DocRay

I'm 6'3" and looking for a new roadbike around $2000-2500 cdn. I'm kinda limited to what my LBSs offer here.

so far, it's down to the Cannondale R900 ( I love my Cannondale MTB), the Trek 2100 (but I hate my current Trek roadbike), or the Cervelo Soloist Centaur (light, but trendy expensive) , or the Devinci CX105 (Canadian made, but actually more expensive than foreign equivalents)...

The R900 with Campy is a beautiful bike and well priced, ...which is why they are sold out until august...arg.

Any opinions? Other options? I'm mostly a solo rider. I prefer carbon or carbon/ally.

Grasschopper

The Lemond Sarthe is Campy and in that price range...but it is steel. I have been eyeing C'Dales and Cervelos so of your list....Also the Klein Reve X might fit the bill.

simplyred

Buy the Cervelo...
Ride the Cervelo...
Love the Cervelo...
It's about 500 [with taxes incl.] above your budget though... [it's pretty much your accessory budget]

Some of the Devinci ally/Cf SS could be of some interest to you...
I wish Canada had more Felt dealers, because I'd suggest that to you...

Hmm... C'Dale is always a good Ally choice.. R1000 is also a tad over your budget, but a smoking value... FULL Ultegra, Ksyriums, Carbon crank, race frame... what else do you need?

You should test ride some stuff before you get it...
Good luck,

-Peter

toomanybikes

Not sure where you are but find an LBS that sells the Opus brand, they are a good solid bike, good value and you will find one in your range.

Also the Marinoni, check their website for direction to a dealer near you.

thewalrus

For around $1600 USD? You might look at the Specialized Allez Comp, I believe it's a very stiff double butted aluminum frame with carbon seatstays. Plus you get a seatpost almost identical to that found in the $2500 levels of Roubaix, with dampening inserts.

Surferbruce

oh man, a soloist centaur is near the top of my wish list.it'd be an easy decision for me.

thewalrus

what city are you in?

53-11_alltheway

The Red and White ones were my favorite.

goldfish

buy the soloist, you'll love it...i love mine, and i saved for a while to be able to afford it(which maybe makes me appreciate it more...i dunno)

where in canada are you?

DocRay

In in Hamilton, 15 min from the Cervelo shops. Home of the 03 world championship.

My concern is how the other manufacturers handle production of large frames. I've already counted out the Devinci and a few other carbon frames because they really don't scale up properly and require the use of tall seat posts and taller riders seem like an afterthought.

side-by-side, the soloist feels nice, but the finish quality doesn't seem to be as high as the CD.

the CD rep has a 60cm now in stock (today), but now I'm going back to my Cervelo dealer for another look.
I have no probelm with the budget, but my CFO might....

va_cyclist

You might want to take a look at this bike:

https://www.coloradocyclist.com/commo...273&TextMode=0

Alum/carbon frame, but very nice component selection.

goldfish

hamilton eh? thats awesome, i'm from st. catherines(born in kitchener though). I love southern ontario.

anyways, Good Luck on the bike search, just buy what feels right.

keep us updated.

G-Unit

I'd get a LeMond Sarthe OR a Bianchi Veloce for that amount of dinero... steel is like riding butter with wheels.

DocRay

I used to ride steel Coppis with Columbus , great bikes, but I've been converted to aluminum.

Decision was made and bike was bought, this is how it went down:

My LBS Cannondale/Cervelo dealer lied to me, he told me no 61cm Solists were available, a quick call to the Cervelo distributor fixed that, even told me which shops had them. He tried to push the R1000 (nice bike), but he really irritated me with moronic comments like, "...Cervelo hasn't been in business long enough to prove themselves." WTF...all those tour wins are flukes? This is a Cervelo Dealer? Whatever, I tried the R1000-very nice, good large frame .

Hick LBSs around here always push whatever they have in stock...so off to da big city..

I then went to Toronto, Dukes cycle (great old shop)...had a 61 cm soloist centuar already built and I went for a test ride.
I have no idea after staring at that frame for so long why the solist was so much better for me than the R1000, and I definitely preffered the Campy set to the Shimano for shifting. I had the bike in my sweaty hands (it hit 43 degrees Saturday) in an hour...
It's so different, like the bike isn't there at all on the road, and subconsciously, I'm pushing higher gears. Great geometry and high speed cornering doesn't feel like aluminum, feels like steel, but the frame is _stiff_ at the back end. so very very light overall and easy to handle out of the saddle...I think the aero tubes are a total gimmick, but for whatever reason, the frame works well - I find this to be a big problem for larger frames.

Very happy, exceeded by budget (who doesn't), and the anodized satin black is way cool. Too many bikes look like Easter eggs. Thanks for the advice/comments.

ke422azn

if your budget is under 2500. Supergo bikes always gives you the best bang for ur bucks, always.

DocRay

No Supergo in Canada and I don't buy bikes on-line.