Peek the Geek

New to the forum, but I've been doing some browsing and see there are a number of Gunnar owners here. I'm in the market for a new road bike, and I'm pretty sure I'm gonna go with a Gunnar. Problem is, I can't decide yet whether to buy the Sport or the Roadie. Hoping maybe some of you could help me out.

I guess my biggest question is how the two rides compare. Are the differences day and night? I'm looking for something fast and not too relaxed for training rides, fast group rides. But I'd also like something that'll be comfortable for occassional centuries.

Would I be giving up a lot of quickness by going with the Sport? Would I be giving up a lot of comfort by going with the Roadie? I'd love to be able to test ride em both, but that's not an option right now as I don't have any local dealers with both in my size in stock.

Thanks.

MichaelW

How much winter riding do you want to do. The extra clearance makes the Pport a more viable training/commuter type ride.

Peek the Geek

I wouldn't do much winter riding with it at all. I won't ride outside with temps near or below zero, and most winter riding is done on an older mountain bike or on a fixie. And I don't do hardly any commuting to/from work since I spend a fair amount of time driving to/from our stores with inventory and such.

late

Hi,
the Sport is exactly what it says it is. It's a bike for casual riding.
The Roadie is a high performance model. The Roadie has a stiffer ride, it's for fast rides. If you want to throw on panniers, maybe even do a little touring, then the Sport is the way to go. If you want to hang with the pack on a 20 mph group ride, then the Roadie is a good choice.

Peek the Geek

Thanks, though I'd probably need to upgrade to something by Kawasaki to hang with the pack on a 20 mph group ride. But I'm working on it.

I'm currently riding a Giant OCR2 and am looking for a steel frame because I'd like a little more comfortable ride when doing century-type mileage. Do you think the Roadie will soften things up enough compared to my Giant?

late

Definitely the Sport. The Sport was made for long rides, and
it is really comfy, and just plain fun to ride. If there is anyway to try one, you should. It will also take a larger tire, which also makes a big difference in ride quality. It's a lively bike, built up with light components it is surprisingly light for steel. It would be a great choice for a Century.

ajs26

I believe the Roadie has the nicer (i.e. more expensive), lighter OS2 tubing while the Sport has the 853. I could be wrong, but its worth looking up. I know someone with a newer Roadie who loves it.

Redundant

On the subject, I would love the Gunnar sport, but is a little more than I would like to spend. Would you say the Soma Smoothie ES is a pretty fair compromise? How big a difference is there between 853 and the 631 that the Smoothie is made of. Since the frame is half the cost, I figure there is a difference, but is the compromise too great?

Thank you.