guadzilla

Ok, I've been lurking for a bit and I have read that 11-page other thread on BD. And I realize what I am getting into by making my first post on this forum about BD, so I am wearing my favorite, flame-proof bunny-rabbit boxers.

Now, I am not asking about whether or not to buy from BD. The pros and cons of that have been VERY well established elsewhere. I have a more specific question.

I am more into long-haul XC-type riding on trails/mountains (especially Himalayas), and my hardtail works very well for that. I want to get a roadbike to do some, well, road riding (funny that). I am in the process of getting a new MTB as well, and most of my money is going there. I want to spend around $400-500 or so on a road bike that I will use occasionally and I have decided to go the BD route. As I work as a dive instructor on a small island in the middle of nowhere, an LBS is out of the question.

So my question (finally) is - are any of the BD Sora/Acera road bikes good for casual use on tarred roads (no rough stuff)? I was thinking of the Windsor Wellington 2.0 but can get the Dawes Lighting 1500 or the Mercier Galaxy Al instead if they are *significantly* better.

Anyone using any of these bikes and have an opinion on them?

Thx,
Vandit

hos13

Have you checked to see if BD can even ship to your island?

neospazzy

I can vouch for BD because I know two guys who ordered from them. One of them did buy the Dawes Lightning (Sora) while the other one bought the Motobecane Immortal Ice (Ultegra SL). The one who bought the Immortal Ice LOVES his bike and I had the opportunity to ride it. Very nice, light, and great components. The other guy with the Dawes Lightning INITIALLY liked it, but got really frustrated after a few hundred miles because he was constantly fine tuning the shift cables. I think it boils down to the drivetrain choice at this point as well as overall weight of the bikes. Although both bikes were ordered from BD, they are very different bikes. I wouldn't even recommend going to Sora (let alone even Tiagra) for drivetrain choice. The Shimano 105 would be the bare minimum for a road bike, at least for me.

Spend a little bit more and get a bike with a better drivetrain ... whether it be from BD or your LBS. I think that little investment would save you more time and money in the long run IMHO.

MrCrassic 

If you have a hard time with shipping, talk to the owner (Mike) and see what he can do for you. He can be reasonable.

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MrCrassic 

The Sora drivetrain has lasted me well, but it might need more attention on rougher roads such as yours.

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guadzilla

Shipping shouldnt be a problem. I have an account with Bongous.com and they forward me my mags, books from Amazon, etc. whereever in the world I am - and they can do that with the cycle as well.

I am not too fussed about weights, as I wont be racing, but just riding for a workout/fun/change of pace from the MTB. Nor will I be using this on particularly rough roads - mostly tarmac, albeit developing-country tarmac

However, reliability is an issue. I am reasonably ok with tinkering with stuff myself, and I have my Zinn and parktools.com to help me when I falter But I still prefer not to frack around too much with the bike - I'd rather ride the blessed thing than keep working on it. Also, I will be in an area with very high humidity. And as I am not there yearlong, the bike may be packed up and stored for a couple of months, occasionally.

So - is the consensus to go for the 105 drive train for a decent bike, given that I will not be on particularly rough roads?

If so, I may put off this decision and get the bike later... I dont need a super performance bike, just something which I can use every so often to break a sweat and get a bit of a workout, as well as for some commuting/running errands/etc.

Vandit

EivlEvo

Here's what I would do.

Screw the road bike and get a ss/fg.

Its VERY simple. VERY reliable. Just as efficient, and for the price you have to spend you can either A. spend half of that and get something of equally good quality. or B. get something pretty nice.

If the fixed gear isn't your thing... run it single speed. If you want to do some dirt road or rough island road riding... throw some 35c tires on it.

Most versataille bike I own. (and I'm both XC MTB AND Road).

captnfantastic

how about a cyclocross bike? a little on road, a little offroad.

deepakvrao

Vandit,

Are you planning to get it shipped to India? I mailed them and they refused. Like you said you could get it re routed. I think duty is 14% so even with that added it would be a good price. Keep us posted.

I would not buy Sora - prices there are so good I would buy a 105 component bike.

Jerseysbest

Small island in the middle of nowhere... I'm guessing no hills? Go fixed or singlespeed and you'll never have a problem.

guadzilla

Jerseysbest/EivlEvo - plenty hills, actually... and some of the nearby bigger islands have a good stretch of 250km of sort-of-tar roads. So geared would be quite handy (as is, my knees are f'ed from being hip checked while playing hockey and I do like my granny gear ).

Deepak - I use bongous.com - they accept mail and forward it anywhere in the world. That's what I plan to use for the BD bike. The thing is, I am getting a Gary Fisher X-Caliber with some upgrades next month, which is going to run me over $2k by the time I am done with it. So I dont really want to spend $1k on a road bike as well, especially as this is more "want" rather than "need".

Vandit

Jerseysbest

Curiosity got me... what island is this?

prendrefeu

bikeisland.com?

.... I kid, I kid.

j_amie_

i don't thing i would get anything worse than tiagra

deepakvrao

Vandit,

Bongo looks pretty expensive and by the time you add that and the duties wont you lose the price advantage of BD? Duty is charged on landed cost I think so for a 700 dollar bike, you add 200 + shipping and then maybe 150 in duties [plus the hassle] and you have yourself a 1100 + dollar bike?

Where you getting the Gary Fisher from?

Jerseysbest

Ha ha...

huerro

Not if there are no bike shops there.

unterhausen

Azores?

WxGuesser

get a kestrel...

guadzilla

Sorry, didnt mean to be so mysterious It's the Andaman Islands - sorta halfway between India and Thailand. I spend around 6-7 month a year there. You can see photos and more info here: www.diveindia.com

Huerro - I can buy a bike (Trek 1000 or Merida) in mainland India and have it shipped over to me. As Deepak said, the price difference is bridged somewhat by import duties and such, but I still save $200-250 or so. And I get what appears to be a lighter frame.

Deepak - I'm off to Thailand and Singapore next month for some work, and will try to pick up the Gary Fisher there, if they have my size in stock. Else a friend has agreed to bring it down from the UK for me and I'll cover her international airfare over. I could always pick it up on one of these 2 trips - would be easier than having it shipped, I guess.

Vandit

guadzilla

Sorry, forgot to add- Jamie, thanks for that headsup on Tiagra. Given that no one has any love for Sora, I reckon I should just wait a little bit and get a nicer bike than the $350 jobbies. As there is not much of a price difference between Tiagra and 105s, I might as well get the 105s.

V.

exRunner

When I started reading this (Island in the middle of nowhere, rough roads, no decent bike shop) I thought for a moment he meant Long Island.

EivlEvo

Winner!