Your Next Bike

[Enforcer-J]

Commuter?

[Hz-Lab]

nah, for cyclocross. Wouldn't mind taking it up and giving Carl a run for his money... or someone to Lap..lol

[Hz-Lab]

Although, spending the money on some more Bike Trips might be a better option...lol. Maybe I have enough bikes.

[Enforcer-J]

I thought about buying a hybrid, even asked the lbs to get one in for me.... then I decided I'd never ride the thing and I'd rather blow all my money on the trance, bike trips and accessories Lucky my bike shop is fucking useless and forgot to call me about it anyway!

[Hz-Lab]

Lol, a Hybrid was the other option, but i figured a Cyclocross bike would be a little more fun. Most bike shops are useless, your's is nothing special..lol

[CLP]

nah, for cyclocross. Wouldn't mind taking it up and giving Carl a run for his money... or someone to Lap..lol

on that beast you'd be up in the CX-B class at least! ... so i wouldn't even get to race you unless you decided to slum it and race open class... unless i set up my old roadie as a CX bike.. which might be on the cards in the future

Miss V has ridden a CX bike and reckoned it was an awesome ride. A bit twitchier than a road bike apparently.. though very capable on and off road.

[Enforcer-J]

Still selling ur downhill bike Hz?

Pricedrop?
Change of paint maybe? lol

[Hz-Lab]

Nah dh rig is off market, that was just for sale to keep the Missus happy while I was saving for the remedy lol

[Crowella]

So I made a trip into the city today and took a walk into Cell bikes. For $3,000 I can end up with a Dura Ace equipped bike. The bike looked superb in person. I will test it next time i'm down there.

http://www.cellbikes.com.au/Shimano-Dur ... Mechanical" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Is there any reason I should stay away from the bike completely? If the frame isnt great, could I at least get competitive on this and upgrade the frame later?

This is only just an idea, still would prefer the Roubaix but at the price... hmm.

[CLP]

So I made a trip into the city today and took a walk into Cell bikes. For $3,000 I can end up with a Dura Ace equipped bike. The bike looked superb in person. I will test it next time i'm down there.

http://www.cellbikes.com.au/Shimano-Dur ... Mechanical" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Is there any reason I should stay away from the bike completely? If the frame isnt great, could I at least get competitive on this and upgrade the frame later?

This is only just an idea, still would prefer the Roubaix but at the price... hmm.

personally, for less than that amount of cash, i'd probably look at the cyclingexpress Azzurri Ultegra Di2 equipped bike.. but that's just a personal opinion! :P

[Crowella]

So I made a trip into the city today and took a walk into Cell bikes. For $3,000 I can end up with a Dura Ace equipped bike. The bike looked superb in person. I will test it next time i'm down there.

http://www.cellbikes.com.au/Shimano-Dur ... Mechanical" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Is there any reason I should stay away from the bike completely? If the frame isnt great, could I at least get competitive on this and upgrade the frame later?

This is only just an idea, still would prefer the Roubaix but at the price... hmm.

personally, for less than that amount of cash, i'd probably look at the cyclingexpress Azzurri Ultegra Di2 equipped bike.. but that's just a personal opinion! :P

Actually to be fair, that looks pretty amazing and seems to be getting good reviews

[Crowella]

God, more choices and issues. I found an Avanti Quantum 2.0 (2011 model) up for grabs at $2,300 in the matte black finish. It is basically ideal for what I want and might be a good enough starting point from a price perspective. This also means I can walk out with the bike really soon but... I may be travelling over to Italy in the middle of this year and thinking I might be better off finding a bike there. My riding mates have suggested that I should wait until I'm over there and buy parts but I'm not sure if I want to risk it.

Alternatively, I could get the Avanti now, buy a frame over there and bring it back and swap components in and out but who knows.

Gee, so many bike options out there.

EDIT: The cell bike. I'll Pass. It wasn't bad but I swear the sizing system they have is odd and the ride was weird, it was responsive but in the most odd of ways, it just never felt firm and planted, sort of sat on an odd line between comfortable and stiff.

[CLP]

God, more choices and issues. I found an Avanti Quantum 2.0 (2011 model) up for grabs at $2,300 in the matte black finish. It is basically ideal for what I want and might be a good enough starting point from a price perspective. This also means I can walk out with the bike really soon but...

not too bad. if you're not hung up on a carbon frame, you could get a 105 equipped Orbea for similar money. You could also look at the run-out Giant models, specifically the TCR Advance 2.. they'd be somewhere near your price range

if you had a bit more cash, and didn't mind a second hand bike, Team Sky were selling off their old bikes at the Tour Down Under.. DuraAce Di2 equipped Pinarello Dogmas.. nice

I may be travelling over to Italy in the middle of this year and thinking I might be better off finding a bike there. My riding mates have suggested that I should wait until I'm over there and buy parts but I'm not sure if I want to risk it.

seems little advantage to doing that over sitting at your computer and ordering them online and having them delivered to your door..

EDIT: The cell bike. I'll Pass. It wasn't bad but I swear the sizing system they have is odd and the ride was weird, it was responsive but in the most odd of ways, it just never felt firm and planted, sort of sat on an odd line between comfortable and stiff.

interesting.... I know my TCR is fairly twitchy at lower speeds, by feels pretty good the faster i go .. not sure if that's part of the issue you were experiencing

[Crowella]

not too bad. if you're not hung up on a carbon frame, you could get a 105 equipped Orbea for similar money. You could also look at the run-out Giant models, specifically the TCR Advance 2.. they'd be somewhere near your price range

if you had a bit more cash, and didn't mind a second hand bike, Team Sky were selling off their old bikes at the Tour Down Under.. DuraAce Di2 equipped Pinarello Dogmas.. nice

Wasn't a fan of the TCR's or any of the Giant's to be honest. I find they suffered from that twitchy behaviour and didn't feel balanced. You know a bike isn't for you when you don't feel great on it on the smoothest of roads. Maybe this year's models have improved but I'm not sure.

seems little advantage to doing that over sitting at your computer and ordering them online and having them delivered to your door..

That was my thought too. From what I've seen online, 2500-3000 euros though for an italian frame equipped with ultegra. I'll likely find cheaper in shops, which is why I am considering the option. I'd just send the frame and wheels home for shipping and take the components back in my bag to reduce customs duty and shipping costs.

interesting.... I know my TCR is fairly twitchy at lower speeds, by feels pretty good the faster i go .. not sure if that's part of the issue you were experiencing

That is probably the way to describe it.

[CLP]

interesting.... I know my TCR is fairly twitchy at lower speeds, by feels pretty good the faster i go .. not sure if that's part of the issue you were experiencing

That is probably the way to describe it.

you'll probably find that any race bike is similar in that regard. They're designed to be able to change direction quickly. While i understand you're not a fan of Giants, have a look at the OCR series bikes. these should be directly comparable to the TCR that you said you tested. Basically the same frame with more relaxed geometry, giving better stability at lower speeds. Avanti etc probably have similar ranges of endurance bikes that you could check out.

Have you test ridden the Avanti Quantum? I'd probably expect that to handle similarly to the Giant TCR range.

[Crowella]

you'll probably find that any race bike is similar in that regard. They're designed to be able to change direction quickly. While i understand you're not a fan of Giants, have a look at the OCR series bikes. these should be directly comparable to the TCR that you said you tested. Basically the same frame with more relaxed geometry, giving better stability at lower speeds. Avanti etc probably have similar ranges of endurance bikes that you could check out.

Have you test ridden the Avanti Quantum? I'd probably expect that to handle similarly to the Giant TCR range.

Yeah I have tested the quantum. I felt happy on it. Felt responsive, a little twitchy but was fine, even on rougher roads. Its too wet to try any other bikes out this week but ill look at the OCR. I expect road bikes to be very responsive but the giant was tested after a few and just felt out of place.

If i had a top five in order of what I've tested:
Roubaix
Madone (was on perfect roads though)
Quantum
Synapse
Tarmac

The quantum just is a better deal financially. The rest were all around the $4000 mark.

[CLP]

Yeah I have tested the quantum. I felt happy on it. Felt responsive, a little twitchy but was fine, even on rougher roads. Its too wet to try any other bikes out this week but ill look at the OCR. I expect road bikes to be very responsive but the giant was tested after a few and just felt out of place.

If i had a top five in order of what I've tested:
Roubaix
Madone (was on perfect roads though)
Quantum
Synapse
Tarmac

The quantum just is a better deal financially. The rest were all around the $4000 mark.

cool.. ultimately it's you that needs to ride it.. so hopefully you're not thinking i'm trying to talk you out of it! The Quantum series are really good value, and at a run out price even more so I've seen a few around both in races and community events so they are quite popular

See if they will throw in (or discount) some pedals too.. and maybe some bidon cages... you never know your luck

[norbs]

When I first rode a roadie it was as twitchy as fuck. Even now i some times get myself in a spin at slow speed.

[Crowella]

cool.. ultimately it's you that needs to ride it.. so hopefully you're not thinking i'm trying to talk you out of it! The Quantum series are really good value, and at a run out price even more so I've seen a few around both in races and community events so they are quite popular

See if they will throw in (or discount) some pedals too.. and maybe some bidon cages... you never know your luck

Bidon cages are on it IIRC so thats sweet. I'll put the pedals from the sirrus on the quantum so the sirrus can return to commuter status. If all goes well, the first payment goes on it on Sunday or Monday.

[CLP]

If all goes well, the first payment goes on it on Sunday or Monday.

Awesome... look forward to reading the first ride report

[Crowella]

If all goes well, the first payment goes on it on Sunday or Monday.

Awesome... look forward to reading the first ride report

Might need to wait 3 months for it. Layby is the only way I can pay for it on a uni budget since i'm certain it won't be there for longer.

EDIT: If their last frame fits tomorrow, first payment goes down. The frame size is equivalent to all the ones I've tested so it's looking good. 56.5 frame should do me fine and will probably be good.

[Crowella]

Oh, forgot to say, purchased the Quantum I'm doing everything I can to make sure I get it by mid April so I get more than 2 weeks in the saddle before the Century Classic

[CLP]

Oh, forgot to say, purchased the Quantum I'm doing everything I can to make sure I get it by mid April so I get more than 2 weeks in the saddle before the Century Classic

looks pretty good! some nice deep section wheels would finish that off nicely

[norbs]

Oh, forgot to say, purchased the Quantum I'm doing everything I can to make sure I get it by mid April so I get more than 2 weeks in the saddle before the Century Classic

looks pretty good! some nice deep section wheels would finish that off nicely

Bloody bike snob!

[Crowella]

Oh, forgot to say, purchased the Quantum I'm doing everything I can to make sure I get it by mid April so I get more than 2 weeks in the saddle before the Century Classic

looks pretty good! some nice deep section wheels would finish that off nicely

Read my mind. Probably be the first thing I add to the bike aside maybe a nice Garmin unit