Choosing a New Bike :) - Now Mike's Avanti DR1

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Vilante
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Choosing a New Bike :) - Now Mike's Avanti DR1

Post by Vilante »

So it's nearly time to choose a new bike, I'm about 4 or 5 weeks away from smuggling $1,800.00 away which is about what I want to spend on a new steed.

I've been looking at an endurance style bike.

So far all I've done is heaps of Googling. It seems I'm looking at a current bike with a carbon frame and a 105 groupset or I could jag a sale bike from 2013 or 2014 with Ultegra. Most of the time they only seem to be in large or small sizes, but once in a while I see one in medium or m/l which is what I think I'll be.

So is the best bet to just start to go and test ride things now? Just head into bike shops on my bike and ask to ride their endurance bikes in that price range?

Any tips before I begin?

I'm excited :)
Last edited by Vilante on Thu Feb 12, 2015 9:13 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Choosing a New Bike :)

Post by CLP »

Vilante wrote:So it's nearly time to choose a new bike, I'm about 4 or 5 weeks away from smuggling $1,800.00 away which is about what I want to spend on a new steed.

I've been looking at an endurance style bike.

So far all I've done is heaps of Googling. It seems I'm looking at a current bike with a carbon frame and a 105 groupset or I could jag a sale bike from 2013 or 2014 with Ultegra. Most of the time they only seem to be in large or small sizes, but once in a while I see one in medium or m/l which is what I think I'll be.

So is the best bet to just start to go and test ride things now? Just head into bike shops on my bike and ask to ride their endurance bikes in that price range?

Any tips before I begin?

I'm excited :)
probably be worth your while heading into a few shops and seeing what they have, and what specials they might be doing. Maybe chat to them and mention what riding you're planning and what they'd suggest. Maybe work out where you want to buy from, as well as what you want to buy.. sometimes that's a big part of the experience.

Once you have your $$ all together, you'd probably have a short list of bikes.. go and test ride those ones. Keep an eye out for demo tours that some manufacturers do (Scott, Avanti, Merida plus others all do them) .. alternatively you can fly down to ADL during the TDU and test ride a vast array of bikes right now :D (I think BMC, Lapierre, Focus, Trek and Scott have their demo fleets here :) .. probably all of them higher end than you're planning though ;) )

new bikes are always exciting! enjoy! :D
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Re: Choosing a New Bike :)

Post by Vilante »

Thanks CLP.

Well I had 2 very different experiences in 2 bike shops this afternoon.

The first, King St Cyclery, had Specialized bikes, and didn't have any carbon. They suggested an aluminium Specialized with Ultegra gear. Looked nice but 1.5kg heavier than the carbon bikes I've been looking at.

They told me they don't get carbon bikes in because they're not popular. They also said for a ride like I'm doing a carbon bike would be too weak in the mountains. And then they told me I'd have to pay a minimum of $3K for a carbon bike and I'd only be getting 105's. They told me I couldn't test ride anything. I had to check I was in a bike store.

Headed then to Inner City Cycles and spoke to a guy for ages. He was all about Giant. He told me he'd consider a Propel, which is their aero bike. Not as comfy as the Defy but not as hard as the TCR. He reckons it would be comfy enough for the ride and be fast enough for me to do some racing on if I get into it, which I've always considered.

BUT, he then proceeded to tell me the Defy (which is what I've always though might be the way to go) is out of stock till mid year. So maybe he was just trying to get me to buy? He did say he also sold Fuji and another brand but was insistant the Propel was the way to go.

BUT, he didn't have one on the floor, so can't test ride it.

It is very pretty, there was a red version there (the model up) and it made me all squirmy :)
Propel-Advanced-2-Comp.jpg
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Re: Choosing a New Bike :)

Post by norbs »

Sounds like King St at wankers Mando.

Keep looking around mate.

And, dont get too hung up on the looks. An ugly comfy bike wins every time.
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Re: Choosing a New Bike :)

Post by Vilante »

norbs wrote:Sounds like King St at wankers Mando.

Keep looking around mate.

And, dont get too hung up on the looks. An ugly comfy bike wins every time.
Yeah it was quite funny.

I will, have sent a bunch of emails out tonight explaining what I'm after and asking if I can test ride. Should save some time.

I'll try not to :)
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Post by Enforcer-J »

Try buying a mountain bike from a shop, forget about getting a test ride! I have had to research the shite out of each bike ive bought as far as geo and fit go, riding a few mates bikes and experience with my own made certain the two bikes I bought online were perfect.

As Norbs said, dont worry about looks too much! Once its yours and you go for a few rides you will fall in love with even the ugliest bike ;)

Most shops are terrible in every aspect I have found. Sometimes you just get the wrong salesman/mechanic though on the wrong day.


Lol @ carbon bikes being to weak in the mountains...wtf? Seriously how is it any different to riding on the flats! Alarm bells!
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Re: Choosing a New Bike :)

Post by DexterPunk »

When I bought my MTB recently I had a shitful salesman who just told me I was wrong when I told him what I was interested in buying. The guy down the road in the next bike shop just said 'cool man, wanna ride the different bikes and see what you think?' I ended up buying a completely different bike than what I thought. But he got the sale because he let me figure it out on my own, and actually communicated properly, gave me the info, and let me experience the differences. I thought I wanted a 27.5" hard tail, and ended up in love with a 29" dual. A good and trust worthy salesman makes a big difference. Riding the bikes made even bigger. I'm only a bit of a noob even though I have ridden a hell of a lot in a past life... but I wouldn't agree to buy anything unless you can try riding the bikes first.
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Re: Choosing a New Bike :)

Post by Vilante »

Thanks guys, A couple of stores have come back to me so I'm setting up some rides on the weekend.

Some Treks and some Specialized. Not going to be easy to get all the brands in though, people don't seem keen to let you ride them or just don't have floor stock.
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Re: Choosing a New Bike :)

Post by DexterPunk »

I don't know what the Giants are like for a road bike, but the Giant dealers I have spoken to were all more than happy for me to try them out.
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Re: Choosing a New Bike :)

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DexterPunk wrote:I don't know what the Giants are like for a road bike, but the Giant dealers I have spoken to were all more than happy for me to try them out.
I think the Giants are fine, but unfortunately the endurance version is sold out through mid year. I'd need to find someone with one on the floor.
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Re:

Post by CLP »

Enforcer-J wrote: Lol @ carbon bikes being to weak in the mountains...wtf? Seriously how is it any different to riding on the flats! Alarm bells!
Surely it's common knowledge that the Pros discard their high tech carbon models at the base of L'Alpe-d'Huez and jump on their retro steel steeds? ;) :rofl:

I have heard that some shops are reluctant to let people test ride, though that may be a function of whether the person looks likely to buy, or are just wasting their time. For what it's worth, I didn't test ride any of my bikes before purchase.

I think the most important thing is to do your research beforehand. There really shouldn't be too many surprises when you test ride each model, but more of a confirmation of what you have read. You probably need to bare in mind that you won't have a well fitted bike when test riding, so the overall feel might be a little off.
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Re: Re:

Post by Vilante »

CLP wrote:
Enforcer-J wrote: Lol @ carbon bikes being to weak in the mountains...wtf? Seriously how is it any different to riding on the flats! Alarm bells!
Surely it's common knowledge that the Pros discard their high tech carbon models at the base of L'Alpe-d'Huez and jump on their retro steel steeds? ;) :rofl:

I have heard that some shops are reluctant to let people test ride, though that may be a function of whether the person looks likely to buy, or are just wasting their time. For what it's worth, I didn't test ride any of my bikes before purchase.

I think the most important thing is to do your research beforehand. There really shouldn't be too many surprises when you test ride each model, but more of a confirmation of what you have read. You probably need to bare in mind that you won't have a well fitted bike when test riding, so the overall feel might be a little off.
Thanks CLP.

What do you think about the Endurance geometry vs race geometry or in between thing? Would I be silly buying an endurance frame if I only do this one big ride and then want to go and do some races? Or am I being silly thinking about both, and should just get something comfy for this long ride and be happy that's it's not as fast as some? Is there a space in between these 2 markets?
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Re: Choosing a New Bike :)

Post by norbs »

Comfort, comfort, comfort Mando.

You will still be able to race a more relaxed geometry, but you might not finish the monster ride on a super race frame.

When I was looking to upgrade from your bike ( :) ) I loved 1 bike at a shop, until I rode it. It felt horrible. I wasn't keen on the Giro 4, until I sat on it and then rode it.
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Re: Re:

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Vilante wrote:
What do you think about the Endurance geometry vs race geometry or in between thing? Would I be silly buying an endurance frame if I only do this one big ride and then want to go and do some races? Or am I being silly thinking about both, and should just get something comfy for this long ride and be happy that's it's not as fast as some? Is there a space in between these 2 markets?
this might come down to how fit and flexible you are. For what it's worth, none of my bikes would be considered endurance geometry, but then again, I've not done any back to back 100+ km days on them either! Norbs might be a good one to ask about this since he's gone from a bike that had an endurance geometry to a pretty serious race machine :) That said, Norbs is a regular ironman and is accustomed to long days in the saddle.

It's worthwhile considering the differences between the two styles, but ultimately get something that you're comfortable sitting on since you'll be spending many an hour perched on top of it! Different manufacturers have different interpretations on the theme, so there's likely something that will suit you
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Re: Choosing a New Bike :)

Post by Vilante »

I'm pretty flexible and reasonably fit. Will be much fitter soon :)

Would be good to hear from Norbs but might try riding a bit more than just the one geometry. Cheers mate :)
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Re: Choosing a New Bike :)

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I am only a phone call away. :) And on holidays, so nearly happy.
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Re: Choosing a New Bike :)

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Nearly happy - lol

Will call you at 4:30 :)
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Re: Re:

Post by markus »

CLP wrote:
Enforcer-J wrote: Lol @ carbon bikes being to weak in the mountains...wtf? Seriously how is it any different to riding on the flats! Alarm bells!
Surely it's common knowledge that the Pros discard their high tech carbon models at the base of L'Alpe-d'Huez and jump on their retro steel steeds? ;) :rofl:

I have heard that some shops are reluctant to let people test ride, though that may be a function of whether the person looks likely to buy, or are just wasting their time. For what it's worth, I didn't test ride any of my bikes before purchase.
I did a half an hour testride on both R3 and S2 when I was buying my Cervelo. The dealer even asked which wheels I'd like to use for the rides.

Also when I was buying the MTB my test ride consisted of a one hour ride with the then Finnish national champion using his personal bike (which was the same model I was interested in) on his local trails. Yeah, he was sponsored by the brand but that's what I call service :)

So (unless you are buying from an online only brand) my advice is that if you don't get to do a proper test ride change the shop.
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Re: Choosing a New Bike :)

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I expect if you are buying a Cervelo, they would give you a free blowjob after the ride. :)
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Re: Choosing a New Bike :)

Post by markus »

norbs wrote:I expect if you are buying a Cervelo, they would give you a free blowjob after the ride. :)
See, that shows you haven't bought a Cervelo. You forgot the pre-ride blowjob :)
Much cycling such kilometers.
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Post by norbs »

Lol. Well played.

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Re: Choosing a New Bike :)

Post by Vilante »

Thanks Markus, much appreciated.

I've got 3 shops willing to let me ride bikes on the weekend, Trek's, Giant's and Specialized. That will give me a good base to work from.

Thanks for the chat yesterday Norbs :yes:
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Re: Choosing a New Bike :)

Post by Vilante »

Check out this email from a local bike shop:

"120km isn't a huge day out, but it'll get tiring by the end of a week. If you've good core strength and flexibility you should be comfortable on even quite an aggressive geometry, but as to whether that's most suitable for what you're doing is really up to how you'd like to ride.
To be honest while your requirements are sensible, the price is a bit optimistic, however there is one option that springs to mind"

He goes on to recommend a Scott Addict 30.

Does making me feel like a pussy for only doing 120km's/day for 9 days and then inferring that if you don't ride a race bike you're doing some sort of riding that's 'not as good as it could be' a known sales trick? Am I supposed to feel like going to talk to this guy about giving him 2 grand now?

What a cock lol
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Re: Choosing a New Bike :)

Post by norbs »

Scratch that shop.

Does he know your cycling experience?

How many people have done what you are talking about doing. For him to talk about it like it is a piece of piss is fucked.
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Re: Choosing a New Bike :)

Post by Vilante »

Just funny when he's trying to sell something. Most people act all impressed, even if they're not. That's how you sell someone something, make them happy to deal with you.

Weird.
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