Author Topic: Recommend a new road bike for me! (Read 2147 times)

MillCreek · « **on:** February 28, 2006, 04:25:58 PM »

Several years ago, I gave away my last road bike and have been riding exclusively mountain bikes since. I am now thinking about doing the road/cross bike again for riding on paved roads and trails. Having not really kept up with the road bike scene in recent years, can anyone make any recommendations?

I am 5'10", 200 lbs. and have been riding for over thirty years. I can budget between $ 1500 and $ 2000 for this. Any brand and model suggestions are welcome. I want to have a pretty good idea of what I want before I go into a bike shop, if I buy from a bike shop. I am also familiar with fitting and am a fairly good bike mechanic, so I may buy online and assemble, fit and tune it myself, as I did with my last mountain bike.

Thanks for any suggestions.

Dannyboy · « **Reply #1 on:** February 28, 2006, 05:24:52 PM »

Last summer I bought a Litespeed Firenze for 2k. Full Ultegra, Mavic Cosmos wheels. I don't think I'll ever ride anything other than titanium again. Man, it is a smoothe ride. I highly recommend it.

zahc · « **Reply #2 on:** February 28, 2006, 05:52:33 PM »

*Is jealous*

If I wasn't such a poor college student with many competing, expensive hobbies, I'd have a whole fleet of bicycles.

Jamisjockey · « **Reply #3 on:** February 28, 2006, 05:57:11 PM »

You almost can't go wrong with anything in that pricerange. Go shop around! Make sure you get at least full Ultegra. Most of the alum. bikes will have carbon seatstays, which smooths the ride out a bit and cuts some weight. I think my Jamis (full Ultegra) weighs a whopping 19lbs with pedals.
If you're thinking online, check www.performancebike.com. They bought out Supergo.com and now are retailing thier Scattante bikes for a pretty good price.
CF frame, ultegra 10, $1400....
http://www.performancebike.com/shop/profile.cfm?SKU=21251&subcategory_ID=3040
DA 10 speed, CF frame...$2k
http://www.performancebike.com/shop/profile.cfm?SKU=21261&subcategory_ID=3040

MillCreek · « **Reply #4 on:** February 28, 2006, 06:23:41 PM »

I should probably add that I am most emphatically not looking for a Lance Armstrong race bike, but rather something comfortable that I can go for long rides on. And although it may sound like heresy, I still use the classic rat-trap pedals, not clipless. This is because back in 1997, I crashed my road bike, was unable to get my feet out of the pedals in time, and fractured my left hip. So I give up the efficiency of clipless for safety.

Hmm, that CF Scattante triple from Performance looks very interesting. I wonder how the carbon frames hold up?

Jamisjockey · « **Reply #5 on:** March 01, 2006, 08:29:35 AM »

Quote from: MillCreek

I should probably add that I am most emphatically not looking for a Lance Armstrong race bike, but rather something comfortable that I can go for long rides on. And although it may sound like heresy, I still use the classic rat-trap pedals, not clipless. This is because back in 1997, I crashed my road bike, was unable to get my feet out of the pedals in time, and fractured my left hip. So I give up the efficiency of clipless for safety.

Hmm, that CF Scattante triple from Performance looks very interesting. I wonder how the carbon frames hold up?

CF holds up fine unless you crash it....10 years + out of it is not uncommon.
Consider trying clipless again. This time, adjust the tension so that they release easier. SPD pedals come with adjustable tension that runs from easy to get in and out of to locked in solid. I run my MTB pedals very loose, but my road pedals are pretty tight.

Dannyboy · « **Reply #6 on:** March 01, 2006, 09:04:09 AM »

Try Speedplay pedals. Lots of float, two-sided entry, and they're really easy to get out of.

Jamisjockey · « **Reply #7 on:** March 01, 2006, 10:14:14 AM »

Quote from: Dannyboy

Try Speedplay pedals. Lots of float, two-sided entry, and they're really easy to get out of.

Brutal to walk in, though.

crt360 · « **Reply #8 on:** March 01, 2006, 11:02:30 AM »

The last time I busted my ass, it was because I couldn't get my foot off my SPD. I was going up a pretty steep hill, dropped a gear, lost my chain, cranks spun freely, bike lost momentum, couldn't put my foot down, fell sideways and slid a bit. At least I got a good laugh out of some kids who were standing nearby. I still use SPDs and generally like them, but I have loosened the release. If I ride long enough, sometimes I'll forget I'm using them. I still have big scars where I filleted my shins with sharp pointy bmx pedals as a kid (those round Hutch pedals should have been illegal).

zahc · « **Reply #9 on:** March 01, 2006, 02:45:20 PM »

Quote from: crt360

I still have big scars where I filleted my shins with sharp pointy bmx pedals as a kid (those round Hutch pedals should have been illegal).

I still do that on a weekly basis in the summer. Now that it's starting to get warm, my shins have stopped growing hair in anticipation. Little bikes are evil.

Jamisjockey · « **Reply #10 on:** March 02, 2006, 07:50:16 AM »

Quote from: zahc

Quote from: crt360

I still have big scars where I filleted my shins with sharp pointy bmx pedals as a kid (those round Hutch pedals should have been illegal).

I still do that on a weekly basis in the summer. Now that it's starting to get warm, my shins have stopped growing hair in anticipation. Little bikes are evil.

I just shave mine once a week as soon as the weather is warm enough to ride outside regularly.
Sat: 27 miles
Sun: 43 miles
busy all week, today I'm going to squeeze in about 30 miles. Rain in the forcast tomorrow, I'm hoping to ride Sat and Sun again this week.

'Little bikes' are fun but just not my cup of tea.

mtnbkr · « **Reply #11 on:** March 02, 2006, 08:40:45 AM »

Quote from: Dannyboy

Try Speedplay pedals. Lots of float, two-sided entry, and they're really easy to get out of.

There's a pedal similar to speedplay, but easier to walk in. I can't remember the brand (it's on my bike, but no markings). Anyway, they too have lots of float and are mechanically simple. I've been using them for years.

Chris

MillCreek · « **Reply #12 on:** March 02, 2006, 12:25:57 PM »

I went to the local Performance shop today to check out the Scattante CF bikes. They had a CF double on display. I took a spin around the lot, although it was two cm. too small, and it felt pretty lively. I was very impressed with the components, build quality and was astonished at the light weight. Those Ultegra components certainly were built and finished nicely. They reminded me of a Colt Royal Blue or something. The manager assured me that it would hold up to my 200 lb weight, and with the new resins and monocoque construction, the CF frames were stronger than aluminum. And just this morning, I received an email coupon from Performance for 10% off any online orders. Since the local stores did not have this model in stock, I came home and just pushed the button for the 2005 Scattante CF triple. With the coupon, tax and shipping, the out the door cost was about $ 1350. The 10% coupon covered the state sales tax plus a little extra. Not too darn shabby for full carbon fiber and full Ultegra, and especially since this is the 2005 model that sold for $ 2200 last year.

Jamisjockey · « **Reply #13 on:** March 02, 2006, 03:18:01 PM »

Not too shabby at all!
With a local performance shop, you could probably go get it dialed in, too (stem swap, et.al.).
I'm hoping to get one of the DA ones this year, and relegate my Jamis to winter riding and criteriums.

Dannyboy · « **Reply #14 on:** March 03, 2006, 08:46:16 AM »

Dude, that's a freakin phenominal deal!

Out of curiousity, who makes the Scattante bikes?

MillCreek · « **Reply #15 on:** March 03, 2006, 10:38:59 AM »

Scattante was the Supergo house brand, and when Performance bought out Supergo recently, Performance picked the brand up. Martec makes their carbon fiber frames along with EPX, Kestrel, Pedal Force, Argon, BP Stealth and some other manufacturers. I think I read on Bikeforums that Advanced, Topkey and Martec, all in Taiwan, make something like 90% + of all the carbon bike frames in the world.

You can read a lot of positive reviews on the Scattante brand: most people think they offer excellent componentry and build quality at a really good price. The downside is that the sticker on the side does not say "Trek" so it is lacking in the snob appeal. But as a middle-aged, straight, married healthcare executive, I have pretty much given up caring about such matters. If it works well and is a good value for the price, that is all I care about. Kind of the same reason that I have bought some Taurus handguns in recent years, even though I can afford whatever I want.

MillCreek · « **Reply #16 on:** March 06, 2006, 12:57:12 PM »

I must unhappily report that my Performance/Supergo/Scattante deal fell through. The Performance website took my order but then nothing happened. When I emailed them today for an update, I was told that the bikes were out of stock, and the website does not have a real-time inventory feature. Bummer.

So I ordered another bike from Bikes Direct: full Ultegra double, Kinesis aluminum frame with carbon fork and seatstays, and most of the other components Ritchey pro. $ 1095 delivered.

Jamisjockey · « **Reply #17 on:** March 06, 2006, 01:16:48 PM »

Watch the wheelset on that bike. That's where I've heard bad things about the bikes off bikesdirect, wheels. They often save money by using cheap wheelsets.

MillCreek · « **Reply #18 on:** March 06, 2006, 04:51:05 PM »

Here are the specs at 17.5 lbs:

Motobecane Grand Spirit

Frame

High Modulus CarbonFiber Mono-SeatStay
Kinesis Handmade Double-Butted 7005 Aluminum Main Frame with replaceable derailleur hanger and double water bottle brazeons.

Fork

Aero Kinesis Pro Carbon Fiber

Headset

Threadless Aheadset 1.125 inch Sealed Bearing

Derailleurs

Shimano NEW Ultegra 6600 20spd front and rear

Shifters

NEW Ultegra 6610 20spd STI

Brakes

NEW Shimano Ultegra BR6601

Hubs

Ritchey Comp OCR Sealed Bearing

Rims

Black Anodized Ritchey PRO DS OCR Technology, 20 Spoke front/24 Spoke rear, Machined Sidewalls for enhanced braking power

Crank

NEW Shimano Ultegra 6600 20spd 53/39T with integrated spindle and Bottom bracket

Cassette

NEW Ultegra 6600 20spd 12-23 T

Chain

NEW Ultegra CN-6600 20spd

Saddle

M-Wings Systeme Racing V-cut

Seatpost

Ritchey Comp Road 27.2x300mm blk

Handlebars

Ritchey BIOMAX II

Pedals

FREE BONUS PEDALS WITH PURCHASE OF BIKE: M-Wings Systeme clipless (cleats included) Compatible with SPDTYPE TWOBOLT Shoes
Tires    Kenda Road 700X23c
Color    Race Yellow or Pearl White
Sizes    50, 52, 54, 56, 58, 60, 62 cm

I will swap out the seat and pedals first thing. I read a lot online about Bikes Direct, and it seems like a pretty good option for someone who can fit and wrench their own bikes. They are a subsidiary of Cycle Spectrum, a 35 store chain in the Southwest.

For people who do not feel confident in fitting, wrenching and selecting out their own bikes, I have always recommended going to a LBS. I have bought three bicycles now online.

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Author Topic: Recommend a new road bike for me! (Read 2147 times)