Need advice on Devinci bike for a serious teenager...

[Rick]

My oldest son ( 16 ) is always on his bike. He bought a Schwinn Santa Monica
comfort bike last summer but he soon realized that it is not what he
wanted....

But man this years he is pedaling like never before, and the bike fever
striked him again. Only that this time he wants to go up in quality and
toward a road bike. He visited a Devinci dealer last night and he his hooked
up on a Chicane. Keep in mind that he his paying for his bike so its out of
question for him to buy a Marinoni !!!

I am pretty sure that he will take good care of his bike, but from an old
fart stand point used to ride on a CCM 3 speed , I am worry about seeing
him spending money like hell just to keep the wheel straight !

He is riding mainly on bike path, asphalt , sometimes crushed stone.

Is this going to be a good day to day bike for him , or a fragile jewel that
he will regret within a few months ??

Thanks for your input.

 

[Jeff Starr]

On Sat, 9 Jul 2005 10:42:04 -0400, "Rick" <[email protected]> wrote:

>My oldest son ( 16 ) is always on his bike. He bought a Schwinn Santa Monica
>comfort bike last summer but he soon realized that it is not what he
>wanted....
>
>But man this years he is pedaling like never before, and the bike fever
>striked him again. Only that this time he wants to go up in quality and
>toward a road bike. He visited a Devinci dealer last night and he his hooked
>up on a Chicane. Keep in mind that he his paying for his bike so its out of
>question for him to buy a Marinoni !!!
>
>I am pretty sure that he will take good care of his bike, but from an old
>fart stand point used to ride on a CCM 3 speed , I am worry about seeing
>him spending money like hell just to keep the wheel straight !
>
>He is riding mainly on bike path, asphalt , sometimes crushed stone.
>
>Is this going to be a good day to day bike for him , or a fragile jewel that
>he will regret within a few months ??
>
>Thanks for your input.
>
>

Hi, I just took a look at Devinci's website. The bike look ok, my only
concern would be that it has an 8- speed cassette and shifters. This
will limit the availibilty of upgrades and parts availibility. Without
knowing the price that he is going to pay, I can't say whether there
are other options. Devinci is not one of the more mainstream brands.
If he really is serious about riding, help him out, enough to buy a
bike equiped with a 9-speed group. A very similar bike that is usually
well equiped for the price is Giant, two others to consider would be
Felt, and Trek.

As long as he takes care of it, keeping the wheels true, won't be a
big deal. He would be better off replacing the 700x23 tires with a
700x25, if he rides on some crushed stone. At least the Chicane and
Apex have wheels that have a good number of spokes, rather than the
currently popular low count spoke wheels. Verify that the shop stress
relieves and trues the wheels, before the bike goes out the door. If
that is done, the wheels should be fine.

If he is a smart kid, really interseted in biking, he can learn to
maintain his bike, all by himself. Between Sheldon Brown and Park
Tool, there is enough info online, to do any necessary maintenance.

The bike is not a frajile jewel. If he is set on a Divinci, get him
the Apex.


Life is Good!
Jeff

 

[Rick]

Thanks Jeff, really appreciated

Richard
"Jeff Starr" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> On Sat, 9 Jul 2005 10:42:04 -0400, "Rick" <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>>My oldest son ( 16 ) is always on his bike. He bought a Schwinn Santa
>>Monica
>>comfort bike last summer but he soon realized that it is not what he
>>wanted....
>>
>>But man this years he is pedaling like never before, and the bike fever
>>striked him again. Only that this time he wants to go up in quality and
>>toward a road bike. He visited a Devinci dealer last night and he his
>>hooked
>>up on a Chicane. Keep in mind that he his paying for his bike so its out
>>of
>>question for him to buy a Marinoni !!!
>>
>>I am pretty sure that he will take good care of his bike, but from an old
>>fart stand point used to ride on a CCM 3 speed , I am worry about seeing
>>him spending money like hell just to keep the wheel straight !
>>
>>He is riding mainly on bike path, asphalt , sometimes crushed stone.
>>
>>Is this going to be a good day to day bike for him , or a fragile jewel
>>that
>>he will regret within a few months ??
>>
>>Thanks for your input.
>>
>>
>
> Hi, I just took a look at Devinci's website. The bike look ok, my only
> concern would be that it has an 8- speed cassette and shifters. This
> will limit the availibilty of upgrades and parts availibility. Without
> knowing the price that he is going to pay, I can't say whether there
> are other options. Devinci is not one of the more mainstream brands.
> If he really is serious about riding, help him out, enough to buy a
> bike equiped with a 9-speed group. A very similar bike that is usually
> well equiped for the price is Giant, two others to consider would be
> Felt, and Trek.
>
> As long as he takes care of it, keeping the wheels true, won't be a
> big deal. He would be better off replacing the 700x23 tires with a
> 700x25, if he rides on some crushed stone. At least the Chicane and
> Apex have wheels that have a good number of spokes, rather than the
> currently popular low count spoke wheels. Verify that the shop stress
> relieves and trues the wheels, before the bike goes out the door. If
> that is done, the wheels should be fine.
>
> If he is a smart kid, really interseted in biking, he can learn to
> maintain his bike, all by himself. Between Sheldon Brown and Park
> Tool, there is enough info online, to do any necessary maintenance.
>
> The bike is not a frajile jewel. If he is set on a Divinci, get him
> the Apex.
>
>
> Life is Good!
> Jeff

 

[Ryan Cousineau]

In article <[email protected]>,
Jeff Starr <[email protected]> wrote:

> On Sat, 9 Jul 2005 10:42:04 -0400, "Rick" <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> >My oldest son ( 16 ) is always on his bike. He bought a Schwinn Santa Monica
> >comfort bike last summer but he soon realized that it is not what he
> >wanted....
> >
> >But man this years he is pedaling like never before, and the bike fever
> >striked him again. Only that this time he wants to go up in quality and
> >toward a road bike. He visited a Devinci dealer last night and he his hooked
> >up on a Chicane. Keep in mind that he his paying for his bike so its out of
> >question for him to buy a Marinoni !!!
> >
> >Is this going to be a good day to day bike for him , or a fragile jewel that
> >he will regret within a few months ??
> >
> >Thanks for your input.
> >
> >
>
> Hi, I just took a look at Devinci's website. The bike look ok, my only
> concern would be that it has an 8- speed cassette and shifters. This
> will limit the availibilty of upgrades and parts availibility. Without
> knowing the price that he is going to pay, I can't say whether there
> are other options. Devinci is not one of the more mainstream brands.

Well, it's not Trek-sized, but it isn't boutique, either. DeVinci is a
Canadian bike, and around my city they're reasonably common in both the
road and MTB markets. A club-mate of mine rides one as his race bike,
and seems quite happy with it. He uses it instead of a pricier Orbea he
also owns, because it just fits him better.

> The bike is not a frajile jewel. If he is set on a Divinci, get him
> the Apex.

I am not wildly opposed to 8-speed. Most reasonable shops carry a
road-worthy selection of cassettes in 8 speed. It's not really an orphan
group.

Upgradability is a bit of a mug's game in some ways, since by the time
you start looking at something better than Sora equipment-wise, you're
probably likely to want something better than Tiagra, and are also
likely to want something better frame-wise.

In short, you'll probably want to retire the entirety of the current
bike in favour of a new machine whether you get Tiagra (9-speed) or Sora
(8-speed). If the price difference between the two machines is
significant, then I would recommend the cheaper one.

To give my specific case, I bought a used late-80s Pinarello with 105
6-speed, and the parts to upgrade it to a Sora-driven 8-speed all at
once. The resulting bike was subsequently upgraded with a carbon fork, a
lighter handlebar, and finally a set of moderately fancy wheels.

Then I bought a frame, fork, cranks, derailers and BB from one source.
That precpitated the purchase of a stem, bar, cable kit and shifters
from a second source, a 9-speed cassette from a third source, and
pulling a seatpost and seat out of my parts pile, and moving the
moderately fancy wheels onto the new bike.

Others who have built up their own bikes from parts will not be
surprised to learn that I have elided some of the more complicated
details of these transactions.

Whip it good,

--
Ryan Cousineau [email protected] http://www.wiredcola.com/
"I don't want kids who are thinking about going into mathematics
to think that they have to take drugs to succeed." -Paul Erdos

 

[Rick]

"Ryan Cousineau" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> In article <[email protected]>,
> Jeff Starr <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> On Sat, 9 Jul 2005 10:42:04 -0400, "Rick" <[email protected]> wrote:
>>
>> >My oldest son ( 16 ) is always on his bike. He bought a Schwinn Santa
>> >Monica
>> >comfort bike last summer but he soon realized that it is not what he
>> >wanted....
>> >
>> >But man this years he is pedaling like never before, and the bike fever
>> >striked him again. Only that this time he wants to go up in quality and
>> >toward a road bike. He visited a Devinci dealer last night and he his
>> >hooked
>> >up on a Chicane. Keep in mind that he his paying for his bike so its out
>> >of
>> >question for him to buy a Marinoni !!!
>> >
>> >Is this going to be a good day to day bike for him , or a fragile jewel
>> >that
>> >he will regret within a few months ??
>> >
>> >Thanks for your input.
>> >
>> >
>>
>> Hi, I just took a look at Devinci's website. The bike look ok, my only
>> concern would be that it has an 8- speed cassette and shifters. This
>> will limit the availibilty of upgrades and parts availibility. Without
>> knowing the price that he is going to pay, I can't say whether there
>> are other options. Devinci is not one of the more mainstream brands.
>
> Well, it's not Trek-sized, but it isn't boutique, either. DeVinci is a
> Canadian bike, and around my city they're reasonably common in both the
> road and MTB markets. A club-mate of mine rides one as his race bike,
> and seems quite happy with it. He uses it instead of a pricier Orbea he
> also owns, because it just fits him better.
>
>> The bike is not a frajile jewel. If he is set on a Divinci, get him
>> the Apex.
>
> I am not wildly opposed to 8-speed. Most reasonable shops carry a
> road-worthy selection of cassettes in 8 speed. It's not really an orphan
> group.
>
> Upgradability is a bit of a mug's game in some ways, since by the time
> you start looking at something better than Sora equipment-wise, you're
> probably likely to want something better than Tiagra, and are also
> likely to want something better frame-wise.
>
> In short, you'll probably want to retire the entirety of the current
> bike in favour of a new machine whether you get Tiagra (9-speed) or Sora
> (8-speed). If the price difference between the two machines is
> significant, then I would recommend the cheaper one.
>
> To give my specific case, I bought a used late-80s Pinarello with 105
> 6-speed, and the parts to upgrade it to a Sora-driven 8-speed all at
> once. The resulting bike was subsequently upgraded with a carbon fork, a
> lighter handlebar, and finally a set of moderately fancy wheels.
>
> Then I bought a frame, fork, cranks, derailers and BB from one source.
> That precpitated the purchase of a stem, bar, cable kit and shifters
> from a second source, a 9-speed cassette from a third source, and
> pulling a seatpost and seat out of my parts pile, and moving the
> moderately fancy wheels onto the new bike.
>
> Others who have built up their own bikes from parts will not be
> surprised to learn that I have elided some of the more complicated
> details of these transactions.
>
> Whip it good,
>
> --
> Ryan Cousineau [email protected] http://www.wiredcola.com/
> "I don't want kids who are thinking about going into mathematics
> to think that they have to take drugs to succeed." -Paul Erdos

There is $300.00 difference between a 8S and 9S cassette

The Chicane is 999.99 Canadian, Apex 1299.99

 

[Ryan Cousineau]

In article <[email protected]>,
"Rick" <[email protected]> wrote:

> "Ryan Cousineau" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> > In article <[email protected]>,
> > Jeff Starr <[email protected]> wrote:
> >
> >> On Sat, 9 Jul 2005 10:42:04 -0400, "Rick" <[email protected]> wrote:
> >>
> >> >My oldest son ( 16 ) is always on his bike. He bought a Schwinn Santa

> >> >But man this years he is pedaling like never before, and the bike fever
> >> >striked him again. Only that this time he wants to go up in quality and
> >> >toward a road bike. He visited a Devinci dealer last night and he his
> >> >hooked
> >> >up on a Chicane.

> >> Hi, I just took a look at Devinci's website. The bike look ok, my only
> >> concern would be that it has an 8- speed cassette and shifters. This
> >> will limit the availibilty of upgrades and parts availibility. Without
> >> knowing the price that he is going to pay, I can't say whether there
> >> are other options. Devinci is not one of the more mainstream brands.
> >
> > I am not wildly opposed to 8-speed. Most reasonable shops carry a
> > road-worthy selection of cassettes in 8 speed. It's not really an orphan
> > group.
> >
> > Upgradability is a bit of a mug's game in some ways, since by the time
> > you start looking at something better than Sora equipment-wise, you're
> > probably likely to want something better than Tiagra, and are also
> > likely to want something better frame-wise.
> >
> > In short, you'll probably want to retire the entirety of the current
> > bike in favour of a new machine whether you get Tiagra (9-speed) or Sora
> > (8-speed). If the price difference between the two machines is
> > significant, then I would recommend the cheaper one.
> >
> There is $300.00 difference between a 8S and 9S cassette
>
> The Chicane is 999.99 Canadian, Apex 1299.99

I would consider that a siginificant difference. Actually, I would
consider that an absurd difference. C$300 for a dubious wheel upgrade,
an unimportant crank/BB change, and a Sora-to-Tiagra conversion is money
poorly spent.

I recommend the Chicane. When your son has ridden it enough to wear out
the cassette, go to eBay and buy a drivetrain's worth of lightly-used
upgrades. Bet by then that Dura-Ace 9 groups will be
free-with-$100-purchase at Nashbar.

--
Ryan Cousineau [email protected] http://www.wiredcola.com/
"I don't want kids who are thinking about going into mathematics
to think that they have to take drugs to succeed." -Paul Erdos

 

[Jeff Starr]

On Sun, 10 Jul 2005 08:21:46 -0400, "Rick" <[email protected]> wrote:


>
>There is $300.00 difference between a 8S and 9S cassette
>
>The Chicane is 999.99 Canadian, Apex 1299.99
>

Hi, for that price, I would look at other brands, such as Trek and
Giant.
Here, take a look at the Trek 1200:
http://www2.trekbikes.com/Bikes/Road/Performance_Road/Alpha_Aluminum/1200/index.php


Life is Good!
Jeff