Bike recommendations (Trek, Specialized, Cannondale)
 

Looking into doing some serious road biking soon. Familiar, but pretty new to the sport and I hope to be doing some races in the future. Anyway, a friend of mine just bought an 07 Specialized Allez elite that he will be riding and I will be riding with him or alone mostly.

I am a pretty athletic guy, normal height/weight, so biking would not be much of a "beginner's" challenge for me. I've looked at several bikes and I am looking to spend in the $900-1200 range at most. Wish I could afford more now, but I think a first bike I shouldn't go too crazy. I realize that most in these range are very similar components wise but just wanted some input.

Right now the 3 I'm looking at are:

Specialized Allez or Allez Elite
Cannondale CAAD9
Trek 2.1

I really like the paddle shifters on the higher models but that isn't a necessity and I want a double as well. Everything else I'm pretty open about. Any tips/recommendations are GREATLY appreciated! Thanks.

Kyle

Yes. Bikes is bikes at that level,they are all good.

At a given price point, the quality of the bike shop and location of the bike shop, is more important than the decals on your bike. If you have a first-rate bike shop close to home, guys who who give you great personal service, both before and after the sale, you will enjoy any well-fitting bike in your price range.

On the other hand, if you get hung up on "brand name" or "best price" and buy from guys who don't know how to fit a bike, assemble a bike, or tune a bike, any brand of bike can be disappointing.

Visit three or four shops that are close to home. Ask lots of questions. Take some test rides. Watch closely how the staff treats you and treats other customers. Buy from the folks who prove they are most serious about customer satisfaction...even if their bike is $50 more than the bike at "Cheap Bikes R Us".

How I knew I had found the right bike shop: the owner stopped working on a $3,000 bike when I rode in with a 20 year old bike with a loose headset. After five minutes of work, he had me check the headset. It felt perfect to me. He felt it. He didn't think it felt smooth enough. He worked on it another ten minutes until he was satisfied that it was perfect. No charge. I have spent a lot of money in that shop since...good service is good business.

See if you can find a Giant dealer in your area with any leftover OCR C3 (carbon frame) bikes. They're selling for about $1500 and you would be starting off with full carbon. Otherwise I would try to find a leftover from the brands you've mentioned to see if I can save a few $$$. All of those brands are good.