new bike suggestions

[wyllisx2]

Hi I am planning on making the jump from a Mongoose MTB bought at ****'s Sporting Goods store (for those outside US this a major reatil chain). I did change to road friendly tires & better pedals. I am a road rider that puts in about 4 days a week but I'm not a road warrior.

I'm 6 feet tall & am considering a road bike or a touring bike.

I have no brand preference. I do have a limited budget of $750.00 delivered or picked up by me. Less wouldn't be bad.

I have visited some local bike shops to look & find that my eye always driftes to bikes selling for $2500+.

So if you you could help with some suggestions I'd appreciate it. If I do go buy a bike for $2500.00 I'll end up with a $7500.00 divorce lawyer bill to go with it. That & I am pretty sure that seats are much more comfortable on the outside of my buttocks.

 

[Randybaker99]

My recommendation at that price is the Specialized Allez Elite:

http://www.specialized.com/SBCBkModel.jsp?spid=5965

Or the the Felt F80:

http://www.feltusa.com/2004_bikes/f80.html

I am sure there are some others, from Trek and Giant.

I hope you find something that you really like.

 

[Postie]

Originally posted by wyllisx2
Hi I am planning on making the jump from a Mongoose MTB bought at ****'s Sporting Goods store (for those outside US this a major reatil chain). I did change to road friendly tires & better pedals. I am a road rider that puts in about 4 days a week but I'm not a road warrior.

I'm 6 feet tall & am considering a road bike or a touring bike.

I have no brand preference. I do have a limited budget of $750.00 delivered or picked up by me. Less wouldn't be bad.

I have visited some local bike shops to look & find that my eye always driftes to bikes selling for $2500+.

So if you you could help with some suggestions I'd appreciate it. If I do go buy a bike for $2500.00 I'll end up with a $7500.00 divorce lawyer bill to go with it. That & I am pretty sure that seats are much more comfortable on the outside of my buttocks.

I also like RandyBaker99's choices.

I've steered several friends to the Giant Iguana for a bike in this price range. Each one of them has been thrilled with it. I have no less then a half dozen reviews from magazines that rate it the best buy for the cash. And for $750, you can save enough on the bike to buy a good pair of gloves to go along with it.

 

[Postie]

Originally posted by Postie
I also like RandyBaker99's choices.

I've steered several friends to the Giant Iguana for a bike in this price range. Each one of them has been thrilled with it. I have no less then a half dozen reviews from magazines that rate it the best buy for the cash. And for $750, you can save enough on the bike to buy a good pair of gloves to go along with it.

I apologize.

I see today that you specifically said road or touring bike and I recommended a mountain bike. I thought you were just looking for a good overall bike.

Personally, I love my road bike much more then my mountain bike. However, if I had to pick just one bike to own, where I live I'd want a mountain bike because they are so versatile.

Given the fact that you've specified a road bike, one other bike I've seen for around that amount which is actually quite nice is the Lemond Reno.

http://www.lemondbikes.com/2004_bikes/reno.jsp

 

[fushman]

Originally posted by wyllisx2
Hi I am planning on making the jump from a Mongoose MTB bought at ****'s Sporting Goods store (for those outside US this a major reatil chain). I did change to road friendly tires & better pedals. I am a road rider that puts in about 4 days a week but I'm not a road warrior.

I'm 6 feet tall & am considering a road bike or a touring bike.

I have no brand preference. I do have a limited budget of $750.00 delivered or picked up by me. Less wouldn't be bad.

I have visited some local bike shops to look & find that my eye always driftes to bikes selling for $2500+.

So if you you could help with some suggestions I'd appreciate it. If I do go buy a bike for $2500.00 I'll end up with a $7500.00 divorce lawyer bill to go with it. That & I am pretty sure that seats are much more comfortable on the outside of my buttocks.

id say cdale, even with their sub 1000 number models youre getting a caad 7 or caad 5 frame which is awesome

 

[Doctor Morbius]

Originally posted by Postie
...I love my road bike much more then my mountain bike. However, if I had to pick just one bike to own, where I live I'd want a mountain bike because they are so versatile...

Agreed. Absolutely.

 

[fushman]

Originally posted by Doctor Morbius
Agreed. Absolutely.

um i think road and touring suggests a road or touring bike, harldy a mtb

 

[Doctor Morbius]

Originally posted by wyllisx2
Hi I am planning on making the jump from a Mongoose MTB bought at ****'s Sporting Goods store (for those outside US this a major reatil chain). I did change to road friendly tires & better pedals. I am a road rider that puts in about 4 days a week but I'm not a road warrior.

I'm 6 feet tall & am considering a road bike or a touring bike.

I have no brand preference. I do have a limited budget of $750.00 delivered or picked up by me. Less wouldn't be bad.

I have visited some local bike shops to look & find that my eye always driftes to bikes selling for $2500+.

So if you you could help with some suggestions I'd appreciate it. If I do go buy a bike for $2500.00 I'll end up with a $7500.00 divorce lawyer bill to go with it. That & I am pretty sure that seats are much more comfortable on the outside of my buttocks.

Something you may want to take into consideration on your purchase is future upgradability.

If you buy a bike for around $750, it will probably come with Sora or Tiagra components. I don't think you can upgrade it to 105 or Ultegra without a serious and expensive overhaul. If you find a closeout deal on an older model (or a good used bike) it could very well come with 105 and they should be interchangable with Ultegra and (I belive) Dura-Ace.

I don't think you'll find a Campy equipped bike for $750 but I could be wrong.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[wyllisx2]

Thanks for all the suggestions. They all look good to me but they do all have Tiagra &/or Sora components. At least for the rear derailleur they all have 105s.

Is there a problem with the Tiagra or Sora components?

If I could find a really good used bike with better components I'd consider that too.

 

[Postie]

Originally posted by wyllisx2
Thanks for all the suggestions. They all look good to me but they do all have Tiagra &/or Sora components. At least for the rear derailleur they all have 105s.

Is there a problem with the Tiagra or Sora components?

If I could find a really good used bike with better components I'd consider that too.

Practically every bike shop will say that if you want a bike that you can enter a race with, you have to go with a minimum of 105. However what I love is when someone that is serious about riding but doesn't have a lot of money shows up at a race with a bike spec'd with Tiagra and beats half the guys spec'd with Ultegra. The biggest performance gain is in your body.

However, what should be known about Sora is that it is 8 speed and the shifters are completely different while the rest is 9 speed from Tiagra up.

Tiagra is still good stuff however as you go up the component groups, the components will shave weight, perform a "bit" better, and wear less quickly. Of course this comes at a cost.

The preferred method of purchasing a new bike on a budget is get the best frame you can for the money. You can always replace components with better ones as they wear out. However don't buy with the "intent" of upgrading the components as a way of improving the bike (ie, replace components as you can afford them as opposed to as they wear out) because components cost 4x as much to upgrade as opposed to just buying upfront on a better bike.

 

[tacomee]

Sora is a good drivetrain-- a bit clunky, but it works. Shopping around you should find a good bike for around $450 US. It won't win races, but you can ride it for fun without much trouble.

For $750 US you should look for 105 stuff. The bike will be a bit lighter and shift way smoother. Is the upgrade worth the money? Not for me personally, but I do have a lot of friends who disagree with me.

 

[wyllisx2]

Thanks again.

Ultimately I want to have a bike that fits me better than what I have now. I tend to have to sit back on my seat all the time.

Smoother & accurate shifting is very important to me.

Those 2 things above are what have me looking in the first place. Well that & road gearing.

Today I shall make my first LBS stop to get fitted.

 

[wyllisx2]

Well I got fitted, sort of. Overall the shop which should have been good, wasn't.

I did try a couple of Cannondale R400 & R500s. Theye were ok. I compared them too a couple of Giants & really liked a 2003 OCR1. But out of my price range at $1k.

The OCR1 did have all 105 which I did notice the difference with the shifting.

The most shocking thing for me was the drop bars. Having ridden a flat bar bike for awhile now the drop bars seem strange. That'll take some adjustment on my part.

 

[gregski]

If you are careful and do your homework, check out some bikes on eBay. I just purchased a gorgeous Giant TCR2 there for 600.00. Also, do a search in the forums on the Windsor brand. Seem to be alot of bike for the money. Have fun!

 

[Doctor Morbius]

Originally posted by fushman
um i think road and touring suggests a road or touring bike, harldy a mtb

I wasn't making a suggestion. I was simply agreeing with Postie's statement.

This is a suggestion. Learn how to type.

 

[fushman]

Originally posted by Doctor Morbius
I wasn't making a suggestion. I was simply agreeing with Postie's statement.

This is a suggestion. Learn how to type.

old people are so boring and predicatable

anyways, why attack my typing, i mean you should be more understanding, cause didnt you say you were a cripple or something

 

[gregski]

Originally posted by fushman
old people are so boring and predicatable

I'd rather be old and boring than pompous and immature.

 

[fushman]

Originally posted by gregski
I'd rather be old and boring than pompous and immature.

its not like you have a choice tho, why dont you have a heart attack or something and shut up

 

[gregski]

Originally posted by fushman
its not like you have a choice tho, why dont you have a heart attack or something and shut up

WOW....now you're adding complete idiot to your resume. You damn near put a complete sentence together. Go to bed sonny. I think your mommy is calling.

OK group, I think I will just ignore whatever juvenile remarks he posts from here on. It's kids like this that really give forums a bad name. I am sorry that I responded like I did.

And now, back to our regularly scheduled programming.