brooklyner

Arghh, the more I shop and read this forum, the more confused I get about what the right bike is for me! There are too many choices!

My profile: plan to ride around 20 miles a couple nights a week, 30-50 miles once on the weekend, the occasional longer ride and perhaps some light touring. 6'1, 215 pounds, but a major reason for the bike is to lose weight!

Bikes I like right now:
- Felt F55 - aluminum, mostly dura-ace, $1900
- Lightspeed Firenze - titanium, ultegra, $2000
- Giant TCR1 - carbon, ultega, $2100

As you can see, I can't even decide on the frame material! I know people will keep saying you have to test ride and feel the bikes, but I have tested these three and don't know what to feel for, and don't think I can feel anything on a short ride anyhow.

What do you think? Feel free to try to convince me that for my type of riding I don't need to spend $2k!

martin_j001

Well, if you don't know what you really want, you don't need to spend $2k. The frames being different materials should make a noticeable difference to you when you ride them, assuming you are on them for more than a few minutes of time. If you were going to pick one of those though, if those were your only choices, I would go with the Litespeed. My reasoning for this would be that the frame is Ti and will most likely last a very long time. These frames also have a decent resale value, in case you ever did buy another bike in the future. Also, a Ti frame can usually handle larger riders quite easily, and without much of a problem. Ti also is known to be a tiny bit "flexy" on occassion (I'm not sure about this particular frame), which may help in terms of comfort if this is a first road bike for you, and for the riding you described that you'll be doing.

STEVO820

:cough: :cough: sarthe :cough: :cough:....


or the felt f55

RDhrdNDPUTupWET

How about that supergo scattante cfr with some money left for an outfit, shoes, helmet and computer. Seems like a lot of people that have bought the bike are pleased with it and you obviously dont need the most high performance machine.(no offense)

brooklyner

yes, the scattantes are tempting, as are the motobecane deals from bikesdirect, but i have heard mixed things about both frames, and am generally reluctant to order online - but curious to hear from others...

Hipcycler

If a nice road bike that is fast, responsive and yet pretty comfortable as road bikes go, (which was important to me) check out the Klein Reve' model. It has a small shock-like deal built into the back.

The bike is very rider-friendly. I love mine.

johnny99

I kind of agree with that. A $1000 bike would be fine for the kind of riding your are doing. The only reason to go up to $2000 is that you are looking for some special features. Maybe you want a lighter bike for mountain climbing or a stiffer bike for sprinting.

Have you considered a more relaxed bike like a Trek Pilot or Specialized Roubaix or Giant OCR? Those sound more appropriate for your kind of riding. That depends a lot on your body dimensions, of course.

borg

There are all nice bikes...you could base your decision on which bike shop has the best reputation or which just feel the best to you. Unless you do all your own work, you will likely be back for tune ups, service and other equipment.

For me...I would choose the Giant.

brooklyner

honestly, i guess i am willing to pay for more than i need to have a bike that really excites me - that makes me want to go out and ride more and that i also love to just look at. the felt f55 definitely does this for me, and not many less expensive bikes do. see my earlier thread:The Value of Cool

Totoro

I agree with the other posts. For less than 1K, you can still get much more than you need. However, if you're determined to buy a really "cool" bike, then check out this page:

https://www.bicycletest.com/absoluten...=201&print=yes

And the champion of cool: A Calfree bamboo bike

Patriot

Ti, custom home build with Campy shifters. If I had 2k to drop right now, that's exactly what I would do.

Tequila Joe

It is certainly an interesting time to be shopping for a bike especially with more introductions of Carbon bikes into the market. I've been lusting for a Tarmac and a Roubaix since thier release. Have you considered buying off of eBay? I realize that not everyone is comforable with buying from there but I have had huge success. I usually pay approx. 60% of the price that is in the bike shops around here. With used stuff, I've paid even less. If you have $2000 to spend, you can get one helluva bike or get the bike you want for much less and use your leftover cash for accessories.

T.J.

Edit: Given your choices, I would get the LiteSpeed. I've always wanted a Ti bike.

Serpico

custom habanero, put veloce on it with mike garcia wheels <---you can hit that for 2k

Surferbruce

cervelo soloist centaur.
al least thats what i'd get for 2k.

AnthonyG

I would reccomend doing a custom build. Nothing else will get you as involved in your bike as this!

Pick a nice steel frame (steel is real and of course I'm not biased), build some nice wheels. Now I'm not saying your too heavy but is riding weight weenie wheels something that concerns you anyway. Get some 32 or 28 hole Ultegra/Centaur hubs with nice mavic rims and double butted spokes. They run well and are very strong.

Pick a groupset of choice and you can pick important things like handlebar width and seat from scratch. With the groupset probably the key is deciding which brake/shifters you like. Campagnolo or Shimano.

Depending on what you choose you may have money left over for knixs, jerseys, shoes, gloves ect.

Scratch building is fun.

Regards, Anthony

RC2

Don't know what it is about them, but I've always thought that bamboo Calfee is really good looking. Where can I ride one?!?

RoboCheme

The TCR1 Composite retails for 2900$. The TCR2 carbon goes for $2150. If you do go with a Giant, check out Performance if you've got shop by you. They've got great sales.

I've got a OCR Comp2 and love it. I sympathize with you. I couldn't tell much difference in the ride of the bikes I tried (but all of them were carbon). So I went with the best value.

jitteringjr

If you are looking to loose weight, then having a bike that makes you want to get out and ride it is worth way more than the extra $1000.



That's my vote^

MSC

Everyone will tell you this: buy what fits and rides best for you. They're right, of course, but I'll share my thoughts as I've just gone through this same experience and do a similar amount of riding as you. I agree - way too many choices and the online forums almost make it worse! So...get out and ride as many bikes as you can. It's also probably right that you and I don't need $2000 bikes, but if you can afford it and it will get you excited about riding more often and longer, why not? Besides, as several more experienced rider friends have told me, if you keep with riding, you'll want to upgrade the $1000 bike in another year anyway. So, in the long run, you end up spending just as much money, if not more.

So, as I said, I went through this same thing over the last two months. I test rode a Trek 5000, Orbea Mitis, Felt F2C, Felt F65 (same frame as the F55 but Ultegra not Dura-Ace), Specialized Roubaix, Cannondale R1000, and Litespeed Firenze. I also thought about the Scattance CFR and Douglas Fusion (Colorado Cyclist) - great deals but I didn't want to buy something w/o riding it first. I also thought about the build/custom route, but it wasn't clear to me that - the satisfaction of a completely unique bike aside - this was really a better option than finding a "stock" bike that fit me well. It seems to me that people who have been roadies for much longer than I have get into the custom build and become real advocates - perhaps I'll get there one day, but with so many existing options, it didn't seem worth it now.

So I started riding stock bikes...The Felt and Trek carbon bikes were wonderful rides, with the Trek fitting me slightly better. The Roubaix felt "dead" to me by comparison. The R1000 handled wonderfully but didn't have the smooth ride quality of the carbons, even though it really is a sweet bike. Since I don't race, though, ride quality was especially important to me. The Al/Carbon bikes (Mitis, F65) were nice - almost as good a ride as the Trek 5000 - and great deals for the money (components, etc.). I didn't ride the Sarthe but love its classic looks and it's a fantastic value; I rode the Lemond Zurich and Buenos Aires and found them long in the top tube for me, as others have also found in the forums here. If they fit you, any of the Lemonds are also great bikes.

So, after a few weeks, I was all set to buy either an F55 or the Trek 5000...then I went to the last LBS I planned to visit and rode the Firenze (2004, full Ultegra, $1800). Bought it the next day. Unbelievably smooth ride, handled beautifully, and fit like a glove. Plus, full Ultegra and a quality Ti frame with quality wheels (Mavic Cosmos). I don't care much about getting into the Al vs. Carbon vs. Ti vs. steel debates, but it's hard to argue with the advantages and durability of titanium. It will almost certainly outlast an Al bike and is as durable as they come, and I wanted something that would last a long time given the price tag. Three weeks in and I can't wait to get back out on the bike. The saddle is terrible and is being replaced by a Terry Fly, but that's really my only complaint (and probably one I'd have about most bikes). I'm 5'8" and 165, so I haven't noticed the "flexiness" some claim about the Firenze due to its round tubing rather than Litespeed's stiffer diamond/teardrop "GET" tubes. At your size, you might notice this, but again, since I don't race and am smaller, having an ultra-stiff bike wasn't particularly important to me. It's still a high-quality Ti frame, with 90% of the stiffness and ride quality of the Litespeeds that cost twice as much. In short, I haven't yet found a reason not to love this bike.

So, that's my two cents. Maybe it helps, maybe it just further confuses! Maybe you'll completely disagree with me when you ride similar bikes. That's as it should be - it's your ride. Good luck, though. As several people in the forums told me, it's hard to go wrong in this price range. You'll get a quality bike, and if you're happy with it, then you made the right decision.

brianallan

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