The All Things Cycling Thread

#3,280
#3,280
awesome looking bike. I know you said you spent a little over $1500 on it. What would I be getting out of a $2500 or even $3000 bike that I won't get in this bike?

I love my Specialized Rockhopper and so naturally looking at road bikes, I'm looking at the Specialized models first, but I just don't know enough about price differences and what I need.

I want something comfortable and easy to ride. I'd like to build up to getting 100 miles in a day and maybe one day doing a half tri or something similar.
 
#3,281
#3,281
I spent $1,500 (for a $1,800 bike). I wanted a carbon frame and went with an entry level carbon bike. I'm not overly concerned with components.

The price difference is mostly components(shifters, derailleurs, brakes, brake levers, etc) and the frame(carbon, aluminum, steel).

All depends on what you want to do. Just riding, triathlons, competitions, etc.

For 3 grand, you'd get a lighter carbon frame and better components.
 
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#3,283
#3,283
volfanbill said:
awesome looking bike. I know you said you spent a little over $1500 on it. What would I be getting out of a $2500 or even $3000 bike that I won't get in this bike?

I love my Specialized Rockhopper and so naturally looking at road bikes, I'm looking at the Specialized models first, but I just don't know enough about price differences and what I need.

I want something comfortable and easy to ride. I'd like to build up to getting 100 miles in a day and maybe one day doing a half tri or something similar.
Click to expand...

Like Yankee said, frame and components. You'll also get nicer wheels which make a huge difference.
 
#3,285
#3,285
thanks. I guess what I actually meant was how nice do I need to get component, frame, etc wise? I'm never going to be a famous cyclist, but I want something good too. How do I know where the happy medium for me is?
 
#3,286
#3,286
volfanbill said:
thanks. I guess what I actually meant was how nice do I need to get component, frame, etc wise? I'm never going to be a famous cyclist, but I want something good too. How do I know where the happy medium for me is?
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Shimano 105 and up is generally what I suggest, or SRAM Apex.
 
#3,289
#3,289
One of my former Soldiers used to ride all the time and swears by Cervelo, but even their entry level bikes are high priced. I just want to ride comfortably and not want to upgrade in three months. I can always upgrade most components outside the frame though right? What are the costs there?
 
#3,290
#3,290
You can build a bike from the frame up if you really wanted to. Components are pretty easy to upgrade.

The best thing to do is to go to a bike store or 2 and ride a few different bikes and see what you like best.

There's all kinds of brands out there: Felt, Trek, Scott, Specialized, Diamondback, Pinarello, etc, etc.
 
#3,292
#3,292
volfanbill said:
what about wheels and tires? How often do you replace tires?
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Depends on the tire really. The conventional wisdom is that your road bike tires last anywhere from 1,000 to 3,000 miles. High-end tires should last at least 2,500 miles. Racing tires, which are designed for speed and high-performance, may need replacing after 1,000 miles, but tough touring tires can last as long as 4,000 miles.

Keeping the correct PSI obviously helps. Also just inspect them before and after a ride for wear.
 
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#3,293
#3,293
thanks for all the input. I'm just a giant nerd (realize Yank, I'm just a mere Signal Corp guy) so I always like to know everything before I go into something. But all this is completely foreign to me.
 
#3,294
#3,294
volfanbill said:
One of my former Soldiers used to ride all the time and swears by Cervelo, but even their entry level bikes are high priced. I just want to ride comfortably and not want to upgrade in three months. I can always upgrade most components outside the frame though right? What are the costs there?
Click to expand...

Skip Cervelo. They have a lot of fanboys, but they do some really stupid stuff (ie BBRight) and they aren't even the most aero road bikes anymore. They're reserved for dentists that have more money than sense.
 
#3,295
#3,295
volfanbill said:
thanks for all the input. I'm just a giant nerd (realize Yank, I'm just a mere Signal Corp guy) so I always like to know everything before I go into something. But all this is completely foreign to me.
Click to expand...

I hear ya. I don't know all that much really. I've wanted to get a road bike for awhile and had done a bit of research before I finally pulled the trigger on getting a road bike recently.
 
#3,297
#3,297
An oversimplification, but in assessing what kind of bike to get, I would break the options down as follows:

frame = comfort of ride

components = ease of use, weight

wheels = performance
 
#3,299
#3,299
volfanbill said:
this is the one I keep looking at:

Specialized Bicycle Components

yay, nay? overpriced, underpriced?
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Overpriced. You should pay $1900 for a bike equipped with Shimano 105, not Sora. Sora is 2 levels below 105 and only 9 speed, so upgrading things like the crank or cassette down the line would not be easy. You're essentially paying for disc brakes, and road wheels with disc brakes are few and far between, also.

I would suggest a traditional road bike with caliper brakes like this:
http://m.specialized.com/us/en/bikes/road/roubaix/roubaix-sl4-sport-105-
 
#3,300
#3,300
VOLatile said:
Overpriced. You should pay $1900 for a bike equipped with Shimano 105, not Sora. Sora is 2 levels below 105 and only 9 speed, so upgrading things like the crank or cassette down the line would not be easy. You're essentially paying for disc brakes, and road wheels with disc brakes are few and far between, also.

I would suggest a traditional road bike with caliper brakes like this:
Specialized Bicycle Components
Click to expand...

Thanks. That's the stuff I don't know. The difference between all of those.
 
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