buying first road bike

[Donald Gillies]

[email protected] (B Eldridge) writes:

>I am planning to purchase my first road bike after several years riding MTB and Hybrid on
>the street.

1. Pick a price midpoint.

2. Stick within +/- 10% of that pricepoint

3. Otherwise you will be comparing apples to oranges.

4. Try different frame materials - don't limit yourself to all-aluminum.

 

[Bfd]

"Steven M. Scharf" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>...
> "Robin Hubert" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:JYNva.68539
>
> > Shop for a bike shop first and then let them help you select a bike.
> Brand
> > is unimportant, since most are very close and competetive in terms of
> price
> > and performance. The big difference is in the shops/owners/employees. A good deal on a good bike
> > ain't nothin' without an intelligent, reasonable staff to hook you up and back it up.
>
> Brand may be unimportant, but there are big differences in how the bikes ride and how long they
> will last.
>
> If I were to buy a new road bike today, I'd spring for something like the Rivendell bicycles, just
> because the frame is so much better than what you get from Trek (or Trek-Lemond) or Specialized.
> Alas, most of the mass production bikes abandoned lugged frames because of the expense, so now
> they are a specialty item with even higher prices.
>
> http://www.rivendellbicycles.com/html/bikes_lugs.html
>
> http://www.rivendellbicycles.com/html/bikes_romulusframes.html

Agree in part that Riv sells some very nice lugged steel frames. However, just because a
Trek/Lemond/Specialized/other big name company doesn't offer lugged steel frame doesn't mean their
frames are "inferior". For example, Lemond steel frames are made out of Reynolds 853 tubing (or at
least the 3 main tubes). I doubt Riv Romulus/Redwood/Rambo/Atlantis frames, note I did not include
Rivendell custom frames, offer "better" tubing. I agree that brand is unimportant. However, what
makes a bike "ride" is not whether its a lugged steel frame or not, but whether it FITS. One thing
Riv offers, that others don't, is a bike that is aimed at comfort, not racing. That is, Riv will
sell you a bike so you can get your handlebar high - even or higher than the saddle -on the belief
that a higher handlebar is more comfortable, and thus, allowing you to ride longer. THAT is Riv's
"advantage". However, in the case of the Romulus, which is a complete bike, Riv might have missed
the boat as its only offered with bar-end shifters. Sorry, but most "newbies" want STI/Ergo....

 

[Douglas Landau]

I suggest you buy one of the models you list, or similar, but used. Ride it for a few thousand
miles and then do it again with the next model on your list, and call the first one your commuter
or rain bike.

- you will really get a good test-ride, not an unsatisfying parking-lot test-ride
- you might avoid losing a lot of $$$ on a bike you don't want to keep
- you might save a lot of $$$ and still find the right bike
- you might end up with 3 great bikes instead of one for the same $$$
- at any time you can sell them without losing much and proceed with your original plan.

www.craigslist.org

Doug "used hard disks, no, used bicycles, yes" Landau

[email protected] (B Eldridge) wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>...
> I am planning to purchase my first road bike after several years riding MTB and Hybrid on the
> street. I have test driven the Raliegh Competition, all Ultrega and aluminum, carbon fork for
> $1600. Specialized Allez Elite Cro-Mo, with 105 and carbon fork $1300. Also tried The Trek 2300,
> 2002 for $1600.00 and want to test ride a similar Cannondale. The Raliegh looks and feels great
> and seems to give the most for the money. They all handled similar, however a bit hard to get used
> to the road posture from a hybrid. Any buying advice to a newbie on these brands/Models would be
> appreciated.

 

[David Damerell]

bfd <[email protected]> wrote:
>Riv's "advantage". However, in the case of the Romulus, which is a complete bike, Riv might have
>missed the boat as its only offered with bar-end shifters. Sorry, but most "newbies" want
>STI/Ergo....

But Rivendell's target audience do not. It's a small market sector, but they serve it very well.
--
David Damerell <[email protected]> Distortion Field!

 

[Matt O'Toole]

"bfd" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...

> Agree, Rivendell does serve its "targeted audience" well,
but how is
> it ever going to expand beyond its "small market sector"?
If Riv wants
> to appeal to newbies; if Riv wants to attract more
members; if Riv
> wants to get MORE people interested in its lugged steel
frames, it
> needs to not only "serve" its current audience, but
attract
> newer/younger/next generation riders by marketing its
frames with
> modern components. Not very many people are going to buy a
bike with
> friction shifting, non-aero brake levers, toe clips and
straps,
> etc......

Leave that rhetoric to pop biz paperbacks. Not many people buy $400 Panama hats or gold plated
bathroom fixtures either, but the people making those have been in business for centuries.

Matt O.

 

[Trent Gregory H]

On 14 May 2003, bfd wrote:

> Agree, Rivendell does serve its "targeted audience" well, but how is it ever going to expand
> beyond its "small market sector"? If Riv wants to appeal to newbies; if Riv wants to attract more
> members; if Riv wants to get MORE people interested in its lugged steel frames, it needs to not
> only "serve" its current audience, but attract newer/younger/next generation riders by marketing
> its frames with modern components. Not very many people are going to buy a bike with friction
> shifting, non-aero brake levers, toe clips and straps, etc......
>

Actually, GP's leaning heavily towards BMX-inspired platform pedals these days....

You'd be surprised, I think, by how many younger (<30) cyclists in Seattle ride bikes set up, in
whole or in part, along GP/Riv lines. Rivendell's design and marketing approach is heavily oriented
towards the aesthetic, but there's a practical angle to it too that sometimes gets lost in Grant's
retrogrouchiness. Modern bicycle design and marketing is heavily oriented towards the needs of the
handful of cyclists who race or who want to be or look like racers. The Riv philosophy is oriented
towards people who use their bikes for utility and "touring," in the broadest sense of the term. I
think they're doing a good job as market leaders. I only hope they're still around and leading in
ten years.

Trent

 

[David Damerell]

trent gregory hill <[email protected]> wrote:
>On 14 May 2003, bfd wrote:
>>Agree, Rivendell does serve its "targeted audience" well, but how is it ever going to expand
>>beyond its "small market sector"?

Why do they have to?

It's the idea that a business must expand to be successful that led Cannondale into motorcycles.

>to be or look like racers. The Riv philosophy is oriented towards people who use their bikes for
>utility and "touring," in the broadest sense of the term.

And - returning to the original contention here - those people may well want bar-end shifters; the
superior robustness and maintainability might be more important (it is to _me_) than the ability to
shift gears in an instant.
--
David Damerell <[email protected]> flcl?

 

[Mark In Maine]

On 14 May 2003 17:13:25 -0700, [email protected] (bfd) wrote:

> Not very many people are going to buy a bike with friction shifting, non-aero brake levers, toe
> clips and straps, etc......

This may be true, but I doubt that Rivendells marketing strategy is to take market share away from
Giant by offering a Giant clone - if it is, they are destined for failure. There are a lot of bike
manufacturers competing with one another - Rivendell have managed to find a niche for themselves
where they have relatively little competition, and hopefully, as a result will find some success.
Growing into another Cannondale is probably not their goal - but becoming a profitable supplier
within their niche probably is an achievable goal. If Rivendell is to grow, their best strategy
would be to work to expand their niche, not to copy what others are doing.

 

[Bfd]

David Damerell <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:<p0*[email protected]>...
> trent gregory hill <[email protected]> wrote:
> >On 14 May 2003, bfd wrote:
> >>Agree, Rivendell does serve its "targeted audience" well, but how is it ever going to expand
> >>beyond its "small market sector"?
>
> Why do they have to?
>
> It's the idea that a business must expand to be successful that led Cannondale into motorcycles.
>
On the other hand, GP is constantly whinning about the lack of money, the fact that they have yet to
make a profit, the lack of interest in his lugged steel frames. Further, when they had 2 builders,
(will Joe Starck ever build again?), GP was screaming that they didn't have enough business for
them. Moreover, he was stating that they had "saturated" they're market and how tough it was to
attract newer riders to lugged steel frames....

> >to be or look like racers. The Riv philosophy is oriented towards people who use their bikes for
> >utility and "touring," in the broadest sense of the term.
>
> And - returning to the original contention here - those people may well want bar-end shifters; the
> superior robustness and maintainability might be more important (it is to _me_) than the ability
> to shift gears in an instant.

Again, if GP wants to *attract* more customers/members/newbie riders he ought to be open to selling
bikes with BOTH bar-end/dt shifters AND STI/Ergo. The fact that you use bar-end is fine. However,
when you see alot of other riders like at centuries or popular riding spots, how many of them have
bar-end or even dt shifters? I bet the majority have STI/Ergo....

 

[Bfd]

Mark in Maine <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>...
> On 14 May 2003 17:13:25 -0700, [email protected] (bfd) wrote:
>
> > Not very many people are going to buy a bike with friction shifting, non-aero brake levers, toe
> > clips and straps, etc......
>
> This may be true, but I doubt that Rivendells marketing strategy is to take market share away from
> Giant by offering a Giant clone - if it is, they are destined for failure. There are a lot of bike
> manufacturers competing with one another - Rivendell have managed to find a niche for themselves
> where they have relatively little competition, and hopefully, as a result will find some success.
> Growing into another Cannondale is probably not their goal - but becoming a profitable supplier
> within their niche probably is an achievable goal. If Rivendell is to grow, their best strategy
> would be to work to expand their niche, not to copy what others are doing.

Again, I'm not suggesting Rivendell becomes another Cannondale or attempt to take market share away
from Giant. What I'm suggesting is Rivendell does have a niche - lugged steel frames. To attract new
members/newer riders to these great frames, Riv ought to advertise their bikes with BOTH bar-end/dt
shifters AND modern STI/Ergo. GP is constantly whinning they don't have enough money, have yet to
make a profit, don't have enough people in the "queue" waiting to buy a custom Riv bike, and need
new members. Maybe there's a reason. IF GP/Riv wants to remain a boutique selling niche brand retro
products to a select few, then fine, but they shouldn't cry about it if sales are not what they
want. My take is they ought to at least market they excellent frames with modern components so that
newbies will at least look at their frames/bikes....