blue competition cycles rc8 -- should i buy??
 

Hey guys,

Been a while since posting on here (usually in-season only poster), but anyway i'm looking at upgrading my bike to something lighter, smoother, and hopefully, faster.

Found a good deal for a bike made by Blue Competition Cycles called the RC8. I wanted to get peoples' opinion on the bike. I have never heard of B.C. before, but this bike looks pretty legit. See below for link...

http://www.amazon.com/Blue-Competiti.../dp/B0051MZ6X8

the specs are...

Frame Material: Aerus Composites T700 high-modulus carbonDropout Type:
Headset: Aerus Composites integrated
Steer Tube Type: carbon
Fork: Aerus Composites C4SL carbon aero
Fork Material: carbon fiber
Fork Blade Shape: aero straight
Wheelset: Shimano RS20
Rims:
Hubs:
Spokes:
Front Derailleur: SRAM Apex
Front Derailleur Mount: (clamp) 31.8 mm
Rear Derailleur: SRAM Apex
Cage Length: short
Shifters: SRAM Apex
Crankset: SRAM Apex
Chain Rings: 53 x 39 t
Crank Arm Length: 172.5 mm
Pedals: not included
Bottom Bracket: SRAM Apex GXP
Brake Levers: SRAM Apex
Brake Calipers: SRAM Apex
Handlebar: Deda RHM01
Handlebar Width: (med c-c) 40 cm
Handlebar Drop: 125 mm
Bar Tape: Deda cork
Stem: Deda Zero100
Stem Length: 100 mm
Stem Angle: 0 deg
Chain: SRAM PC-1031
Cassette: SRAM PG 1050
Rear Sprocket Range: 11 x 28 t
Tires: Michelin Krylion carbon
Tire Size: 700 c x 23 mm
Seatpost: Deda RS01
Seatpost Diameter: 27.2 mm
Seatpost Length: 300 mm
Seat Collar: blue alloy
Saddle: Selle Italia SL
Extras:
Compatible Components:
Weight: (medium frame, pedals not included) 16 lb 1 oz,
Measured Effective Top-Tube Length: (medium frame) 53 cm
Recommended Use: Road racing
Manufacturer Warranty: 1 year



Right now I ride a 2008 Fuji Newest 3.0 with Xero Lite wheels on it. If i were to guess i'd say the bike weighs about 25 pounds right now. The shifting isnt great, and struggles to get into the smallest ring. I have almost exactly 3,000 miles on it. I dont have any huge issues with it other than it being a little too heavy -- i ride mostly hills and am planning on doing a few Boston to Provincetown (~130 miles) Saturdays in July and August, so a few pounds i'm guessing will make it a lot easier getting there.

Few concerns:
Going from a 54 to a 56, i'm 6'1", so this will probably be an improvement
Shaving roughly 7 pounds off a bike -- will this be a noticable difference? (hoping the answer to that is obvious)
How is the SRAM APEX groupset? Right now I ride Shimano SORA... no real issues other than knowing i'm riding bottom of the line gear and it struggles to get into the small chainring (prob needs a tuneup to fix)
How different is it going from a triple to a double?
At $1,500 + professional assembly, do you think this bike is worth the money? (disregarding the suggested retail)



thanks to any and all responders

Considering most Apex bikes are about $1800 retail, that is a good deal. From what I hear about it and also the weight, this isn't an entry level carbon bike. Go for it.

This same bike shows up on bonktown from time to time for around $1500.

I ride an 09 Blue RD1 with 105 and absolutely love it. The company is based out of Norcross, Ga and I have only heard good things about them. I also get compliments on the bike all the time. the carbon weave on their bikes is beautiful.


The 7 lbs will make a huge difference. I came from a 25+ lb Bianchi w/ 2300/deore and my rides and speed improved dramatically.

I'm 5'7 and ride a medium sized frame comfortably.

I also switched from a triple to a double and it was a great swap. I hardly ever used my smallest chain ring anyway so I actually prefer the double.

+1 blue.
+1 apex (nothing but excellent experience with it after 2k mi)
+1 price

Here's the one that shows up on Bonktown, looks to be the same bike/group/etc. If you want it, you can set alerts so that you'll be notified as soon as it is posted on Bonktown and you can jump on it.

http://www.dealspoon.com/blue-compet...exrival_31566/

awesome bike. I used to want a Blue bike really bad. Barely anyone has one so that would be nice. If I didn't just buy my Cervelo a week ago, I would have highly considered this bike.

Blue is out of Norcross GA, NE of Atlanta. They're a good company. The bikes are made overseas of course. The parent company to Blue makes diving equipment and iirc the owner wanted to start making bikes too.

to those mentioning bonk, that's where i found the bike. Looking to buy it next time it goes up and wanted to get a second and third opinion since theres not much out there for ratings on this bike due to the abstract brand. Sounds like it's a sure thing, won't be thinking twice when I click to order. Thanks guys

picked the bike off bonk today. can't wait to test it out next week. review + pics to come

Sweetness. Glad you got it

What size did you get? I would have been unsure of the sizing based on the chart and not being able to physically ride it first. Congrats though.. i dig it. Also, if I was in the market for a new mtn bike and was a ******, I'd rock one of their mtn bikes.

There's no way that bike weighs 16lbs with those components. 18-19 maybe.

I was curious about that too. Seems like it might even weigh more.

Yeah, I looked up some weights. 1080gm frame (factory list) 350gm seat post, 320gm bars, 1800+gm wheels, 1050 cassette, 1030 chain, Apex. Gotta be 20,21+.

I have a RC8 with '09 Rival and American Classic Hurricane wheels. 16.25lbs. Could easily whittle that down to sub 15lbs with finer components.

To the OP - It's definitely a step up. I constantly challenge mine with a lot of climbing and fast descents. Nothing like a well made frame on bomb proof wheels.

The bike will be around 18 lbs. Apex is about the same weight as Rival and lighter than Ultegra. The rest of the copmponents are not the lightest, but not bad.

I actuallly like the bike. It is different and from what I have heard, excellent quality.

18lbs. Maybe. But i have my misdoubts. After building 3 bikes, piece by piece, and seeing articles like Testriders Actual bike weights, I'm skeptical.

well when i get it assembled i'll toss it on the scale and let you know what it comes out to. worse case scenario it's in the 20-21 range but i ride a lot longer distances with this than my old bike and drop 3 pounds in the meantime. I'm sure up my usual climb which i time from bottom to top i'll notice a significant increase in performance.. i'll update you on that as well.


just outta curiousity.. this is a mens bike, right?? I googled a few reviews -- not finding much out there from a solid souce as this is not a very popular brand (which i like) and got redirected to a page saying it's a women's bike. As long as it fits i dont really care

that's very exciting to hear a positive review from someone who owns the bike. I'm counting the days till next thursday when my bike is expected to arrive and will be painfully difficult to wait to get pedals + professional assembly. I can change a spare no problem but have never assembled a bike. Does anyone know how bonktown ships their bikes? I heard it's near ready to ride but am wondering to what extent.

Looks like a decent deal. Lugged carbon frame looks okay. Apex/Rival group is nice. Wheels arn't that great but that can be replaced easily.

Bikes are generally unisex unless specified or painted in pastel colors

I'm guessing 18.5-19 lbs with those wheels and tires.

Apex not bottom of the line in performance the pros used it in the Giro on some stages this year. As for Blue a great bike for the price ride quality is up there with more expensive frames.

they are nice bikes. I bought one for my wife who does not ride all that much and it is much nicer and lighter a bike than she had ever ridden. It is too small for me to really get a feel for it but I will say that they frame is not as still as other carbon frames. For her, it is just right however.

still... make that stiff!

well i'm gonna ride the **** outta this bike when it shows up. can't wait

as an update to this thread i got the bike in this past thursday and brought it to the lbs to get assembled as soon as it arrived. By friday afternoon it was set and ready to go after a pedal mishap (i didnt now they changed the cleat pattern to this year's Ultegra pedals!?) so i went with shimano 105 which is the same pattern as my 08' ultegras.

long story short in my fourth mile i noticed a skipping, every third pedal stroke, which got to the point where i wanted to call a cab for a ride back home. Unfortunately i did not, and about 30 seconds after i noticed the skipping my chain snapped, wrapped around the detrailer and snapped that off clean too. I was going about 35mph at the time (trying to max the bike out downhill!) so i am very fortunate this did not cause me to dump the bike, but i got some serious issues with the components now. I contacted bonktown.com (actually backcountry.com, their parent) to which they said they will keep the issue open in their system and put a call out to the manufacturer monday. They gave me two likely scenarios that will happen: 1. they'll send me a new chain + derailer and ill have to eat the costs of yet another install or 2. they'll eat the cost of the shipping and ill return the bike, to which i already bought new pedals + $65 on the assembly.

It could have been worse, a lot worse, but i'm pretty bummed i have this gorgeous bike sitting in my house, and beautiful weeekend weather to be riding in and only have my old (faithful) fuji to ride on. Anyone have any experience with backcountry/bonktown's customer service? or if this would be a sram warranty issue? No excuse for a retail $2800 bike to break on me on the FOURTH MILE!!! :twitchy: