New to road bikes, choice of 3...?

TheMasterG

Hi,

I've been cycling for years, consistenly commuting mostly and did lots of MTB a couple of years ago, I'm 29 now. Been knocking out about 5k a year last couple of years on MTB as a commute, about 12 miles each way taking 40 mins through city. Aerobically I'm at a good high fitness level but still, no road cyclist. (prob makes no difference for choosing a bike anyhoo).

Changing to road bike anyway as the MTB just can't do that mileage, blown shocks again for a start, shoulda changed years ago but anyways.

LBS has 3 options for my price range, would appreciate advice on which and why

1) Trek 1000 (Discovery)
2) Giant SCR 3
3) Specialized Allez

I know all have similiar enough components and Sora is fairly sh1t for standing up to mileage it seems but I'm hoping they will upgrade components for me, will prob upgrade wheels to get these sealed bearing type ones due to mileage and the fact that i don't get time for regular maintenance.

Thanks in advance,

G

roadmanmad

All these bike are good starter bikes or for the user who is going to use them periodically.

Between them there are slight differences, and none would be greatly different from the other.

I would suggest that you approach all the shops. Tell them how much you want to spent. But if there was a good deal at the right price, you could take your price up a bit.

The bike manufacturers and distributers are preparing for 2007. There may be a few 2006 models left over with a higher spec that you could take if the price was right. try to capilise on this and good luck.

Raam

I was in a situation not dissimilar to yourself; commuting on an MTB for a year and a bit, not quite the same distance, year younger (possibly better looking too? ). A few months ago I decided the time was right to get a road bike as I wasn't going out to MTB as often as I used to. Also, I wanted to be able to go faster!
I hummed and hawwed over two bikes, the Specialized Allez Elite and a Cannondale equivalent (can't remember the model).
In the I went for the Specialized, because I liked the look of it. It's a good bike and I'm glad I bought it (did 85km on it today). I did have some trouble with my bottom bracket, but that was replaced for free by Specialized. The bike feels pretty good and handles well. And it's a lot faster and easier to cycle than my MTB. Would I buy it again if I could go back in time? Yeah, I reckon I would.
Happy bike shopping!

P

Captain Trips

I got a Cannodale R700 CAAD5 at a good discount from Cycleways recently, awesome bike. It has 105 groupset and goes like a bullet. I did consider the Spec Allez range but the Cannondale looked so good http://abcycle.com/images/library/large/can_6r700_red_06_m.jpg

I also know nothing about road bikes as I've also only been commuting for a year (around 30km/day) on a hybrid and wanted to get into some "sport" type of cycling.

Have a look at www.bikeforums.net. Every bike is analysed to death.

The Allez was around €300 less, but I got the Cannondale as I can pretend I'm in the 2000 tour de france!!!

Go for a spin on each one, and make sure the seat is properly adjusted - the road bikes go forward and back as well as up and down I found (!).

I would also recommend including some cash for clipless pedals. I hit 60kmph on the N11 last week on it, and no way could I have maintained stability of my feet at that speed on platforms.

beans

For what it's worth, Sora is not a bad group and will stand up to mileage just fine. Once you keep the cables etc adjusted, you'll be shifting crisply for as long as you have the bike.

blorg

I doubt they will upgrade the groupset for you on a Sora bike; it just doesn't make sense when you could just buy the next model up with Tiagra/105 for substantially less extra money than the cost of the new groupset. STI shifters in particular are criminally expensive. So I'd consider looking for a bike that comes stock as close as possible has what you actually want; it's just going to be cheaper than upgrading at purchase time (upgrading later is a different matter.)

Having said that the only one I have personal experience with is a Trek 1000 (all Sora) which was my first and only road bike. Very happy with it and found it a nice fast bike, unfortunately however my back did not agree. Currently ride a Specialized touring bike with mostly 105 which would be slower but more comfortable. You will go just as fast on Sora as anything else, especially starting out, it is in any case going to have a lot more to do with your legs than your groupset.

Probably most important is going to be the fit so ideally you would take each of them for a test ride, ideally a longish one, so you can get some idea of what's going to be comfortable for you. Especially if you are coming from MTB as it's going to be a quite different riding position.