cannonadale vs specialized

Warren Ginn said:

Would someone take a look at these two bikes and tell me which one has
the better setup/components? I will be riding this on what I call
"rugged tours" - tours (65mi +) on crappy roads in Long Island, NY.

Quoted message said:

I also believe that I need
some sort of shock absorption on the front fork of an aluminum bike,
thus the carbon fork. I was also considering the Cannondale Road
Warrior 1000 HeadShok, but that's about $1400...

What LI roads do you ride that are so bad? I've been riding on LI for 30
years without these draconian measures. Appropriately wide tires along
with a comfortable saddle and gloves should be all you need on the road.

Otherwise, tell Brands you want to test ride both bikes over some
rough roads.

Art Harris

Warren Ginn said:

Hey guys:
Would someone take a look at these two bikes and tell me which one has
the better setup/components? I will be riding this on what I call
"rugged tours" - tours (65mi +) on crappy roads in Long Island, NY. I
intend to switch the handle bar to a trial-type bar that will give me
more grip variety (I don't like drop bars). I also believe that I need
some sort of shock absorption on the front fork of an aluminum bike,
thus the carbon fork. I was also considering the Cannondale Road Warrior
1000 HeadShok, but that's about $1400...
Specialized Sirrus Comp - $949.99 http://brandscycle.com/si-http://brandscycle.com/si-
te/itemdetails.cfm?ID=1542&Catalog=39&sort=Price desc
Cannondale Road Warrior 800 - $999.99 http://brandscycle.co-/http://brandscycle.co-
m/site/itemdetails.cfm?ID=1630&Catalog=39&sort=Price desc
For reference, but it may be a bit out of my range...
Cannondale Road Warrior 1000 HeadShok - $1,399.99 http://br-/http://br-
andscycle.com/site/itemdetails.cfm?ID=1629&Catalog=39&sort=- Price desc
Thanks,
Warren

The Specialized would be my choice due to it's "normal" wheels and wider
tires. Fit for you and the feel of the saddle after you have around
1,000 miles in are very high on my priority list. Armadillo tires are
tough, but they also ride "tough".

For others who want to try the links, see if these work better.

<http://brandscycle.com/site/itemdetails.cfm?ID=1630&Catalog=39&s-
ort=Price>

<http://brandscycle.com/site/itemdetails.cfm?ID=1542&Catalog=39&s-
ort=Price>

The links you left didn't work at all in my reader.

--

daveornee said:

.

Try this one for the Cannondale:

<http://brandscycle.com/site/itemdetails.cfm?ID=1630&Catalog=39&s-
ort=Price>

I hit my reply button too fast last time, before checking my work.

--

Harris <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

What LI roads do you ride that are so bad? I've been riding on LI for 30
years without these draconian measures. Appropriately wide tires along
with a comfortable saddle and gloves should be all you need on the road.

Otherwise, tell Brands you want to test ride both bikes over some
rough roads.

Art Harris

Put it this way, I don't want to be one of those guys on the side of
the road fixing a flat or tending to a bent rim. I am frequently
thankful for the beefer frame I have now (cromoly Giamt Iguana with
road tires) when cruching over the potholes along the side of the
road. i live in Glen Cove and many of the roads (particulalrly along
the sides) aren't all that great.

I will gladly trade a bit of extra speed that I could get on a
Lightspeed for a more stable ride and less fragile tires. That's why I
have been drawn to this class of bike. I don't really care for the
name 'hybrid', but the ones I like look like road bikes with
*slightly* heavier duty frames and wider tires.

Some of the other bikes of this type I have been checking out are:

Lemond Wayzata
Bianchi Strada
Marin Highway One
Fuji Royale
Motobecane Cafe Noir

All of these bikes have road-worthy frames with a wider gear range and
slightly wider tires. Plus, they don't have drop bars. I believe that
this is what I'm looking for.

Thanks,

Warren

Of the two you're examining I've ridden the Specialized and very much
liked it. I really liked the ability of the Specialized to accomodate
fenders which come in handy with all the rain we've had this spring.

Tires you might swap out- I use Panaracer Pasela 700x32s which really
cushion the ride. I can tackle 1" and more potholes with no
discomfort. 700x25s are too small I think to do this and whatever
penalty the 700x32s have is made up for by the ease with which they
come on and off the rim (fingers only), their toughness and longevity.
I take no heed of kevlar and similar "protection"- it's never done
much for me.

The carbon fork I don't think will make much of a difference. On the
contrary it may be an expensive replacement if you end up smashing
into something. Replacing the fork on my Bianchi (Axis) would run over
$250 and I don't notice any difference between it and the Al fork on
older Axis models.

If you're really sensitive you may want a suspension seatpost. I don't
use one but many people do and it's only a couple hundred extra grams.

Justin