What Road Bike to Buy/ Where to Shop

bobbyd
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What Road Bike to Buy/ Where to Shop

Postby bobbyd » Sun Mar 18, 2007 1:24 pm

Hi,

Great forum.

Just moved to Sydney, Australia from the UK, what a great place you people have here!

I've been looking for a few weeks at a road bike. I've had mountain bikes in the past, but now want to try out road work.

I'm 6ft 3/4 inches and around 105kgs. I'm looking at commuting into sydney city from the northern beaches and doing some rides at weekends. Hopefully that will get rid of some weight :oops:

I've got about $1000 to spend and have been looking at the following bikes:

Cell Bikes Team Road
Felt 90
Giant OCR3

I've noticed there are a few giant fans on this site, but not seen much about felt or cell. The cell bike seems too good to be true, with 105 as opposed to sora.

I've got some kit like pumps, bottles and shoes from my mountain bike.

Should I be looking at anything else in this price range?

Additionally, I've found a few bikes shops in Sydney's northern beaches: Favourite Bikes in Manly, and Bike Addiction and Brookvale Bike Factory in Brookvale, but they mainly seem to have more expensive bikes on the floor so it's very difficult to get a test ride.

Any advice from the experts? Sorry for the long post :oops:

Cheers

Owen

MountGower

Postby MountGower » Sun Mar 18, 2007 2:03 pm

Bobbyd
Last edited by MountGower on Thu Mar 05, 2009 1:14 pm, edited 2 times in total.

bobbyd
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Postby bobbyd » Sun Mar 18, 2007 2:38 pm

thanks, i had a look at cell, and it's 5 years warranty on the frame and then one year on the components. They also offer free service in the first year.

Any cell riders out there? Could someone give a review on the quality of the bikes?

Thanks

Owen

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mikesbytes
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Postby mikesbytes » Sun Mar 18, 2007 4:30 pm

All 3 bikes you have mentioned will do the deed. You biggest challenge is the hill after spit bridge.

Last time I was in the cell shop, I had a quick look at the bikes and they looked ok to me.

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bobbyd
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Postby bobbyd » Sun Mar 18, 2007 5:47 pm

thanks, i found a useful site called bikely dot com that allows you to do bike routes, so should be able to find a good alternative route.

One guy at the LBS reckoned I should alter the rims and spokes to my weight, is that just trying to upsell or will i get broken spokes riding a road bike?

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mikesbytes
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Postby mikesbytes » Sun Mar 18, 2007 6:14 pm

Not a lot of choices for you. In both directions over spit bridge, you need to take the escape road, ie do not ride up the main road.
If the R-1 rule is broken, what happens to N+1?

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sogood
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Postby sogood » Sun Mar 18, 2007 7:31 pm

Don't bother buying from any shop that doesn't allow you to test ride or doesn't show an interest in helping you decide on a bike in your price range.

Check out Cell bikes in Stanmore on Parramatta Rd for a start. Renegade Cycles in Lane Cove won't have the models you are looking at but sure will let you test ride their bikes. Otherwise there's Stanmore Cycles just down the road from Cell Bikes that's worth a visit. Cycle World on Burwood Rd, Burwood would be another store worth visiting, as well as two store in Parramatta on Church St. Cnr with Victoria Rd as well as a few blocks to the north. Can't quite remember their store names.
Bianchi, Ridley, Tern, Montague and All things Apple :)
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Postby Halfanewb » Sun Mar 18, 2007 8:37 pm

bobbyd wrote: One guy at the LBS reckoned I should alter the rims and spokes to my weight, is that just trying to upsell or will i get broken spokes riding a road bike?
At 105kg you should be fine on any quality wheels, im 110kg's and ride around on a set of R550's no trouble as of yet (approx 950km's) and i had my doubts too , tbh i wouldn't go near anything of lesser quality if your going less spokes but a decent triplecross spoked wheel ( three spokes taking the weight at any given time) will see you right if your budget doesn't extend that far.

I nearly bought a cell bike myself but one of the local bike shops had a special on which was to good to pass up.

Happy trails :)

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rider06
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Postby rider06 » Sun Mar 18, 2007 10:26 pm

The other shops in parra are blackman's bikes - good if you get the right salesperson and bike barn - wasn't impressed (also pedals plus on ferris st - very helpful). I have one friend who bought a cell road bike & he was not all that impressed with it, but maybe that's just him...
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Postby MountGower » Sun Mar 18, 2007 10:32 pm

ISD
Last edited by MountGower on Thu Mar 05, 2009 1:15 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Mulger bill
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Postby Mulger bill » Sun Mar 18, 2007 10:38 pm

MountGower wrote:The item bearing the brand name is a stationary piece of metal
I think most of the steel wheelers here might have something to say about that.

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sogood
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Postby sogood » Sun Mar 18, 2007 10:59 pm

I think the key issue here is that OP has a limited budget of $1k. So some of those alternative shops are better for that price range.
Bianchi, Ridley, Tern, Montague and All things Apple :)
RK wrote:And that is Wikipedia - I can write my own definition.

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europa
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Postby europa » Sun Mar 18, 2007 11:00 pm

Okay, it's possibly time for the resident heretic to have his say ... but Kev's not online so you'll have to do with me :D

Work out exactly what you want to do with this bike ... and that includes image.

Commuting any distance can involve carrying a lot of gear and you'll have to decide whether you want to carry it on your back or on a rack. Most road bikes force you to wear a back pack, which is okay if you don't mind wearing one but a pain if you do.

The roads. Some paths are really rough. Some paths are gravel. I ride on a mix of normal roads and gravel tracks, all of which I can cruise at 30 km/hr on because I chose a bike with a good, comfortable frame (steel in this case) and 32mm wide tyres - a pure racer with razor blade tyres won't do that.

The image. Image is important. I feel comfy riding a touring bike (though not touring with it) and am quite happy to accept the dull look of the rack and the lack of bling in the steel frame. However, if your dream bike must be celeste and weigh slightly less than the layer of dust covering it, you'd be a mug not to go to your Bianchi dealer.

Are you a 'stock rider' or a compulsive tinkerer? My bike, although expensive when new six months ago, has undergone and is continuing to undergo a series of modifications to improve my riding experience (and, no doubt, to fit in with some twisted part of my psyche). However, you may be a 'buy it and use it' type, in which case, you'll need to ensure that it's 'right' from the start, whereas I, knowing what I'm like, had to ensure that I didn't buy anything I didn't mind changing (and the grid delivered was not standard - the fiddling started in the showroom).

A pure racer or a pure tourer or a flat bar commuter may be your cup of tea. None of these fill my needs and dreams, so I bought a bike that could be morphed to suit my needs and dreams. I suggest you ignore the creatures that staff bike shops (unless you find one of the rare good ones - they are out there) and think about how you dream about this bike. Such consideration may not change what you buy, but then again ...

Richard

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gururug
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Postby gururug » Sun Mar 18, 2007 11:03 pm

Many people will be reluctant to mention particular shops as;

-It somewhat goes against forum ethics
-It depends alot on personality / preference / needs

A good shop SHOULD;

-Get a bike your size for you to try without downpayments / obligations (you may have to wait a while though)
-Not rush you
-Find out your needs
-Welcome you back at any time for any issues
-Give a first time service and some complimentary accesories (depends how much they earned from the bike)
-Have knowledgable staff who are willing to explain concepts

A good shop / most shops may not;
-Always be able to help you immediately (I have noticed many shops aren't exactly available or willing to spend alot of time with customers)
NOTE: Drop the line that your intending to buy a BIKE and whatch them change their focus
-Have a varying range of the same kind of bikes

A bad shop will;
-Skip over important fitting and needs questions and issues
-Try to say one brand is heaps better than another (always their brand)
-Talk themselves up and not deliver
-Have non-shalon staff

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