bluefish

I am looking at buying a new road bike after many years away. Some of the bikes I am interested in are the Specialized Allez Elite, Trek Pilot 2.1, Giant OCR1, and a bike built around a Quintana Roo (not tri) 0-Gravity. The Pilot and Quintana has carbon seatstays and all have 105 or 105/Ultegra.

After considering my needs and measuring me, a popular lbs built my confidence by promising me they would fit me to a tee and suggested a Specialized Allez Elite Triple in silver gray. Then my trust waned when he tried to sell me a 54cm because it was in stock. I went to the next lbs and tried a 52cm Allez double in cherry red and really liked the ride. What I don't like is the red color--great for others but it is the only color I will not buy. He told me he could swap an identical white and zebra stripe Columbus frame for the red. I looked it up and think it is a 2003 model frame. I was also not sure of the double crank. My friend says it is fine. The forum buzz leans toward triple. I am not in a hilly area but I have had a couple knee surgeries. I am thinking a compact double crank may be good if they would do it.

My questions are...
If I swapped the red for the 2003 frame would I lose value?

Should there be a problem and, if not, a charge to go compact double? (the Quintana Roo guy said do what I want--all the same)

If I had him order up the silver gray model--usually triple--could I spec compact double instead? Charge?

Does anyone have any info on this particular Quintana Roo frame that is no longer made?

Finally, are there any suggestions of comparable bikes to the ones I mentioned? I plan on doing some distance and maybe a duathlon or two but nothing crazy to start out. Thanks for your suggestions and comments. Mary

martin_j001

Well, the first few questions sound like ones you need to ask your shop. Switching a crank from a triple to a double will almost always cost something I'd think, as this requires a new bottom bracket as well. Switching from a double to a compact double may only incur the difference in prices between the two, but in the end your shop is the only ones that can answer those questions. As far as swapping frames, I guess I would find the price difference between the two frames (if you can) and go from there. If the shop is selling the 2003 frame for more than a a hundred or two less than the current years model, you should have a lower price in the end. Keep in mind though, if they are really pulling components off of one frame and putting them on the other, this alone can cost around $150-200, so keep that in mind when they tell you your final price. As far as losing value if you were wanting to sell the bike again, I wouldn't worry about that. You need to buy what works best for you, regardless of how it would ever sell again. As far as advice as to what to check out, take a look at the Giant OCR's and TCR's as from what I hear there are a few in the same range as what you are looking at. Hope this helps, and good luck in your search!!

audiojan

Giant TCR3 is a really nice CF bike for $1600, BUT only if a compact fits you... Not everyone can get comfortable on them, but if it fits, it will be quite comfortable instead... I.e. test riding is an absolute must! No, it's not perfect, the wheels are not the greatest, but for $1600, they probably can't be... You can't get something for nothing... (but in the case of the Giant, you can get a whole lot more than what $1600 could buy just a couple of years ago...).

In terms of switching the frames... You may loose substantially on that.. Normally, the frames are quite costly on their own. In the case of the Giant for example, the TCR3 is $1600, the frame (which is the same for all TCR composites, except the TCR Advanced) is $1500-1550 by itself...