first road bike options- advice & opinions would be great!

[cavvy]

So i am about to purchase my first road bike- pretty keen to get into it. I am pretty much clueless but what a great bike- buget is about $3000AU so prepared to spend a bit. So far its down to the options below- would you be so kind to give me an opion on which bike to go for or if you wouldn't consider these at all. THanks in advance- im keen to busy asap.

1) Buy Willier Mortirolo Carbon in SA - BikeExchange

2) Buy Contessa CR1 Pro in VIC - BikeExchange

3) http://www.bikeexchange.com.au/bikes/show/100152667

thanks in advance for all and any help!

 

[swampy1970]

Ride them and see which one you like the best. If the level of componentry on them is similar then all you have to worry about is making sure that the seat and bars can be put in the right place and that the bike feels good and is suitable for what you want too do.

You might want to put a post in the Aussie section as some of the folks down there may be more familiar with bikeexchange and what other deals around your price range could be had.

 

[CdnRider]

As promised a while ago. I'd post once i finished my build. It took a while...but I finally finished it last week and rode it yesterday in an 80k race with a total of 3200ft of climbs. Yeah...wasn't the smartest thing to do by far. But that's how it went. Still didn't do too bad considering I was starting to cramp up in the last 15k...anyhow, that's another story for another thread.
 
I slowly acquired parts here and there since i was on a tight budget. Only parts bought at a shop were the cables and the crankset. Everything else...from forums, craigslist..etc. and most either new or barely used. I got very lucky on most things. Cabling was by far the hardest thing to do. I did take it to a pro and it still wasn't a breeze for him. 2hrs worth. 50$ spent and worth every penny for me.
 
So here goes. 2007 Specialized Transition Comp E5
 
Aluminum Frame
Carbon fork and aero seat post
Specialized Toupe saddle
Vision FSA alloy base bar
Profile Designs T2+ aero bars
Dura Ace 10spd bar end shifters
Dura Ace 7700 calipers
Dura Ace brake/derailleur cables
Ultegra 6600 12-23 cassette
Ultegra 6600 chain
Ultegra 6600 10 spd rear der.
105 5500 front der.
LG 100mm alloy stem
Alloy stem spacers
ITM brake levers
Cane Creek headset
Race Face Cadence crankset/BB 53/39
 
pedals are an old and heavy (almost 1lb) set of LOOK pp296
and wheels are my Fulcrum Racing 3's.
 
total weight with the heavy pedals and saddle and cages...19.6lbs. My target was to keep it under 20lb. Made it...but would LOVE to drop a little more. Pedals will go first.
 
Can't wait to build my next project.....i've learned a lot doing this. And hell it was FUN.
 
Overall.....I think the bike looks SWeeeeeeeet. Rides quite nice too. And yeah....it's fast. haha. Gets a lot of attention too. I haven't totalled everything up yet. But i'm pretty sure I could have bought one brand new for less....with lower grade components. But for me, it was all about the experience in putting together my own bike.
 
Just to give you all an idea. It all started with me buying the frame/fork/seatpost/saddle (came with a specialized avatar) for 200$.. the rest is history.
 

 

[64Paramount]

Great job, Cdn. That looks awesome! /img/vbsmilies/smilies/cool.gif