, but I've some nice options here that could be well worth the gas.

Thanks all, an update -- I'd pretty much convinced myself that a cannondale would be the bike for me after my reading around.

So after narrowing down options, I did some test rides - first I took out a Trek5000, it was OK, but didn't do much for me. It went up hills and down hills; nothing special IMO. Then I took out a CAAD8, much better, definitely felt more connected to the road, a bit harsher. It was also fast, almost a bit twitchy for me downhill and I realized that this isn't necessarily what I'm after right now. I'm not a racer, I'm a recreational rider who'd like to stretch themselves a bit more.

Then I took out a Roubaix comp and it all came together for me. Very nice, fluid, supple ride - responsive, went up hills great and was fast downhill, but I always felt connected to the bike and the road and in control.

So I'll be picking up my first true roadie in the next couple of weeks - there's *no* way I'd have picked the right bike for me by just reading. It's been all about working out what felt right for me and what I want to do with my bike.

Looking forward to some good riding in '08.

I should have asked what size you are needing. I have a Madone for sale.:o

Love my Tarmac, don't skimp on the components, at least get the Ultegra group, in the long run it's worth it (IMO).

Cool!

Yeah the CAAD8 has some quick handling, but I don't find it overly twitchy. It feels great downhill. However, I do ride with a 120mm stem. With a 90mm or something, a CAAD8 may become a bit too quick for some.

The CAAD 8 and 9 are definitely built to be "race bikes" they are stiff and responsive (and fun ;) ). I tried climbing on my, now commuter, CAAD 4 the other day and it felt like a wet noodle on the climb compared to my CAAD 8.

There were actually a couple of pros that would swap out for the Synapse (more casual) frame for certain events, before the Super Six came out.

when it comes to picking out bikes, when you ride the right one, you know it :) Glad you picked a nice bike.

Ha ha! I suspect that wouldn't have helped, I'm looking at a 54 frame