Secteur by Specialized?
 

I went back into the cycle shop where I bought my Gary Fisher Mamba mountain bike 16 years ago...today looking for a helmet.

I was talking to a gentleman there and he was showing me some of the bikes that he had reduced the price on trying to make room for more bikes...one of the bikes he showed me was a Specialized Secteur (size 61...I'm 6'3" with long legs). I'm pretty sure it was a never bought before bike...not sure what the colors have been in the past but this one was red and black (maybe a little white on it somewhere). Although you could tell it had been tested out due to the dust on the tires.

I believe the original price on the bike was around $850, marked down to $699, and he offered to sell it to me for $650 out the door (including taxes and lifetime tune-ups).

I have/had no intention of purchasing a road bike since I just changed the tires on my Mamba to something better for the road.

I guess what I'm thinking is:
- How good is this bike?
- Is the $650 too good of a deal to pass up?
- Should I just stick with the Mamba and the new tires I put on it because other great deals will be available in the future?

Thanks for any and all help.

Triple67

If you like that bike then buy it NOW. The Specialized Secateur were discontinued last year and are no longer in production.

Specialized's high end endurance geometry bike (the Roubaix) is only available in CF. The Secteuer has the same geometry as the Roubaix but is in Aluminum. It has the Z-erts (or whatever they are called) and are very comfortable.

So overall its a very good bike. $650 could be a good price. What model was it, what groupset etc? Is it this one with the Claris groupset? 2015 Specialized SECTEUR BASE COMPACT | Road Bikes | ERIK'S

So this is very weird, I am also looking for a bike and am 6'5 so it's not easy to find one in stock. My LBS had a secteur they have been sitting on for a few years, I believe it's a 2013 XXL and they had it marked for 940. I have no idea what the model is but it's Shinamo 2300 I believe. They offered it to me for 700 out the door. It did feel nice, but I was also wondering if people had more info on if this is a decent buy.

$900 -> $740 on a 3 year old model in a not very common side is a barely okay price. I think you can offer them less with confidence I doubt there are many people looking for a 61cm frame.

I think what your seeing is the Secteur Sport which cost >$900 but that came with Sora (see 2013 Specialized Secteur Sport Compact - BikePedia) did the STIs say Sora on them?

The regular Secteur (not sports) was under $900.

Not much out there but here is a review Specialized Secteur 2013 Review

I'd pass. That's an old entry level groupset. It's overpriced IMO for a 4 year old bike. You'd be better served with a current entry level model with 10 or 11 speed. You should be able to find a new Nashbar bike for around that with more current components.

All very true. If you can handle the more racier Specialize Allez E5 you can get last year's model with modern day Sora (i.e. no thumb shifters) 9 speed for under $700. It's a nice bike for sure.

I just did some searching, it's a 2011 secteur triple. Blue and white. Do lbs usually discount more as time goes on? He told me 940 was msrp and could. Move to 700,but now I'm wondering why it's been there for 5 years.

Is it a new bike or on sale by consignment? A 5 year old bike is ancient by LBS standards. It's a fine bike but XXL (61 cm right) is a rare frame size only suited to people close to 6 foot 5 with large inseams. That would explain why its been around so long and as time goes on technology advances and it gets less and less desirable.

I would offer $550 for it. Then you could (if you want) upgrade the groupset to something more modern after a while.

I'm told it is new, it looks new. The only issue I'm having is originally they told me 800 and I had to haggle to get them to drop to 700.i really would rather be at 600 but at this point I don't want to have a bad relationship with the owner. I wonder what he will say when I tell him I looked it up and found its a 2011.

I would check with them that its a 2011 model. I find it hard to believe a LBS would keep a bike around for 5+ years. Not only is it taking up floor space but it looks weird.

What would you consider to be a better entry level? I tried an XL giant and it was too small. What is Nash bar?

I'm not sure if it tells which model I was looking at but it had shifters like I had never seen before...you pushed in on the inside of the shifter to drop a gear and you pushed in on the whole shifter to go up a gear.

Would take a while for me to get used to this!

TripleB67

This is a good entry-level bike, and yuo can often get it for 20 percent less---Nashbar has a lot of sales. Nashbar 105 Road Bike

The Secteur frame is a good endurance frame ... comfortable for people who don't want to look like pro racers. However if it has those thumb-shifters, that would be a deal-breaker for me. The groupset is supposed to be Sora but without the name---same level---and Sora is solid group, but the old Sora shifted with the brake levers one way and had a thumbswitch to shift the other way ... awkward and undesirable and phased out pretty quickly.

That bike will probably sit there forever. As Inpd notes, it is an odd size and an old bike and there are very few people who will be interested. If it hasn't sold yet ... When you look at what $700 can buy.

Check this out: Nashbar AL1 Road Bike it for $550 and it has Sora 3500---which is sort of 9-speed Tiagra renamed. It has proper dual-action shif levers, 9-speed, and is actually a good group (I have the prior year's 9-speed Tiagra which is basically the same, on a bike and it is rock-solid.)

All the Nashbar bikes have a no-questions-asked return policy---wrong size, wrong model, you don't **** the color, you get sick of it after a year ... send it back, pay 7.5 % restocking .... get the rest of your cash back.

I'd bet that if yo shopped around you could find old stock bikes for less with more .... $700 seems like a lot for old Sora. (Some bike shop owners will keep dead dogs on the sales floor rather than cut their losses .... don't know why.)

I guess, find out what year it is, and which group it has, and if it the old Sora with thumbshifters, either offer a lot less or pass ... or buy it for the frame and upgrade the groupset eventually.

Everyone is different----but if I saw "Lightly used 2011 Secteur---$700 firm" on Craigslist I'd pass.

For the OP---for you, again, check out the groupset and age .... if it is pretty recent it could be a good deal.

Just buy one off craigslist, in my opinion it is a terrible price. What have you been riding? give giant defy, cannondale synapse a try... you may like as much and have more options to choose from. Even 700 is more than it was worth in 2012... in my opinion.

Don't laugh. I started cycling and doing Olympic Tri 3 years ago and bought a gmc denali just because I didn't know if I would like it. I've been a runner my whole life. Well, I do like it and I want to finally upgrade and put some money into it, but I really only have a budget for around 700/800. I test rode a giant XL hoping I would. Love it but honestly I felt like I couldn't fully extend myself.

And also I can't find any bikes on Craigslist in my size.

Okay.... that is the better type of shifter .... (odd as it might have felt ...)

Actually if the bike is set up right you can shift from almost anywhere .... I ride about three different positions on the hoods/hood-bar junction or in the drops and generally can flick through the gears with a fingertip form any position. While it takes some getting used to, once you get it, you can brake and shift without moving your hands which is a big help.

The thumb-shift version required moving the hands, which is why it was phased out.

For $650 and some accessories (cages, seat bag) and lifetime tuneups ... depending how old it is ....

Then the question is, Does it speak to you? When you ride it does it feel right? When you look at it ... do you wish you had it in your garage and were looking at it before or after a ride?

The price seems okay ... not amazing ... right in that zone where if the bile is just Yours, made for you, and you know it, you won't regret buying it, but if it is just alright, you won't regret passing.

You'd think that, but you can shift from drops and and top of the bars. My Secteur came with claris 5 years ago and had the thumb triggers. I upgraded to the newer shifters and did away with the thumb shifting. That was awkard because if you're in the drops, you have to move your hand over the bars every time you shift. It was an inexpensive and simple upgrade that's had a serious improvement on my enjoyment of the bike.

Now, back to the Secteur in general. I've ridden one for what seems like countless miles over the last 5 years and it's just a great, comfortable, bullet proof bike. The ride is solid, stable, and smooth. It's not a snappy sprinter or twitchy fast handling descender but overall it's very nice bike to ride and does most things quite well. You can't go wrong with it, particularly for that price even with a 9 sp. sora group.

As someone mentioned, Nashbar works too, for example:
Nashbar 105 Road Bike

$899, but at least once a month Nashbar have a 20% off and sometimes 25% off. I'm expecting one for labor day sale which brings the bike new to 700, with 105 groupset which is a better group.

I have a 2014 Secteur Sport with Sora (9 Sp) shifters and they are great. I thought those shifters (Shimano Sora 3500) were released in 2014 or 2013. I put over 4K miles on it and have no issues. I think the wheels are heavy and purchased Vuelta Corsa SLR wheels from Nashbar to drop a a lot and now the bike rides forever. I paid $800 in Jan 2015 for it when it was $1050. I can shift from the hoods or the drops without issue.

compared to the allez e5
 

Did you compare it to the Allez E5? I love the quality of that bikes ride but it's geometry was too close to my Venturi Breezer. I'm hoping that these Secuteur has the great ride quality of the Allez but more relaxed geometry.

I also ride a Secteur - 21,00 miles so far. The current offering price is your call but the bike is a good, reliable and versatile ride. The bike will fit 28mm tires and has mount points for a rear rack. I use mine all over town and on grocery trips and shorter week-end tours loaded with 25 pounds of touring gear. I have only the one bike so versatility is important. I'm asthmatic so endurance is limited but now and then when the planets are in alignment I can haul for 10 -20 mph for a bit.

If you are still trying to figure out which model/year it is, you can look for it here:

Specialized Bicycle Components

I did but for me, the Secteur was a perfect fit. At the time, I was just starting out and was less flexible than I am now. I currently have the stem flipped and at least one spacer moved above. It is my only ride and does everything pretty well. It is aluminum so do not expect it to be super compliant but I have ridden downhills at up to 42 mph with room to spare to go faster if only the roads would allow - too cut up too often. I find it agile but not squirrely and very predictable in movement. I ride a 58 cm.

The Allez did not fit me as nicely.