Avanti Road Bikes..

I am new to cycling, and have been looking for reviews regarding Avanti Road Bikes. I cannot find any for the lower price ranges. I was interested in beginning road cycling but was wondering how the Avanti's compare. I was looking to spend around $1700 (already +$300 than intended) and the 06 Avanti Giro, caught my eye. For this sort of price range, does anyone know of a better value bike out there. I heard that the paint job on Avantis is really poor, is this true?

Thanks

 

that sounds like a reasonable price, but there are cheaper 105 bikes out there. A friend of mine just bought a 105-equipped 2004 Gitane with slightly cheaper rims and no-name brake calipers for $1350.

you can do better than $1700, but probably only by a couple of hundred bucks, and you'll then be looking at the 'bargain basement' Taiwanese brands like Diamondback, Gitane, Shogun, Merida....AND, you'll most likely not get a complete 105 group set.


this bike is $1500, but it has crap brakes and cheaper wheels.
http://www.cytekbicycles.com/frames.htm

Azzurri and Learsport (same company) are usually well priced.
http://www.azzurri.com.au/bikes.html
I think they're in Bayswater......Ph: (03) 9738 1633

 

I think you can do better for an entry level road bike than the Avanti Giro. My first road bike was a Giro 2003. It does the job, but it's a pretty heavy bike! Mine had a triple chainring, Alu frame (only carbon front forks), Tiagra cranks, 105 componentry, and really bad Shimano SPD-R pedals (they're very unpopular now, and i hope they will disappear from the market).

I think Giant bikes are great value for money if you're not too worried about riding a 'common' brand. I ride a Giant TCR now and i can't fault it. They spend a fair bit of money on designing their bikes, and sponsor Team Mobile so they get feedback from the pro cyclists.

The only things that I liked about my Avanti Giro were:
- surprisingly comfortable - for an Alu frame bike, the Giro is a pretty smooth ride. Even on a cheese-grater type of knobbly asphalt that we have in Kew Blvd, Melb. Maybe it's the carbon fork which should claim credit for that.

- saddle-- the Specialized Comp saddle is relatively heavy (310g) and is a 'fitness' cyclist type of saddle, but goddam I love it. I have put it on my Giant for racing and training, and it's the only one that won't get me sore. Specialized make good saddles, especially now that they make all their saddles in three different widths. But saddles are a personal thing, you just have to get lucky with your first bike.

- wheels-- my Giro in 2003 came with Shimano WH-540 wheels. They're pretty light, not as fast as the Mavic Ksyriums that i have now, but for an entry level road bike they were excellent. I still think highly of them now.

- triple chainring-- handy to start training with, because you're highly unlikely, in fact it'd be close to impossible, to overload your muscles climbing ANY hill with a triple chainring. You'll get the small gears to spin up the steepest hills if you're not confident to get out of the saddle or push a bigger gear.

- for under $2000, the Giro was the bike with the best specs that i could find (within about 3 weeks of hunting... i wanted a road bike ASAP at the time!! in 2003 the Giants under $2000 were ugly... in 2005, the Giants were just ugly full stop. no idea what 2006 is like)

The downsides to the Giro are:
- weight-- i got a 48cm frame (small). for such a little bike it weighed about 11kg (without water bottles).

- the triple chainring-- if you're riding mainly on flat road, with rolling hills, you definitely won't need a triple chainring. That extra ring adds to the weight.

- the small frame fits one big water bottle (750ml), and can only fit a small 600ml bottle in the other spot (i think the frame is a compact design. if so, i have heard that descending on compact frames provide less stability. on the upside, compact frames flex less so feel more responsive)

good luck and happy shopping

 

have a squiz at www.roadbikereviews.com I usually find that site handy

 

sorry thats www.roadbikereview.com, no 's'

 

I know it's a personal opinion but what do you find ugly with the Giant 2005 OCR range? I own a 2005 OCR Zero and think it looks fantastic, better than the 2006 OCR Zero (In my opinion).

 

Thanks very much for that review. I know the 06 Giro doesn't have a triple chain ring, so I am still thinking of swaying towards it. To be honest, I am a bit of a wanker when it comes to looks of a bike, and the 2006 Giant range in my price isn't that flash hot either. This being the main reason I haven't looked at them. The Giant OCR1 is the bike in this price range, but the lower level TCR's are over $2000? As I am new, I would love it, it you were able to look at the specs for the O6 Giro and compare your 03 model, and whether or not it had advanced at all? Thanks alot....
Gillie

 

The golden rule that I keep on hearing when buying a bike is don't worry about componentry, just get something with a good frame that suits you. The components will wear out and be replaced over time. I bought a giant OCR2 about 3 months ago and have already started replacing broken components so in a few years it will of gone from tiagra to something better.

 

I've got a 2005 Avanti flat bar road bike and find the paint job spot on. I also think the quality of the welds was above that of comparably priced bikes. I agree with the comment regarding the comfortable Specialized saddle also.

 

The 2005 Felt F70 is almost identical to the 06 Giro and may be cheaper if you can find one around (sadly, though, it is yellow). This model seems to have been replaced by the F75 which is more expensive but has 10-speed 105 with Ultegra RD. The 06 Shogun Ninja is alse comparable at $1700.

 

Thanks alot for all the advice.. It has helped a fair bit...

 

I have had a look at the felt. And yes the paint is very very yellow. This would be a factor going against the Felt, but I will definately have a ride on it at my LBS. Cheers

 

Hey, I love my yellow F70. They way I see it, the more visible the bike is, the better.
I got it in March, and have had no problems. I chose it because:
- It's yellow
- Triple chainring, I'm near hills, so wouldn't have it any other way.
- At the time, it was the best 105 equipped, triple chainringed, carbon fork & seat stay money could buy.
- I also like the look of the frame (colour aside). I prefer the horizontal top tube, not the slanting back style of the Avanti.
- SPD pedals. I know traditional cyclists hate them, but I prefer shoes that I can actually walk in.
If you can find one, you should be able to get it for under $1600, great value.

 

Sorry MarkC77!! Didn't mean to step on your toes. Style is a personal thing. I just didn't like the 'cross-hatch' sort of design on the 05 Giants. I decided to forego a newer/better 2005 TCR1 for a 2nd hand 2004 TCR 1. They both cost about the same!

I haven't had a good look at the 2006 models, but if they're anything like the Team Telekom bike that Vino, Jan and co were riding in this years tour, I think I'd agree with your ugly-call on the 2006 models. But I'd take a team issue pink Giant anyday if anyone offered!

 

gday Gillie, there are a fair few (enviable!!!) improvements on the 06 Giro since 2003:

http://www.avantibikes.com/bikes_detail.asp?id=233&t=14

- Carbon seatstays. (Mine is Alu)
- Carbon seatpost (ditto)
- Full Shimano 105 (2003 Giro had Tiagra + 105)
- it's a double crankset-- you won't have to lug around the little cog if you live in a flat area
- it's racing red (red things go faster-- think fire engines, ferrari's )
- the Selle Italia FK saddle (this is a complete guess here, but I've heard that Selle Italia saddles suit most men, and that the new Specialized saddles with the cutouts aren't doing any wonders for comfort. I've ridden a Selle Italia Flite and it definitely is not a woman's saddle. I'm actually annoyed that I'm stuck with a rather heavy Specialized Comp saddle because it's the only one that works for me)

the new Giro actually sounds like a lighter bike, given that they swapped some Alu parts for carbon. It'll be a fairly smooth ride too I'm guessing, and from my experience with my full Alu frame Giro (with carbon forks only), the Giro rides pretty smoothly anyway.

The only parts im not sure of are the pedals and wheels. I use Look pedals, but i've heard the shimano Dura Ace pedals are much more user-friendly-- easier to click into, and more forgiving on cafe floors. If the Giro's PD-R540 pedals use the same system, that's a thumbs up (I think anything would be an improvement on the Shimano SPDR pedals that I got on my 03 Giro-- they weighed a ton, the metal cleats snapped only after a year of riding).

As for the wheels, they look ok. Not sure how much they weigh, but they have more spokes than my WH-540 wheels (i may be wrong on that model name)

mate the fun only begins... next you'll have to go shoe shopping!!

 

No gripes here, 2 Avantis, one MTB one Corsa Carbon roadie. Happy with the paint job on both. I reckon the Corsa is better than my CAAD 3 which has turned butt-ugly around the dropouts, front and rear.

 

Only true to a point. FD, brake calipers, cranks and shifters will probably never wear out, although the shifters are vulnerable to crash injury. RD and pedals are also likely to be there for a while. User serviceable hubs have to be neglected in order to have them wear out. BBs go on for a long while.
You can really only count on an excuse to upgrade tyres, brake pads, bar tape, chain, cluster and perhaps your favourite chain ring in the first few years of use.
If you really want the bling, best to buy it first up.

 

No problem, I didn't take it as an offence I was just curious what you didn't like about them. The only 2006 OCR I like the look of is the OCR composite. But at $3000 it was way too much to spend on my first road bike, hence the 2005 OCR Zero.

 

Thanks alot su22, i hope riding a bike is as much fun as it is hunting for one. I live in Hobart, Tasmania so I am guessing maybe that extra cog would help me up those massive hills, but maybe the giro is a good incentive to lay off the Maccas etc.. Thanks very much for the review, was very insightful. The wheels on the giro are pretty poor, I was told upgrading them would cost around $800 for another set, hopefully the guy at the store was wrong, nearly half the price of the bike. Not sure on the model, but still, its a fair hike for some wheels.... Thanks alot for all the help. One more thing, is there much in the jersey's you wear? Do they count for much on the road, because I have heard some pretty serious 'bitching' about what other riders are wearing. I would just go for a quirky one myself...
Gillie vbmenu_register("postmenu_2418592", true);

 

Hey gillie, I have 2 rules re jersies etc and that is: "Whatever is on the discount/50% off rack is fair game!!" Rule 2 is "The fashion police can go eff'emselves".
A mate of mine (an accomplished a/b grade roadie) once scored an old "Chazal" shirt from an op-shop for $6. In case you haven't seen one of these abominations it is in cyan blue and baby pink and has a cartoon teddy-bear on the front of it. This guy is 6'3" and built like a brick shithouse. Funny, no-one ever bitched at him about it...