....#hurtful

Smart. You'll love 6800. I'm with you on the 6700; not that it's bad per se, but I passed on a good deal on a 2013 partly to get the 6800.

I have the SLK-Light carbon crank on mine. What's not to like, out of curiousity? The Fulcrum 4 wheels have stayed true so far and are relatively stiff. Then again I've never even ridden a "great" wheelset.

I honestly think a big part of the Big S hatin' is just envy..............

I buy S because that is what our one and only LBS sells. The trend I am seeing from the big S is that they are getting cheaper and cheaper in their bikes. My son crashed his Allez in a crit and broke a chainstay. Spesh said no crash frames available in spite of them being available on their website. On my Secteur the rear wheel was junk from day one, finally had to upgrade. Finally after 6 months a frameset for my son is available and they dropped the braze-on tab for the FD. No cable stops built into the toptube. On my crux the rd cable housing is zip tied to eyelets on the chain stay. The cable stop under the saddle for the rear brake on the crux is piss poorly designed so that it does not pull in perpendicular to the cantis, pulls the link wire about 20° off to the side. Had paint defects in the fork of my Roubiax. Took Spesh three tries to get my LBS the correct fork and over three months. Finally the replacement fork is a different color and the transition from carbon fork to dropouts is rough and ugly, not what I would consider quality.

The good: My Roubiax rides like a dream. My Secteur gave me good service up until the point of being ruined in a collision with a car. I'm a believer in the BG fit. My Roubiax fit is dialed in so I can spend a whole day in the saddle. Their shoes fit my wide feet unlike anything REI carries. I have found a saddle that works for me and it is not their top of the line, yay for me.

People have a tendency to hate big brand names...and companies with douchy legal departments.

As for the crank...nothing much against it, I just want this:

http://www.specialized.com/us/en/ftb...d-crank-arms14

...and this:

http://www.specialized.com/us/en/ftb...-carbon-spider

Instead. I immediately dropped the FSA rings on my Gossamer crank and went with Praxis...big difference.

Before bikes, I was a "car guy" and would buy a car seeing it as an incomplete project. When I bought my Tarmac, I immediately knew the: Groupset, wheels, crank, seatpost, bars would have to go. I just didn't have the $$ to do a full swap right off the bat. So far I've replaced the: Wheels (ROL Race SL), 1/2 of the crank, brakes (went to 6800), seatpost (went to a CG-R), seat (went from a Romin to a Romin EVO), handlebars (Ritchey EVO Curve)...the full 6800 swap and crank is all I'll have left and I'll be done with this rig. Possibly I'll go to a Roubaix as my next project...who knows....

Doesn't bug me. Mind you, I'm not paying what they're asking for those bikes, but it's not because of the wavy forks.

Very simple as others have already touched on: Their name starts with the letter "S" :eek:

And we all know that the letter S is just yucky and icky and gross and filled with snot!

( I think maybe I have been spending too much time with my daughter talking about The Bieber.)

Well, since Merida now owns 49% of the company, they actually do make many of their "own" frames nowadays. ;)

the incident was also totallly overblown and continues to be. The CEO of S realized the gaff paid a personal visit to the guy , smoothed out things and apologized as was appropriate, but lot of guys want to beat a dead horse about this til the cows come home.

Best shoes I've owned. Roubaix is my favorite tape. Romin Evo Pro has worked out very well. I just bought the Prevail. And I like their fingerless gloves.

Haters be hatin'. "To-may-toe, to-mah-toe" or "Chevy vs. Ford" for a lot of people. Some people dislike certain manufacturers for technical reasons and some people simply want to be contrarian.

Do check back into the road bike forum. There is good info to be found, but sometimes you have to separate the wheat from the chaff.

So they will now be badged (Specialized, by Merida)

Most likely because specialized makes a superior product... :D

...you apparently have zero idea about the history of the company with regard to litigation. So here in the 41, you are in the right place.http://www.runemasterstudios.com/gra...ool_shades.gif

Yes he did, right after is became a PR nightmare. I'm sure he would have personally visited the guys shop regardless.

zero idea and even less interest............ couldn't care less about corp. machinations. I like the product and am happy with it. as far as I know neither sinyard or anyone at specialized tortures small animals, does not oppose world peace, or has anything to do with global warming.

well, unless you're one of the last believers in unicorns, bad pr is what usually causes a corporate ceo to come down off the mountain to talk with the little people......

He and specialized are no better/no worse than most any other big corporation, notwithstanding the beliefs here.

This is a funny thread. Its just like the motorcycle world. Harley riders generally think all other bikes are junk and that only they ride a "real motorcycle". Non-Harley riders think HD owners are dumb cause they ride a motorcycle that has such old technology and breaks so easy, or that they are "posers" (guys who want to look "bad"). However, they are funnier. Lighten up guys.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izzlN2zC8PU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iaB40TLQE8M

well......HD riders do ride slow, heavy, but very pretty bikes! ;)

Here's the old joke (thread hijack) 75% of the harleys are still on the road.....the other 25% made it home! :)

If there is a goofier design in bicycling, I don't know what it is.

In 2012 you could buy a new HD and start it in gear, on the kickstand.

harley davidson motorcycles are the most efficient way of turning gasoline into noise.

i understand that but that doesn't mean I give him any points for doing the right thing. Some forethought should have gone into it before ever launching that suit in the first place, and the proper decision made up front. Then I would have given them brownie points.

You mean like the "hunched over dog taking a dump" look as popularized by Specialized?

You know the 41 collective is largely made up of unicorns and your arguments are too sensible for them to grasp. :)

:thumb: