I'm looking at my very first road bike at the tender age of 53 after riding a mountain bike for the last four years (average speed of about 23km/h over a few hours, max speed on the flat of about 45 km/h). I've been out with some of my roadie friends and I'm hooked on road biking but can't keep up to them for very long on my mountain bike.
I've visited the dealers, rode and re-rode a large number of bikes meeting the criteria recommended by my friends such as 105 groupo (Trek, Felt, Norco, DeVinci, Felt, ...), and have settled on one of the two following bikes (with the help of some very knowledgeable and experienced biking friends). Both bikes are coming from two very reputable LBS with good reputations for road bike fitting, service and support. I plan on doing recreational and fitness road riding on both flat and hilly terrain. The full carbon OCR-3 is $500 (Canadian dollars) more than the Kona Zing, but the Kona Zing appears to have a better wheelset (Mavic Aksium versus Formula XSR-3) than the OCR-3.
Any suggestions with regards to the two bikes? I like both bikes, however I felt slightly more comfortable on the Kona, but I suspect that's because neither bike was completely fitted to me before the test rides and I got lucky with the Kona. I know that shouldn't be an issue if I purchase, because both shops have good reputations for doing a high quality fit. There's about a 4 to 5 lb weight difference between the two bikes, with the OCR-3 weighing in just over 18 lbs.
I'd really like to hear from those (paricularly beginners) who have purchased a Kona Zing or OCR-3 and are happy with them? I've heard lots of positive comments from people riding OCR-3s but haven't found a single Kona Zing rider online, and I'm wondering whether or not anybody is buying this bike and if not, why not? I realize its the first year for the bike but still, the dealer tells me he can sell just about all of this bike he can get which is why there's no serious discount, however I am worried that there's a reason I can't see anybody online recommending this bike.
Bikes descriptions are:
Kona Zing link
Giant OCR-3 carbon link
Oh yeah, and did I mention that the Giant price is a full $600 under the list price (and yes, its a 2006), while the Zing is $50 under the list price.
Thanks for any help anyone can provide
Paul
I've visited the dealers, rode and re-rode a large number of bikes meeting the criteria recommended by my friends such as 105 groupo (Trek, Felt, Norco, DeVinci, Felt, ...), and have settled on one of the two following bikes (with the help of some very knowledgeable and experienced biking friends). Both bikes are coming from two very reputable LBS with good reputations for road bike fitting, service and support. I plan on doing recreational and fitness road riding on both flat and hilly terrain. The full carbon OCR-3 is $500 (Canadian dollars) more than the Kona Zing, but the Kona Zing appears to have a better wheelset (Mavic Aksium versus Formula XSR-3) than the OCR-3.
Any suggestions with regards to the two bikes? I like both bikes, however I felt slightly more comfortable on the Kona, but I suspect that's because neither bike was completely fitted to me before the test rides and I got lucky with the Kona. I know that shouldn't be an issue if I purchase, because both shops have good reputations for doing a high quality fit. There's about a 4 to 5 lb weight difference between the two bikes, with the OCR-3 weighing in just over 18 lbs.
I'd really like to hear from those (paricularly beginners) who have purchased a Kona Zing or OCR-3 and are happy with them? I've heard lots of positive comments from people riding OCR-3s but haven't found a single Kona Zing rider online, and I'm wondering whether or not anybody is buying this bike and if not, why not? I realize its the first year for the bike but still, the dealer tells me he can sell just about all of this bike he can get which is why there's no serious discount, however I am worried that there's a reason I can't see anybody online recommending this bike.
Bikes descriptions are:
Kona Zing link
Giant OCR-3 carbon link
Oh yeah, and did I mention that the Giant price is a full $600 under the list price (and yes, its a 2006), while the Zing is $50 under the list price.
Thanks for any help anyone can provide
Paul