Raleigh bikes

Rolandfernandez said:

Are raleigh bucycles a good bike? i want to puchase a road bike and i am thinking about buying a raleigh prestige. its great for my price range, but is it worth it?

Some Raleighs are better than others ...

The Raleigh Prestige is a very good bike for a very good price ...
[INDENT]BIKE TESTS: RALEIGH PRESTIGE

Raleigh USA Bicycle Company Prestige Reviews
[/INDENT]BTW. Aren't you afraid of outgrowing the bike's frame by this time, next year?

alfeng said:

BTW. Aren't you afraid of outgrowing the bike's frame by this time, next year?

Do you mean by height and size because i'm only sixteen and have room to grow? Then no. I am all ready 6'1" and will probably not grow any more.

And thank you for the links. they were helpful

Rolandfernandez said:

Do you mean by height and size because i'm only sixteen and have room to grow? Then no. I am all ready 6'1" and will probably not grow any more.

Yes ...

While I knew people who did not grow any more after they were about 16, I knew a lot of people who continued to grow until they were 19, or 20.

FWIW. While an individual who is 6'1" might choose a frame with a 57cm top tube, I think that if you get the Raleigh (or, any other bike) that you should probably consider the slightly larger frame with the 58cm top tube. The components which come on the 'LG' frame are better suited to the taller rider than the 'MD/LG' frame, IMO.

alfeng said:

FWIW. While an individual who is 6'1" might choose a frame with a 57cm top tube, I think that if you get the Raleigh (or, any other bike) that you should probably consider the slightly larger frame with the 58cm top tube. The components which come on the 'LG' frame are better suited to the taller rider than the 'MD/LG' frame, IMO.

You have an exellent opinion on that. i'll keep that in mind when i purchase. Thank you. but now back to the bike. is it a good deal? It is only $3200, and for that price it is a full carbon frame, seat post and fork. and also it is grouped with sram force components. Are there any bikes that can beat that price and value?

I have a slightly older Raleigh Prestige frame - a 2005 model. It's not the lightest or stiffest frame (far from flexy though) out there but it has a nice geometry with a slightly longer top tube than most for the frame size, which puts the front wheel a little further out front and makes for a great bike for the long, steep downhills.

It's a frame that's seems to have been designed by someone who likes to ride bikes rather than a bunch of dweebs that fret over numbers all day...

Rolandfernandez said:

... but now back to the bike. is it a good deal? It is only $3200, and for that price it is a full carbon frame, seat post and fork. and also it is grouped with sram force components. Are there any bikes that can beat that price and value?

Is $3200 a good value? Well, yes & no ...

Knowing what I know AND based on my personal preference for steel bicycle frames (I've got a pretty nice carbon fiber bike + numerous bikes with steel frames and a couple of bikes with aluminum frames), I would strongly suggest that you consider a bike like the new RALEIGH RECORD ACE ($1900 MSRP) -- a much better value in more ways than you might imagine at first blush ...

The principle reason I would consider the Record Ace over the Prestige is for my fore mentinoned preference for almost any bike with a steel frame ...

Secondarily, I'm not keen on SRAM's customer service in North America ... and, while there are certainly positive things to say about the SRAM components, a few years of real world use (by others) have revealed some easily fixable (IMO) quirks which have not been addressed, yet ...
[INDENT]Consequently, if I were to buy any bike which had SRAM shifters (which means it would have SRAM derailluers), then 'I' would pull the shifters & sell them on eBay AND THEN replace them with a pair of CAMPAGNOLO (non-QS, non-PowerTorque) 10-speed shifters (undoubtedly unintended, but the 10-speed Campagnolo shifters can be made to index to almost any drivetrain with only minimal/-or-zero effort).
[/INDENT]The RALEIGH RECORD ACE has Shimano components. I love Shimano components, but my preference for Campagnolo shifters means that I would probably swap the Shimano shifters for Campagnolo shifters ONLY BECAUSE I'm not a Flatlander & being able to efficiently downshift on Mountain Roads is an important consideration for me.
[INDENT]I use Campagnolo shifters with Shimano derailleurs, BTW.
[/INDENT]So, if I had $3200 to spend, then I would buy the Raleigh Record Ace ... and, bank the balance.

If you don't like the leather Brooks Swallow saddle which the Record Ace comes with, then resell it on eBay (I would certainly give you $100+ for it, and others might give you much more).

After a few months, if you decide you don't like the Record Ace, then you could buy one of those CHINESE CARBON FIBER frames which is being discussed in other threads in the Forum (cost is under $500US) ... move the majority of parts from the Raleigh onto it, and (presuming you keep the frame as close to pristine as possible) sell the Raleigh frame for several hundred dollars OR (if you can look ahead 20 years) keep the frame & rebuild it with 'new' (in 2030) components and enjoy how nice a good steel bicycle frame is.

Your gross cost if you bought the Raleigh Record Ace + a Chinese CF frame would be in the $2600 range ... your net cost could be closer to $2000, or less, if you sold the saddle & steel frame.

OF COURSE, if you want to, you could just start with the Chinese CF frameset, add the component group of your choice (i.e., I thought SRAM was going to introduce cosmetically restyled shifters THIS YEAR, BTW, which also "fixed" some of the easily fixed nuisance problems ... but, I guess one of hte managers probably ordered too many parts which are unsold & floating around in some warehouse due to an over anticipation of OEM demand) + a set of wheels ...

You should be able to build as nice a bike as the Raleigh Prestige (AND, as nice as a lot of most of the ready-to-ride CF bikes) for about $2000 +/- ... the Chinese CF bikes just won't have the decal set on it (I know people who strip the decals off their high-zoot CF frames).

So, is $3200 a good value? Well, yes & no.

BTW. Between July 1st & September 1st (or, thereabouts), you should knock 20+ percent off the MSRP of an off-the-peg/ready-to-ride bike from the current calendar year (i.e., 2010). Knock 30 percent off off a NOS bike from the prior calendar year (i.e., 2009) & 40 percent off a two year old (NOS) bike (i.e., 2008) which an LBS has in their inventory ...

So, if you happen to be looking at a 2010 Prestige, it will hopefully have an out-the-door price of about $2500, or less, at this moment in time.

Alfeng is right on the money about the pricing. Wait a couple of weeks and you might save a little if they have the bike in stock.

I prefer steel too, but it is not for everyone. The key to getting the bike that you want is to test ride them and see if it is what excites you. If a certain bike really moves you(pun intended), that is the one to go for.

I agree with Alfeng also concerning Sram's customer service in North America, although they seem to have improved a little. At least they will now acknowledge that you tired to contact them. I prefer Shimano (with Shimano brifters by the way). Campy is good but will add to the price of the bike.

And about growth, you are 6'1" at 16. I don't know many people who had stopped growing at age 16. I will bet that you are 6'3" when you stop growing. You are probably not growing much right now, but there are growth cycles and at 16, you are probably in between them. I'll bet that you start growing slowly again sometime around 17 and not stop until you hit 19 or so.

Rolandfernandez said:

Are raleigh bucycles a good bike? i want to puchase a road bike and i am thinking about buying a raleigh prestige. its great for my price range, but is it worth it?

Have had a test ride on the Raleigh? What made you single out the Raleigh? Have you looked at other bikes?

$3200 is no small amount of change to doll out on a bike whose frame you'll likely outgrow in a year, maybe two. When that time comes, you'll likely be shocked by the resale value of your frame or bike (if you sell it whole), and by shocked, I don't mean in a pleasant way. Given that, you might want to consider looking at other options that are a bit less pricey. There are a veritable fecal load of such bikes out there. Also, I wouldn't focus on frame material. Being made of CF, steel, Ti, or aluminum is not what defines a good bike, nor does it define how that bike performs.

I don't think I can over emphasize the importance of a test ride, especially given your riding experience. A sexy, expensive bike can feel like [censored] if it doesn't suit the rider.