High end carbon road road bike buying advice

[michaelnoaka]

Hi my fellow pedal people,
I'm new to this site but not to road and mountain cycling. I'm looking to make the transition from my early 90's Eddy Merckx steel to carbon fiber. I love my current ride that I've put a lot of miles on for over fifteen years but the game changer was when I tried a friend's 08' Orbea Opal. I was blown away by the excelleration and ease of hill climbing on a bike that is 5 lbs lighter than mine. I'm looking for advice so here are my specifics. I'm 6' 2", 200 lbs and 64 years. I do a few hilly centuries per year and lots of in between rides from 10 to 100 miles. My Merckx is a 61 cm that fits me like a glove and is quite comfortable. There is no way I can afford a new bike so I'll be shopping the local Craigslist for something with all Ultegra or better. In my price range I'll be able to get something between 3 and 7 years old. I like the forgiveing ride qualities of steel so I'm interested in higher end carbon frames that are a little less stiff. Any certain makes and models you think would be right up my alley? Thanks for any tips.

 

[alfeng]

Borrow your friend's wheels & see how your Merckx climbs ...

 

[michaelnoaka]

I don't suspect that wheels will make much difference because his are Mavic Aksium and mine are Mavic Open Pro/Ultegra.

 

[alfeng]

Originally Posted by michaelnoaka
I don't suspect that wheels will make much difference because his are Mavic Aksium and mine are Mavic Open Pro/Ultegra.

Well, if you want a high end carbon fiber bicycle frame then I seriously doubt that will find it on Craigslist ...

But, who knows?!?

If you must, then I recommend that you consider a COLNAGO or PINARELLO, first ...

You will then realize how over-priced CF frames can be ...

After that, based on what others have said in this Forum (and, how I may be reading may not be how others interpret the comments) 'I' would seriously consider a generic Chinese frame which you can buy through any of several eBay retailers ....

That is, AFAIK, no one has said that they have had a bad experience with their generic Chinese CF framesets ...

The generic frames will probably weigh a few ounces more ...

They won't be fabricated with the latest-and-greatest CF

They won't have fancy-schmancy decals

They have an unknown warrranty.

Other than a Calfee, Parlee, or some other boutique brands, In between are all the other brands. Some "big name" brands have apparently had spotty quality control issues.

BTW. When was the last time you had your hubs re-packed with fresh grease & the cones adjusted AND/OR the spoke tension checked?

WHAT type of grease are the hubs packed with?

What is the spoke count on your wheelset?

What type of spokes are your wheels laced with?

What tires/tubes are on your wheelset AND what tires/tubes are on your friend's wheelset?

Where the tires inflated to the same PSI?

That is, there are variables other than the rims & hubs.

 

[michaelnoaka]

My 32 spoke wheels are about 3 years old and have never been serviced. Glad you reminded me as I will get that done before the next big ride. The tires are 700x23 Michelin pro Race inflated to 100, about the same setup as my friends. I do see Colnagos and Pinarellos on CL but not too often. Thanks for the helpful info. Any other brands and particular models that would suit my needs are welcome.

 

[Volnix]

This brand seems to make quality stuff, not too overpriced and its quite honest.

Apparently they are a part of Cannondale so they might be cool with warranty claims too.

They also say in other websites like bikeradar.com that they dont leave any molds or bladders inside their frames after construction.

They have super stiff stuff, normal stuff etc...

Plus they are made in Canada and not by some evil Chinese company that wants to exploit the bike-addiction.

http://www.gurucycles.com/en