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Road Cycling “It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best, since you have to sweat up the hills and coast down them. Thus you remember them as they actually are, while in a motor car only a high hill impresses you, and you have no such accurate remembrance of country you have driven through as you gain by riding a bicycle.” -- Ernest Hemingway

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Old 03-19-14 | 12:02 PM
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Need advice

Dammit guys... I need some advice...

Going to pick up my first road bike. Want something that I can use for the next several years; so not entry, but not top of the line. Want to be able to upgrade components and not really worry about the frame. I've narrowed it down to two bikes... 2014 Felt F4 or a 2012 (new, never owned) Look 586 (or 2013 if I can find one). Love them both and would be happy with either. When I'm looking to upgrade, should I place Di2 at the top or bottom of the upgrade list? I ask because the Look doesn't have internal cable routing whereas the Felt does. Suggestions********************
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Old 03-19-14 | 12:11 PM
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Those are both pretty darn good bikes. Ultegra 6800 is a lot closer to top-of-the-line than it is to the bottom, that's for sure.

At that level, make sure you get a bike that doesn't cheap out on the crankset.

And upgrading from a bike at that level is pretty expensive. Better to just but a bike with DuraAce or Di2 from the outset.
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Old 03-19-14 | 12:20 PM
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Yeah... I'm prepared for the $$$$$$ upgrade for the next bike. This bike is to get me through a few years before I spend that $$$$$$$ on another bike (like a beautiful 695, built from the bottom up). So I guess my biggest concern is... if I'm looking to upgrade the 586 or F2, should I look to Di2 or at the wheels or other parts?
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Old 03-19-14 | 12:26 PM
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If this is your first road bike, stop concentrating on what you want to upgrade and concentrate on what it is.

Personally, an F5 is the same frame as an F4, and if you plan to upgrade at some point regardless, just get the F5 (I am biased though, because I like the F5 palette better).

I know nothing about Di2, but for you to currently not own a road bike and to think that the next logical upgrade is some level of Di2 seems an enormous leap. Just my opinion though.

I know nothing about Look bikes, other than the fact that they are French. That should make them durable enough to survive being dropped.
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Old 03-19-14 | 12:33 PM
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If you are 100% certain between these two, get the one that fits you better and handles better.

Don't worry about stupid upgrades.
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Old 03-19-14 | 12:47 PM
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Originally Posted by datlas
If you are 100% certain between these two, get the one that fits you better and handles better.

Don't worry about stupid upgrades.

Exactly. You can upgrade when you break/wear out something, which is inevitable.
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Old 03-19-14 | 12:54 PM
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Bikes: Lauf True Grit; Trek Madone, Domane and Checkpoint; EMB-505

If this is your first bike, why the interest in electronic shifting? Unless you have a strong "need" or desire for Di2, you might consider using the money for good wheels or other upgrades like pedals, shoes, etc.
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Old 03-19-14 | 01:02 PM
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Thx... done... back to the Look 586. And if I really want Di2, I'll just get external routing or retrofit it. But by then, I'll probably be ready to buy my next frame.
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