Hi everybody,

I posted below message in the intro forum but admin suggested I post it here.

Hi everybody,

I rode for 5 years to school and back, every day on my trusty Morrison sidewinder. That was 22 years ago! 6 months ago I thought I'd get back on a bike and start commuting to work.

What I can tell you is it is the best thing I've done as far as exercise is concerned for quite some time. Making riding a part of my daily routine has helped my health so much. I lost 7kgs and overall feel great.

The bike I'm riding at the moment is a Merida Crossway 100. Having ridden a flat bar all my life I bought something I felt comfortable with. It is a nice enough bike and I can relatively comfortably do a 20km round trip daily. Everything on the bike is stock standard except I changed to some thinner schwalbe tires.

Overall I am happy with my bike but I am interested also in purchasing a proper road bike. I've looked at some options and narrowed it down to three bikes based on reviews I've read. My budget is around $1000:

1) Specialized Allez E5 sport - bike radar say this is the best entry level road bike. It costs $1200 in NZ so it is a bit more than I have budgeted for

2) Trek 1.1 C H2 - RRP is $1099 at evocycles in NZ but they will do a cash price of 10% less ($989)

3) Merida Lite Ride 93 - Given my positive experience with my Merida crossway 100, I am also interested in this mode. It is $999 at evocycles but again may get a few bucks off this

What do you guys think? Any other bikes in this price range you would recommend?

Thanks!

Can you get the Merida Scultura 200 in NZ? or the Merida Ride 100 or 200 or 300?


What about any 2016 model Giant Defy's in aluminium?


Some of the below bikes might retail for above $NZ1300, but you might be able to find them heavily discounted.


Cannondale Caad 8
Cannondale Synapse Sora

on thing to consider is that the Allez is a race geometry = more aggressive, lower handlebars. The trek and merida are a bit more balanced. Of course, adjusting stem position can change this somewhat, but the starting point on the allez is lower...but if you are flexible, fit, and and have speed as a primary goal, it may be what you want.

That's true, but its not that racy. You can also get a more upright stem an alleviate that issue (to a degree).

Thanks for your reply. All the bikes you mention are available in NZ with the Merida Ride 100 2015 and 2016 models selling for $699 and $999 respectively. Not sure why there is such a big difference. I also see the Merida ride 300 features Tiagra Derailleurs. Are they worth it? The 300 is on special at $1199 so price wise it is a competitor to the Specialized Allez.

Ah, so many options! So confused! :-(

My max daily commute would be 12.5k one way so I could probably put up with a bit of discomfort if it means I knock 10mins of my ride. Currently it takes me 40 - 45mins depending on traffic lights and wind direction.

I'm pretty sure a race geometry will not knock 10 minutes off of a 45 minute ride. The Allez is made for folks that can hang in the drops and stay there. The other two are will serve you better for commute rides.

Thanks for the posts. Much to think about.

I commute 13km on my Allez. I was glad to be on an aggressive bike in today's 15-30mph head wind. I would have been a parachute on my hybrid.

There is nothing hybrid about endurance geometry. Hybrid to Allez is pretty radical of a change in seating position. An endurance frame doesn't split the uprights down the middle, it's much closer to traditional road bikes, just slightly tweaked to something a tad more relaxed with frame builds being a little bit more compliant.

That being said, the short commutes you and the OP are talking about shouldn't wear anyone out from the seating position alone.

I'm sure you're right. I have only test rode a couple endurance bikes, and they weren't all that different from the set up of my Allez. If the op is flexible and fit enough, the Allez is fun bike to commute on. I really like the handling of my bike, turns so quickly. It's fun to ride. Too bad they stopped make the DSW frames except for the Sprint models.