Well, I have bought my wife a new bike and now it’s my turn. The Local Bike shop I go to carries some good brands, but even after trying them out recently I still can’t decide. My budget is approx $2,000.00 and the choices are between a Trek 5000, Ulterga 9 speed, Bontrager Race wheels; Giant TCR Compoiste 2, Ultegra 10, Shimano 550 wheels; Felt 55 Alum frame/Carbon rear, Easton wheels; Dura Ace 10; Orbea Vuelta Alum frame/carbon rear, Shimano 105 9 speed/FSA mix, Shimano 500 wheels. All of these bikes are probably better than I am but I just want to get a bike that I will be happy and content with for many more years. I need some help deciding and all of the bikes can fit me well. I really don’t know what is better than the others simply because they all are brand new and all work perfectly. Any advice or direction would be well appreciated. Thanks
Have you checked out the 2006 Quintana Roo Kilo? That’s a lot of bike for the money, and the money is less than $2000. www.rooworld.com
The Cervelo Dual is also very nice. www.cervelo.com
You don’t need to spend more than $1600 to get a good bike that will last a long time.
My vote goes to the F55, it is hard to beat a Dura Ace Equipped bike with FSA Carbon compact cranks and American Classic or Velomax Wheels, that bike is un-touchable in my book.
did I mention it is 10 speed DA, the choice is simple…
Caleb, he said “road bike,” which I would presume doesn’t mean tri/TT bike. But sure, the Dual is very attractive and I’m seriously thinking of getting a fitting for one.
As for road bikes, if it fits you the Giant Composite Limited series is an exceptional value. US$1900 for a TCR or OCR composite frame with Ultegra 10-speed. Didn’t Slowman say Giant is a scary company?
“he said “road bike,” which I would presume doesn’t mean tri/TT bike”
Opps. But does he intend to ride it in triathlons?
I do not intend to use it for Triathlons, however i have always liked Cervelo bikes. (for sure the Dual would be a great bike for Tri’s) It’s funny two of the replys read that Felt and Giant are great bikes and great deals for the money. When I tried the Felt it just looked fast, but I have to admit the 10 speed was just sick. It seemed to work much better than my wife’s 9 speed bike, particularly in the shifting. The only thing that held me back from getting the Felt is that the Giant Frame/ Fork was all carbon and it did ride really good. The Orbea did not seem to give me a lot for the money and the Trek did ride really good too, but it still had the 9 speed and the lower end Bontrager wheels which looked good, bit I was not crazy about so Felt and Giant did impress me a lot. Unfortunately, still undecided.
One very simple piece of advice. Get the best frame and fit possible. Components don’t matter. They’re a wet dream of some marketing executive. If you find you hate something, you can change it, but you can’t easily change your frame to something you know you’ll like better.
Wheels matter. If you come across a toss up, let the wheels be a tie-breaker. Then spend some money to make your interface your home. Get the perfect handlebar, tape, saddle, pedals and shoes for you.
IMHO, the Trek is the better frame of what is listed
don’t forget about the soloist centaur, which will provide versatility in the types of riding and racing you can do. also the frame was good enough (now replaced by carbon version) for csc to use in the tdf and other races.
if you’re not planning on racing it, then consider a nice steel frame for added comfort, such as a bianchi, or if lemond still has steel bikes within that price range.
I have the Giant Composite TCR Limited bike as my road bike and love it, very nice frame and it fits me perfect. . . but that is me. It is a good deal for the money. . .
Easy- The one that fits you best.
That said, if a Felt F55 with Shimano Dura-Ace 10 speed, FSA Compact Carbon Pro Cranks, A hand made carbon/aluminum frame, Ti rail saddle, carbon fork, carbon seatpost and Easton Velomax wheels fits you it is a good value at about $1600-$2000 depending on where you live. We recently had this bike on sale for $1599.99- that is what most comapnies are getting for a simple 7000 series aluminum frame with Ultegra 10 and a lot of down-spec on everything else. Heck, a Dura-Ace 10 speed kit would cost you at least $1300 to buy if you shopped around- this is a Dura-Ace *bike *with a nice frame, good wheels, it even has Vittoria tires- for $1599.99.
Again, the key is fit. Get measured and buy what fits. Then get a good positioning done on it. If you have a longish torso and prefer a steepish angle on a road bike (about 74 in core sizes cmpared to 73) then you may do well on the Felt F55. One thing for sure, it is a bargain.
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Just picked up an F55 yesterday. The bike totally flies-- I would have this be the default choice unless you can find something better!
A Cannondale R1000 would also be in budget. All carbon fork, 10spd Ultegra, and their top of the line aluminum CAAD8 frame (same as their top of the line aluminum models). Depends on what you want out of the bike though. Probably a bit stiffer than the Trek or Giant, but that could be good or bad depending on what you want.
I have seen a couple of really good deals lately on Cannondale, etc, but I did want to buy the bike at my local Bike shop which sell Giant, Trek, Felt, Orbea & KHS. They don’t sell LeMond, Cannondale or Cervelo. It limits me a little bit, but I am glad I posted this on Slowtwitch because I have gotten back some excellent feedback which will influence me. I have to test ride the bikes again but I think I can toss Orbea out of the mix for this price range (I know the Orca is fantastic, but too much $ for me) so I think it will be between the Felt, Giant and Trek. I am totally leaning toward the Felt. The bike just looks awesome, the gruppo is great and the Easton wheels look awesome. It feels pretty fast too. I just can’t really test it on a long ride and I hop the aluminum/ carbon mix would be good for those all day long rides. The other bikes are full carbon and I know they will be comfortable rides. Any more thoughts. Also one of the posts said that the Felt was selling at their place for $1599 and that is definitely more than a steal. I don’t see any company matching the value of the Felt Bikes right now.
If you don’t mind waiting a bit, go the “build it yourself” route. I’ve built the last 2 bikes I’ve bought (Lemond Poprad cyclocross with Campy Centaur and Cannondale race bike with Campy Chorus) for under $1k each (no wheels, I’ve got plenty of wheels).