Welcome Guest! Login | Join | Help
in
 

Ready to buy....this weekend!!

Last post 03-05-2010 11:29 PM by Chris Johnston. 7 replies.
Page 1 of 1 (8 items)
Sort Posts: Previous Next
  • 03-04-2010 7:20 PM

    Ready to buy....this weekend!!

    Ron, Big, KRhea, anyone.....ready to help out? 

    I have narrowed it down to the following bikes / stores. Please note these selections are solely based on the following criteria: a) each model is 1 or 2 steps up from the entry level version, b) I like what they look like, c) buy local + this weekends sales. Hence I value your knowledge and opinion.

     

    My plan is to get 2 bikes & this weekend looks like it will be a great time to buy: LakesideCannondale Six Carbon 5 - $2150Cannondale Synapse Carbon 4 - $2450 River CityCannondale Six Carbon 3 compact - $22002009 Specialized Roubaix Comp - $24002010 Specialized Roubaix Comp compact - $2400 Bike N HikeGiant TCR Advanced 3 - $2499 (this bike can be purchased new on EBay for $1999)Giant TCR Advanced 2 - $2899  Bike Gallery doesn’t have any models/sizes/colors I want and/or any good clearance deals right now.  I am not too concerned with the components because my plan is to swap with the SRAM components I already have. I also have Reynolds Assault carbon clinchers I will be using on one of the new bikes so the stock wheel sets are also secondary.  As always, I can't thank you enough for your help!! Anyone can reach me directly at work 503.844.4543 cjohnston@lacie.com or at home 503.887.9077 cjtj4700@comcast.net 
    "It doesn't get any easier. You just go faster" ~ Greg Lemond

    • Post Points: 9
  • 03-04-2010 7:25 PM In reply to

    Re: Ready to buy....this weekend!!

    Crap, sorry. Message showed up much more messy looking than how it was typed? :)

    "It doesn't get any easier. You just go faster" ~ Greg Lemond

    • Post Points: 6
  • 03-04-2010 9:58 PM In reply to

    Re: Ready to buy....this weekend!!

    You might get 10% additional off at Lakeside tomorrow between 4 and 9 pm...

    Cheers, Malcolm

     

    • Post Points: 3
  • 03-04-2010 10:23 PM In reply to

    Re: Ready to buy....this weekend!!

     Give Mike Olson a call at Olson's in Forest Grove 503-359-4010.  We ride by the store often on our Saturday rides.  He is the owner, so price is at his discretion. He'll do special orders too.  You'll be pleasantly surprised at what a real LBS can do for you. 

     

    • Post Points: 3
  • 03-05-2010 1:44 AM In reply to

    Re: Ready to buy....this weekend!!

    Chris,

       If your just looking at a frameset I might recomend a VeloVie.  I just built up a vitessee 300R and it's a bike that I hope to have for many years.   I'm not to sure how many parts that your looking to swap out nor am I sure how much experience or knowledge you have.  so I appologise if I might sound insulting.

       But here is what I might suggest.  If you like the drive train and the saddle and wheelset that you already have, go with a frame set.  For about $1500 you can get a great frameset.  Then you build the bike to your specs.  When I bought my first road bike every sales person was pushing a complete bike with all the bells and whistles.  they told me that if I bought a bike piece by piece I would spend a lot more money.  Since I was starting from scratch I bought the cheepest bike I could that had modern day sized fittings.  Over the past three years I've been upgrading piece by piece.  Yes, I have spent more money in the long run but I went from a Schwinn with Sora to a Velo vie with full Red.  My bike is completely tailored to me.

       If you surf around online you can find incredible deals on almost everything if you build up your own bike, for example http://pedalforce.com/online/product_info.php?cPath=100088_101740&products_id=8420

       The most important thing is take your time, shop around, and listen to us at PV and not the guy trying to make comission off of you.

       I don't want to completely shoot down the bike pick that you were already looking at so I would sugest Giant.  My bestfriend rides on one of their alumnium compacts and he loves it, not so much the compact, but Giant makes some very light weight frames.

       If you have any questions or want to yell at me if I'm insulting your intelligence give me a call, I'll be around friday and saturday adn then racing in the Banana Belt on Sunday.

    Stewart

    503-875-6808

      

    The best way to take a corner is to make sure that both your wheels are rotating in the same direction.
    stewartcycling@yahoo.com
    • Post Points: 6
  • 03-05-2010 12:09 PM In reply to

    Re: Ready to buy....this weekend!!

    Chris-

    Go ride the bikes you like, then talk to shop and see if you can get just the frameset, lots of shops are willing to take the parts off as they can easily sell them or put them on another bike.  They can also order just a frameset.  Cannondales are a great bike as is the Specialized, don't know too much about the Giants but they are all great frames, the ticket is what is going to feel best for you there are slight variances in each frame.  Don't feel pressured to buy this weekend, yes there are good deals but any good shop will make sure that you are getting onto what is best for you.

    Gregg

    • Post Points: 6
  • 03-05-2010 2:04 PM In reply to

    Re: Ready to buy....this weekend!!

    Chris, have you ridden all these bikes?, If not, stop, take a step back, a deep breath and relax bud.  If you've already decided you're gonna buy a bike this weekend you might just buy the wrong bike.  All your choices are good ones with slight bits here and there of nuanced differences, however, none of that matters if the frame doesn't fit and you don't like to ride or "feel" of the bike.

    One note, Giant makes more bikes under different manufacturers names than any other bike company in the world. They're not the flashiest bikes but they're damn good and highly underated. 

    Components mean squat on a frame that doesn't fit you properly and every company has a different "definition" of what a "56cm" is  or what a s/med/lg/xl" is for example.  A "compact" design fits and can "feel" different than a standard frame design, not a good or bad different but just different.

    The frame fit is the one nugget that has to be right cause you're not gonna "change it out" like you can a stem, crank length, bar width etc.   It looks like you're right around the $2500 price point and for that kind of money there are lots of great choices depending on fit.  I'd stay far far away from a "mail order" frame like Pedal Force and even a Velo Vie from the simple fact, you're a big guy, you don't have a lot of experience with bikes and bike fit and you really haven't ridden enough bikes to really know what works best for you either size/fit wise or material wise, steel, carbon, alum.  Both of those are good bikes and I own one of each but I've got my fit pretty much dialed so it was a low risk purchase for me.  Also, I've ridden enough bikes to know what to expect material/performance wise when I buy, even through the mail.

    One problem in the bike industry is the lack of a standardized frame sizing.  A 56 by one company is not the same as another's.  A "large" is not always a large and some companies do extended sizing including "medium large, xxl large" etc making it easier to dial fit.  Until you know how each bike fits as you ride it you can't just guess that a companies "58" will fit.

    An example, I just purchased a "standard" 56cm frame that had a 54cm top tube, hardly "standard" as the company stated.  I knew that when I bought the frame but someone else might of been stuck with a frame that was to short in the top tube.

     

    Another question, have you ever had a professional fit done?  If you haven't it might be a good idea to give Russell a call and "get dialed" before making the purchase.  He'll be able to steer you in the direction of compact/standard design, seat tube/top tube size range, bar width, crank length etc

    Going with a bike through the mail for you would be like playing the lotto, you might "hit it and you might not".  There's no better place to get what someone like you needs, at least for this first round, than your local LBS.

     

    And, as Gregg said, if you can dial the fit and just purchase the frame that's a good way to go.

     

    KRhea

     


    • Post Points: 3
  • 03-05-2010 11:29 PM In reply to

    Re: Ready to buy....this weekend!!

    Thanks everyone. Yes, I have previously rode tested every single one of these bikes, I also jumped on a couple Cervelo's and Bianchi's at RCB today. I was pro fit at RCB; good thing too, as KRhea speaks about: all of my previous purchases were off the rack at Bike Gallery (3 different bikes over the last 6 years). All of which were 60cm Treks, solely based on my height. The fit today revealed a lot more info and helped to narrow down the choices even more. They set up every test ride based on my numbers...wow! What a difference. Ended up getting a 2010 Specialized Roubaix Expert w/ Ultegra. Thanks for all the feedback.

    "It doesn't get any easier. You just go faster" ~ Greg Lemond

    • Post Points: 3
Page 1 of 1 (8 items)

© Copyright 2007 Portland Velo. All rights reserved. Click here for our privacy policy.