2l8

Hello all:
After arthroscopic knee surgery, I am now a former runner..
I am now going to be using cycling as my form of exercise….
I am used to running 10 miles a day with 16 – 18 mile runs on weekends. 6 days a week.

I am hoping to cycle 30 miles a day with maybe 60 miles on weekends.
I have been reading this site for a while now and have been avoiding the newb “what bike should I get?” question

I am in new york city.
I went to my LBS (a shop recommended here at the site) and when I told them my situation they recommended the 2006 BIANCHI FORZA for $850 or the 06 BIANCHI BRAVA for somn like $650.
When I asked them why BIANCHI and no other brands… they said because it is somn like the oldest road bike company, they are purists, etc.
They said first I ORDER it then they would fit me… (they do not have many in stock bikes)
I know on this site it is generally recommended to buy the bike that fits the best.
I do not understand fitting.

Again I am pretty serious about intense work outs and want a resilient machine that can take the mileage I will be putting on it.

Is the 06 BIANCHI FORZA or the 06 BIANCHI BRAVA too much machine for what plan to do? Is my LBS charging me too much for the above bikes?

Please any information would be greatly appreciated.

bvfrompc

You would get a lot more bike with a Felt 80 than the Forza, should be similarly priced. While it has 10% of the heritage it is an up and comer brand. If you rgoing to get a $800-$900 aluminum bike, get the best specs you can, the frames are going to be all pretty much the same.

The Braza is definetely a low end steel beginner bike, which is what I rode for the first six years of my cycling career so don't let that stop you.

If you ride "hard" you will break components no matter what you spend, if you ride "gently" you will not break them as often. I'm 220 and rode a low end mountain bike for years without ever having to replace or fix the lowest end Shimano components over most of the singletarck in Colorado and Utah, others can take a $4,000 bike out and brake stuff the first week. None of this refers to how good of a workout your having but more do you avoid potholes or go right in and out of them, do you hop a curb or slow down and gently lift the bike up, do you avoid debris in the road or ride right through it, etc, etc.

CardiacKid

Both of those bikes would probably be fine for your purposes. The price seems reasonable. The Felt is also a good choice and has slightly better deralleurs. However, the statement that your getting alot more bike is ridicuous. In that price rang, most bikes are of about the same quality. The main difference you will find is fit. Each manufacturer takes a slightly different approach to this. You need to ride several different bikes and try and decide which one feels best to you.
The Brava is steel and for that reason, will probably have a smoother ride than the aluminum bikes like the Felt and 90% of the other bikes in that price range. The aluminum bikes might be a little lighter. Whether you will be able to notice this is debatable.
In the end most people end up buying their first bike based on price, the salesman and the paint job. They are usually pretty happy with it. It is hard to go wrong unless the bike doesn't fit.

thad

I wouldn't shop for brand name at first, I'd ride every bike in my price range and then start narrowing it down from their (fit, components, brand, color, whatever).

soni_guin

they'll order it, THEN fit you?

ummm... run away! RUN AWAY!



try another store. They might have good bikes in stock they can fit to you. If they don't have more than one brand, try another store.

2l8

a felt 80.. yeah this board gives a lot of endorsement to felt.
I raised amy eyebrow when they didn’t have many bikes in stock and kept pushing 06 bianchis on me. (brava and forza) for entry level.
I remember them saying something like they’ll measure me and then order the bike based off of that.
I went to this particular LBS based off the recommendations of this board.
“best bike shop in NYC??” thread.
"...You need to ride several different bikes and try and decide which one feels best to you...."
how does one ride several different bikes without buying them?

euphoria

Any respectable LBS will let you test ride in the parking lot...

Dahon.Steve

I would go with the Brava. The Forza is Alu and would be a harder ride. I test rode the Brava and found it to be of very good value. I purchased a Eros only because I could afford to but would have chosen the Brava if this was not the case.

2l8

update:
MAN were u guys right about fit and test riding...
went to bay ridge bicycles on 3rd ave (89th st)
good people. they stressed test riding bikes before buying.
test rode an aluminum framed lightspeed (eh…)
and a Bianchi Vigorelli steel frame… LOVED it!
both were in the neighborhood of $1300. (a lil pricey for entry level?)

Then went to Toga Bikes.
The guy was real cool.
told him my situation (that i was looking for entry level to seriously put 30 miles a day on.)

he started immediately talking about components ranking the shimano ultegra, tiagra, and 105… saying nything less than 105 is compromising quality.

then he started talking about giant, specialized, and cannondale. I asked about steel frames, felt and bianchi and he said theyre good companies and do sell them but he said felts are good when ur going to b spending in the neighborhood of 3gs. he also hinted that bianchi's are good but u tend to pay more for the name and where its made not necessarily the quality. he hinted the opinion that they are an old school mentality of bicycle.

kept talking about fitting me correctly and seemed to know a lot about fit. he spent a bit longer than the others making sure it fit correctly. (i'm short. 5'3" 130 lbs.)
test rode an aluminum framed cannondale. (bumpy/too big)
then a carbon framed giant TCR3 w 105s. (WOW! great fit and smooth)
prices avg $1300 – 1600.

Isn’t $1300 a little high for an entry level bike?
Again I plan to put 30 miles a day on it, and HOPEFULLY get serious about road biking esp in winter.

2l8

a few more questions..
i admit i am pretty in love w the giant tcr.
i only test rode 4 bikes... 2 aluminum frames lightspeed/cannondale, 1 steel bianchi, 1 carbon giant.
should i be test riding more? it seems to me they can fit a bike so it feels like a dream or not.
i mean they are salesmen too. i went in planning to spend about $700 to $1000 for the bike and now am seriously considering a $1300 bike. not including the accessories (clothing, helmet, shoes / clips, etc.)
Again being a former runner, I plan to put 30 miles a day on it, and HOPEFULLY get serious about road biking esp in winter.

am i going too far? spending too much?
thanks again.