frame comparison for Fuji/Trek/Giant/Javelin road bikes

[CatcherInTheRye]

Hi bikes,

I have been looking at several road bikes in the $600 to $800 category
and have narrowed down my choices to these bikes. Will appreciate if
you would let me know which of them provides the best support and
quality for riding upto 100 miles. I did ride couple of bikes in the
store but its hard to compare them after riding only for 10-15 minutes
which is what most LBS allow

Fuji Newest
http://www.fujibikes.com/road/bike....8,109,112,110,111,113,114&myArrayID=9&yr=2004

Trek 1200
http://www.trekbikes.com/bikes/2004/road/1200.jsp

Giant OCR2
http://www.giantbicycles.com/us/030...r=2004&bikesection=8834&range=143&model=10770

Javelin Garda
http://www.javbike.com/beta2/product_pdfs.php
(pdf file)
http://www.javbike.com/beta2/pdfs/garda.pdf

-RA

 

[Alex Rodriguez]

In article <[email protected]>,
[email protected] says...
>
>
>Hi bikes,
>
>I have been looking at several road bikes in the $600 to $800 category
>and have narrowed down my choices to these bikes. Will appreciate if
>you would let me know which of them provides the best support and
>quality for riding upto 100 miles. I did ride couple of bikes in the
>store but its hard to compare them after riding only for 10-15 minutes
>which is what most LBS allow
>
>Fuji Newest
>http://www.fujibikes.com/road/bike.asp?category_short_name=road&myArray=87,88,
89,90,91,92,93,102,94,95,96,103,97,104,106,99,98,100,105,101,107,108,109,112,11
0,111,113,114&myArrayID=9&yr=2004
>
>Trek 1200
>http://www.trekbikes.com/bikes/2004/road/1200.jsp
>
>Giant OCR2
>http://www.giantbicycles.com/us/030.000.000/030.000.000.asp?dealerid=&dealerco
untry=&lYear=2004&bikesection=8834&range=143&model=10770
>
>Javelin Garda
>http://www.javbike.com/beta2/product_pdfs.php
>(pdf file)
>http://www.javbike.com/beta2/pdfs/garda.pdf

They are very similar, component wise. So you have to go by something else.
I would see which bike fits me best and go with that. The other thing to
consider is which bike shop carries the bike you like and how well will
they service your bike.
----------------
Alex

 

[HardwareLust]

CatcherInTheRye wrote:
> Hi bikes,
>
> I have been looking at several road bikes in the $600 to $800 category
> and have narrowed down my choices to these bikes. Will appreciate if
> you would let me know which of them provides the best support and
> quality for riding upto 100 miles. I did ride couple of bikes in the
> store but its hard to compare them after riding only for 10-15 minutes
> which is what most LBS allow

Those 4 bikes are so similar, it'd be tough to pick one of the four.
They're all just about equal in ride quality I would think. Aluminum frame,
carbon fork, Tiagra components. Personally, I would not buy an aluminum
frame for centuries, carbon fork or not, but I highly doubt you'll find a
decent new bike at that price range in steel, carbon, or titanium.

You could pick the one from the LBS that you like the most (and treats you
the best). If you're going to use the mechanics at the store (and you
probably will at some point), then the store is almost as important as the
bike.

Or, you could just go with your gut feeling and buy the one that you like
the best, logic be damned. I'm sure there's one of the four you like better
than the others for some reason, like the color or the price or something.
Sometimes that's the best way. It's hard to ride a bike you don't like, so
keep that in mind. Just make sure the bike shop guys fit it to you as well
as they can.

That all being said, if it were my choice, I would pick the Giant OCR2 over
the others, but that's just me. The Fuji would be 2nd, and the Trek 3rd.
I've never even heard of Javelin, so I won't comment.

Regards,
H.

 

[Donald Gillies]

[email protected] (CatcherInTheRye) writes:

>Hi bikes,

>I have been looking at several road bikes in the $600 to $800 category
>and have narrowed down my choices to these bikes. Will appreciate if
>you would let me know which of them provides the best support and
>quality for riding upto 100 miles. I did ride couple of bikes in the
>store but its hard to compare them after riding only for 10-15 minutes
>which is what most LBS allow

One thing to remember is that TREK framesets have a lifetime warranty.
This is important with hi-tech Aluminum or Carbon framesets. It's the
only thing that kept Cannondale in business in the late 1980's, and it
saved my butt last month.

- Don Gillies
San Diego, CA

 

[RWM]

"Donald Gillies" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> [email protected] (CatcherInTheRye) writes:
>
> ><SNIP>
> One thing to remember is that TREK framesets have a lifetime warranty.
> This is important with hi-tech Aluminum or Carbon framesets. It's the
> only thing that kept Cannondale in business in the late 1980's, and it
> saved my butt last month.
>
Can you explain more about how/what was the only thing that kept Cannondale
in business during the late 80's? It sounds interesting, but I don't
understand your point.

 

[Matt O'Toole]

Donald Gillies wrote:

> [email protected] (CatcherInTheRye) writes:
>
>> Hi bikes,
>
>> I have been looking at several road bikes in the $600 to $800
>> category and have narrowed down my choices to these bikes. Will
>> appreciate if you would let me know which of them provides the best
>> support and quality for riding upto 100 miles. I did ride couple of
>> bikes in the store but its hard to compare them after riding only
>> for 10-15 minutes which is what most LBS allow

Indeed. Once you start riding that much, your fit will probably change --
perhaps a lot. So it's important to have a dealer who can help you tweak things
here and there -- unless you know about this stuff already, in which case you
wouldn't be asking this question here.

> One thing to remember is that TREK framesets have a lifetime warranty.
> This is important with hi-tech Aluminum or Carbon framesets. It's the
> only thing that kept Cannondale in business in the late 1980's, and it
> saved my butt last month.

Besides the lifetime warranty on the frame, Trek has the best warranty service
in general. They'll make good on anything, immediately, while with other
companies it can be like pulling teeth.

Other than that, I'd go by fit, and how good the dealer is. You should probably
get as good a fit from any of those bikes, especially if the dealer is good. So
it really comes back to the dealer.

Matt O.