New Road bike $1400-$1500AUD

dain2772

Hello all,

Firstly a little bit about myself. I am 25, and my current cycling activities revolve around mountain biking. I have a nice little iron horse full suspension bike which I enjoy riding off road. I am now in the market for a road bike to start building up my fitness, and to just ride more in general. I don't always have time to get to the trails for a ride, and like the idea of getting out on the road.

I am just under 6 foot, 80kg and hopefully soon 75kg. I intend to do 2-3 rides on the road bike a week, probably 1 ride of about 40-80km and the others 20-30km. I also intend on doing rides like Loop-the-lake (80km) and the sydney to the gong ride.

So hopefully the above can give everyone an idea of my intentions for the bike.

My research so far has given me a few options in terms of the bikes to get, which I will go through. All are full alloy frames, with carbon forks.

Scott Speedster S40 - tiagra all through. weight 9.2kg

Avanti Veloce - 105 rear derailleur, tiagra other. 9.1kg

BH bikes R1 - mostly 105, although no name brakes. I was told this bike was about 7.5kg in total.

Trek 1200 - 105 rear derailleur, tiagra otherwise weight I think is around 10kg.

Argon 18 Plutonium - 105 all through including brakes and wheelset - this bike would be above the $1500 pricing above by $100-250. This bike is also about 7.5kg.

I have also considered the Giant OCR2, but aren't too keen on it.

So, any ideas on what would be good/better/no good for me? It is all a little confusing as to whether it is better to pay for more 105 gear. Does weight matter a lot, or not much?

I look forward to hearing people's opinions on this, and I thank you all in advance.

BryanM

FWIW I bought a Giant OCR2 2007 model & it hasnt skipped a beat for me. The tyres it came with were pretty crap but other than that I love it & it didnt cost an arm and a leg.

dain2772

Thanks. Will have a look at the OCR2 soon.

Have also received advice that one of the most important things is the wheelset, in particular the weight of the wheelset. Can anyone offer an opinion on this idea?

thomas_cho

Actually bike fit is probably most important.

Please indulge me as I share my experience when I first bought a bike.

As I had not ridden a road bike before, the riding position was quite different to what I had experience when riding a MTB years ago. The result, I bought a bike that was most "comfortable". However, as I rode it more, and got more flexible, and got more used to the riding position, I realised that I had got the wrong size.

A good bike shop will be able to advise you on the fit. Even pros change their position on the bike as the season wears on. Unfortunately my wife did not want to listen to me when she was getting a bike. Now I can see that she is not too comfortable with the "once comfortable" riding position.

FWIW I now ride a Giant OCR comp, but wished that I had instead gone with the TCR range. I really didnt need that longer headtube/higher riding position, once I had lost some weight, and gained more flexibility.

But your experience might be different from mine. At your weight you should be fine in regards to durability for most wheelsets. Get good tyres, the difference they make is most obvious.

In regards to bike weight, I recently built up a steel bike, and it came in at 1.5 kgs heavier than my Giant CF. But I hardly noticed the difference when riding. Perhaps thats cos 1.5kgs means nothing when I am 95kg.

sogood

I don't see how that so called "longer headtube/higher riding position" of compact frames has anything to do with your choice and comfort. If you are complaining that the bar is too high, then you've probably got yourself too big of a frame in the first place. At the end of the day, irrespective of the basic frame design, your riding position is determined by three points of contact (saddle, handlebar and pedals). By using different stems, seatpost and crank length, you can get to the same ride position unless your frame is too large or small. Compact or traditional has nothing to do with your problem.

__________________
Morphed Bianchi Camaleonte IV 2006, Ridley Damocles 2006, Garmin, Mac

thomas_cho

That was the hype which sold me the OCR comp (Now I know better). Not complaining about the fit, but if I had to do it again, I would have gone with the TCR with the confidence that head tube length had nothing to do with it.

Are you discounting the effect that wheelbase length has on the comfort of the ride?

Did I say that I had a problem with the fit of my current bikes? Whos talking about trad vs. compact sizing?

Are you implying that one can get a bike +/- 1 or 2 sizes and with the "right" combination of stems, seatpost, cranks still get the right fitting? So in assuming that, one can also say that there is no "correct" frame size for an individual, as the frame can be "customized" to fit by doing the above.

I merely stated that my mistake in getting first bike was because I had no prior experience in riding a road bike, and got a road bike which gave me a riding position similar to that on a MTB.

And also because I did not seek advice from regular columists like you

dain2772

I think that I have narrowed it down to the following three

Avanti Veloce - 105 rear derailleur, tiagra other. 9.1kg

BH bikes R1 - mostly 105, although no name brakes.

Argon 18 Plutonium - 105 all through including brakes and wheelset.

The narrowing down has been based on the 105 thing - ie I don't see the point in going for lower level gear for the same price, as well as who I am buying them from.

I had never heard of the BH or Argon brands before, so any opinions people have on these would be good.

sogood

By complaining about the long headtube etc, you have directly implied it's a compact frame issue.

That's the selling pitch, but in practice, it has no bearing at all. Get the right frame size, longer stem, higher saddle post position, and you are no different to a traditional frame with horizontal top tube in terms of that three contact points. It's just simple geometry. As for getting a frame size up or down, well, obviously that has to be within reason. But for your complaint of the headtube being too long, well, one size down would suit you just fine with or without a longer stem. And how do you think those pro racers (T-Mobile comes to mind) on Giant frames fitted themselves? And not all of them have custom frames. And if you read more around the net, you'd be aware that running a smaller frame with exuberant lengths of seatpost showing is turning into a bit of an OCP statement.

As for the wheelbase difference. The difference is only around 1cm and a bit b/n each frame size increase or decrease. And in the scheme of things with CF, wheels, tyres, it makes hardly any difference, or how do you think those people who picked a smaller frame survived? And by bringing this wheelbase length out, you are starting to get into the nitty gritty of bike geometry that you never considered in your earlier post.

But I think you are absolutely right, some LBS salesmen don't take enough care in advising their customers. But at the same time, some customers don't have enough knowledge or think they have too much knowledge to work with sales. At the end of the day, there'll always be a percentage of their customer who'll come back and complain about their advice.

__________________
Morphed Bianchi Camaleonte IV 2006, Ridley Damocles 2006, Garmin, Mac

sogood

Not sure where you are, but there seemed to be a congregation of Argon owners in one of the major local racing club here. There's always a bunch of them riding Argon during Sat afternoon races. They looked fine.

__________________
Morphed Bianchi Camaleonte IV 2006, Ridley Damocles 2006, Garmin, Mac

dain2772

I am in Sydney.

sogood

Talk to some of the riders in Randwick Botany CC. Quite a few of them ride Argon. And if you show up on Sat afternoon at Heffron Park starting around 4, you'll be able to see them in action.

__________________
Morphed Bianchi Camaleonte IV 2006, Ridley Damocles 2006, Garmin, Mac

dain2772

I am going to go back to the shop this afternoon to ask more questions about the Argon 18 and the BH, and hopefully get them weighed.

So does the general consensus say that the wheelset is the most important, or the drivetrain?

dain2772

Ok, well I think I have decided on a bike......

and the winner is.....

The BH R1!!! The decision was made based on good frame, 105 front & rear der. and shifters. The wheels are Rodi Stylus which aren't that common, but seem about the same as R500 wheels from shimano. They do look pretty schmick with blade spokes.. but I can always upgrade the wheels. The bike store does a full fit and will make sure all parts fit me right. And the fact that it is a bit of a boutique brand doesn't hurt, nor does the good deal.

So, if anyone has an opinion either way, feel free to contribute.

toocool

Its great you had a $1500 budget and stuck to it.

I too had the same idea to start with and ended with $2500 bike.

For every $200 extra you get that little bit more one different bikes, untill I was looking at 3k Colnago's and Argon kryptons.