Quote: Originally Posted by whimsical
Sorry to bug you guys again but I'm getting nervous about the price so here is ONE LAST Q about comparing bikes.
To reiterate, my preferences are speed + ease of ride. I will be riding primarily on flat ground (Chicago area near the lake) and I will occasionally be commuting to and from work (I will probably ask my office if there is somewhere safe I can keep it in the building). I am shooting to do a 35-mile ride and possibly a 60-miler by the end of the summer.
I guess I'm just not sure if I really NEED to be going for such a high-end bike at my (rather amateur-ish) level of riding. I WANT one, because I like shiny things and I like the idea of a super light, super fast bike, but I also don't want to needlessly burn almost $600.00 on something that is just way beyond my level.
First, I have both SHIMANO & SIDI shoes ...
ALL SIDI shoes are expensive ...
FWIW. [COLOR= rgb(24, 24, 24)]This is probably stating the obvious, but the Lakefront is FLAT and you can use ANY bike to negotiate the bike path OR for riding along Michigan Avenue ([/COLOR]to the south of Jackson Blvd. where I guess it becomes MLK Drive[COLOR= rgb(24, 24, 24)]) OR to the north where I recommend that you take LaSalle to Glenwood up to Ashland before you reach Morse and on to Chicago Avenue in Evanston to Sheridan Road and points North where you will encounter a rising elevation ... so ([/COLOR]IMO[COLOR= rgb(24, 24, 24)]) the decision should be based on your specific commuting needs rather than your non-commuting rides ...[/COLOR]
That is, the road surfaces in Chicago can be spotty, so a "touring" tire size of 700x28 or a CX tire size (700x32) OR even a heftier 700x42 "Hybrid" tire should probably be YOUR concern since comfort to-and-from work will be more meaningful in the long run (IMO) & would be MY first concern ...
You can ALWAYS put a smaller size tire in a frame which can accommodate a larger tire for the longer weekend rides ...
MOST Road bikes cannot be fitted with 700x28 tires ... and, for your commuting, THAT (or, larger) is the tire size you will probably want to use.
... so, if you are keen to buy a FUJI (great bikes) & PERFORMANCE BIKE is your LBS of choice then I think you may want to look into a Cyclocross bike because of the flexibility in the tire sizes which you will be able to use ... and, for the average rider (that's 99% of us), a Cyclocross bike will not be any slower than a Road bike if the wheels & tires are the same ...
http://www.performancebike.com/bikes/Product_10052_10551_1116766_-1_1692508__1692508
http://www.performancebike.com/bikes/Product_10052_10551_1117967_-1_1692508__1692508 Typically, you would choose a CX bike whose frame is ONE SIZE SMALLER than the Road bike which you would choose due to the higher top tube which results from the higher BB and/or larger tires ...
Between the two, because you are working with a budget, I would probably opt for the lesser of the two CX bikes which has the less expensive components ('I' like the fact that the CROSS 3.0 has a standard English BB shell + uses a standard 1 [SIZE= 10px]1/8" headset ... others may think that those are reasons not to choose that model[/SIZE]) ... and, buy another set of tires and/or wheelset for your FAST riding ...
Otherwise, the FUJI CROSS 2.0 is a marginally nicer bike than the FUJI CROSS 3.0 but whose $500 difference 'I' might spend to replace the alloy fork with a 'different' Carbon Fiber fork (e.g., possibly an overpriced Alpha Q CX fork but probably a more mundane Carbon Fiber CX fork for under $200 through eBay) only if I found the alloy fork to be less than ideal (which may not be the case) ... plus, whatever other FUTURE changes I might deem to be necessary ...
So, just where are the longer rides going to take place?
If it will be hilly terrain (e.g., around Galena), then definitely get the Campagnolo shifters ...
[*] the only (?) nuisance is that in addition to the 5mm Allen Wrench which you will need to remove the Shimano shifters, you will need a T25 Wrench for 11-speed Campagnolo shifters ...
Sorry to bug you guys again but I'm getting nervous about the price so here is ONE LAST Q about comparing bikes.
To reiterate, my preferences are speed + ease of ride. I will be riding primarily on flat ground (Chicago area near the lake) and I will occasionally be commuting to and from work (I will probably ask my office if there is somewhere safe I can keep it in the building). I am shooting to do a 35-mile ride and possibly a 60-miler by the end of the summer.
---
I guess I'm just not sure if I really NEED to be going for such a high-end bike at my (rather amateur-ish) level of riding. I WANT one, because I like shiny things and I like the idea of a super light, super fast bike, but I also don't want to needlessly burn almost $600.00 on something that is just way beyond my level.
First, I have both SHIMANO & SIDI shoes ...
ALL SIDI shoes are expensive ...
- SIDI shoes tend to run smaller than Shimano for the same numerical size, but possibly not always ...
- SIDI MTB shoes are basically their Road shoe uppers with the cleats either molded into the sole or bonded-or-attached to the sole ...
- SHIMANO makes shoes in the broadest possible price range & in a significantly larger variety of styles.
FWIW. [COLOR= rgb(24, 24, 24)]This is probably stating the obvious, but the Lakefront is FLAT and you can use ANY bike to negotiate the bike path OR for riding along Michigan Avenue ([/COLOR]to the south of Jackson Blvd. where I guess it becomes MLK Drive[COLOR= rgb(24, 24, 24)]) OR to the north where I recommend that you take LaSalle to Glenwood up to Ashland before you reach Morse and on to Chicago Avenue in Evanston to Sheridan Road and points North where you will encounter a rising elevation ... so ([/COLOR]IMO[COLOR= rgb(24, 24, 24)]) the decision should be based on your specific commuting needs rather than your non-commuting rides ...[/COLOR]
That is, the road surfaces in Chicago can be spotty, so a "touring" tire size of 700x28 or a CX tire size (700x32) OR even a heftier 700x42 "Hybrid" tire should probably be YOUR concern since comfort to-and-from work will be more meaningful in the long run (IMO) & would be MY first concern ...
You can ALWAYS put a smaller size tire in a frame which can accommodate a larger tire for the longer weekend rides ...
MOST Road bikes cannot be fitted with 700x28 tires ... and, for your commuting, THAT (or, larger) is the tire size you will probably want to use.
... so, if you are keen to buy a FUJI (great bikes) & PERFORMANCE BIKE is your LBS of choice then I think you may want to look into a Cyclocross bike because of the flexibility in the tire sizes which you will be able to use ... and, for the average rider (that's 99% of us), a Cyclocross bike will not be any slower than a Road bike if the wheels & tires are the same ...
http://www.performancebike.com/bikes/Product_10052_10551_1116766_-1_1692508__1692508
http://www.performancebike.com/bikes/Product_10052_10551_1117967_-1_1692508__1692508 Typically, you would choose a CX bike whose frame is ONE SIZE SMALLER than the Road bike which you would choose due to the higher top tube which results from the higher BB and/or larger tires ...
Between the two, because you are working with a budget, I would probably opt for the lesser of the two CX bikes which has the less expensive components ('I' like the fact that the CROSS 3.0 has a standard English BB shell + uses a standard 1 [SIZE= 10px]1/8" headset ... others may think that those are reasons not to choose that model[/SIZE]) ... and, buy another set of tires and/or wheelset for your FAST riding ...
- the 50cm CROSS 3.0 should work for you ... you may-or-may-not want a longer stem
- if the Tiagra shifters are an issue, then swap them out for a pair of CAMPAGNOLO shifters ...
- change other components as necessary ONLY if necessary ...
Otherwise, the FUJI CROSS 2.0 is a marginally nicer bike than the FUJI CROSS 3.0 but whose $500 difference 'I' might spend to replace the alloy fork with a 'different' Carbon Fiber fork (e.g., possibly an overpriced Alpha Q CX fork but probably a more mundane Carbon Fiber CX fork for under $200 through eBay) only if I found the alloy fork to be less than ideal (which may not be the case) ... plus, whatever other FUTURE changes I might deem to be necessary ...
So, just where are the longer rides going to take place?
If it will be hilly terrain (e.g., around Galena), then definitely get the Campagnolo shifters ...
- buy the Campagnolo shifters off of eBay ... resell the Tiagra shifters on eBay, ASAP after getting the bike!
[*] the only (?) nuisance is that in addition to the 5mm Allen Wrench which you will need to remove the Shimano shifters, you will need a T25 Wrench for 11-speed Campagnolo shifters ...