bomgd3

Hey everyone,
I'm relatively new to cycling. I've been commuting by bike for about a year now, but only recently started getting on my brother's Jamis Ventura and doing 20-30 mile rides. I'd love to get my own bike and start doing longer rides on the weekends. My budget is $1000 but somewhat flexible.

I went to the LBS today and they have the following options:

1.) 2013 Specialized Allez Sport $900
2.) 2013 Specialized Allez Elite $1000
3.) 2012 Specialized Secteur Comp $1450

Most likely I will get the Allez Elite, but I'm a little intrigued by the Secteur. The Secteur has the Shimano 105 drivetrain, compared to Tiagra on the Allez. I'm also planning on longer rides when the weather warms up, so the Secteur is appealing in that regard as well.

One concern is that the Secteur is a 2012 model, so would I be giving anything up by going for the older model? Also, is a $350 discount (MSRP $1800) a decent deal for this particular bike? I'd appreciate any input you guys might have!

fstshrk

Forget about the drivetrain. Which bike is more comfortable to ride.

kps88

Its only 20% off retail...not enough. Two different bikes. One race/one endurance. Ride both. But the discount is kinda low. 35% would be a good discount. Secteur is a great bike. Wheels/tires suck on it...change em

Slackerprince

I tried a Secteur a couple months ago and liked it. Wasn't keen on the disc brakes, but that's another conversation.
As someone mentioned, the Allez and Secteur have different geos and are designed for different purposes.
Have you decided between a race bike and an endurance bike? That's the first step, before you can start narrowing things down and/or looking at other brands.
What type of riding will you be doing? Please give more details about your riding habits and goals.

S

Smokehouse

$1450 for a '12? No...I don't consider that much of a deal. Especially figuring this one here retails for $1400:

https://www.specialized.com/us/en/bik...ite-disc#specs

If you play your cards right, you could probably get this one for 5-10% off...

jmX

For a 2012 Secteur I'd expect 40% off. I paid $2k for a Roubaix expert that was a model year behind. $1400 for a secteur comp 2 years behind seems like nothing special.

On the other hand, it is a nice little bike at a discount, and if its the best deal you can find, then go for it. My market is probably different than yours. As far as I could tell the secteur rode very similar to the Roubaix.

bomgd3

Thanks for your input guys. I sort of figured the same, that the discount on the Secteur wasn't enough. Seems like this particular LBS doesn't budge much on prices at all. The discount for the 2013 Allez is a whopping $30! My main plan is to ride longer distances.

I think I'm going to settle on a Jamis Ventura Comp from EMS for $760 which comes with $50 gift certificate for gear purchases and 5% semiannual member refund. As a newbie, I'm going to spend some of the savings on more essential stuff like clothing and commuting gear. I figure it's better to spend as much time as possible on the bike rather than worry about small drivetrain differences.

2 wheeler

Could be that you're going to leave money on the table at that price. Here's one on ebay for $575.

Edited to add:
Ooops, just noticed that they want $130 for shipping on that bike, it's still less, but not by much. There are lots of bikes on ebay; if you shop around you might find a very good deal.

Rons

I bought the same bike this summer for $1350. It is a great bike but I think the shop will come down a little more.