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Recommendations for a road bike newbie



 
 
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  #11  
Old March 8th 05, 07:38 PM
Bill H.
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Rangersfan wrote:
I have an excellent bike shop less than a mile from my house. The

only
problem is their selection of bikes is limited to just a few models.

I
know their recommendation will be limited in scope to those bikes.

I'd
just rather have a recommendation not limited to the particular stock
of any one bike shop.


That's a valid consideration.

If I were in your situation, I would still go to the bike shop first.
Since you mention comfort as a priority, tell the shop employee what
you're looking for. They may not have a huge range of models to choose
from so just look at what they DO have. You're not committing yourself
to one make or model just by showing up.

You list comfort as a priority. I know from experience that comfort is
a criterion that means something different to everybody. The amount of
time you'll be spending on the bike will factor in, as well as how a
particular bike fits you. You'll really only learn about this by
actually hopping on bike.

If you're not satisfied with the selection at the first biks shop,
you'll at least have a personal basis for comparison. You can evaluate
future bikes based on whatever criteria you've determinie will be most
important.

As a personal example, I bought a new mountain bike last year. I went
to a few different shops (3, to be exact) and told them basically what
I was looking for and what I had to spend. The first shop I went to
let me take a couple Gary Fishers for a test drive. I ended up getting
the Marlin, even though the Tassajara had better components. The
problem with the Tass, even though it was still in my budget, was that
it was just a little too uncomfortable to ride. Had I done my primary
research over the Internet, I would probably have gotten more
recommendations for the Tass because of the components, but would have
still had the comfort problem. So trying out the bikes in person told
me a lot more than I would have learned online.

I'm not dismissing Usenet as a resource. It's great for a lot of
things, but I think trying out something in person is the only way
you'll really decide on a bike. That being said, I wouldn't even
consider purchasing a bike over the Internet. So my suggestion "go to
a shop" isn't a rebuke, but a well-reasoned recommendation based on
what you specified.

Good luck.

-Bill H.

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  #12  
Old March 8th 05, 07:43 PM
Velo Psycho
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Zoot Katz wrote:
7 Mar 2005 20:43:59 -0800,
. com, "Bill H."
wrote:


Yeah, go to a shop. Nobody on this message board can help you

anywhere
NEAR as much as a good, local bike shop.


This is a newsgroup, using the NNTP protocol, not a "message board",
whatever the hell that is. There is much valuable information
contained in Usenet archives where stupid remarks are neither

forgiven
nor forgotten.

There are people posting to this hierarchy of groups, from all over
the world who've been riding and wrenching bikes far longer than the
average LBS employee has been riding without training wheels. It's
likely to be the best resource in the world if you can learn to

ignore
the bull****ers and nobodies.

I see you're accessing this group with your point&click web browser
(HTTP) so probably know squat anyway.
--
zk


What an asshole. The guy came here looking for advice. Why don't you
give it to him (if you have any) or shut up and shove your "I am the
alpha nerd" attitude up your ass.

  #13  
Old March 8th 05, 07:51 PM
Rangersfan
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Bill H. wrote:
I'm not dismissing Usenet as a resource. It's great for a lot of
things, but I think trying out something in person is the only way
you'll really decide on a bike. That being said, I wouldn't even
consider purchasing a bike over the Internet. So my suggestion "go

to
a shop" isn't a rebuke, but a well-reasoned recommendation based on
what you specified.

Good luck.


That's all great information. I've spoken to a few friends with road
bikes. I've also already been to a couple of bike shops and have tried
out several bikes. The best one I've found so far is the Lemond
Sarthe. I'm not all that convinced I can tell that much about comfort
from a short test ride given my inexperience with road bikes. I'm
asking here because I'm looking for more information than what I
already have. I'm not looking to solely base my decision on any one
source.

  #14  
Old March 8th 05, 08:06 PM
S o r n i
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Velo Psycho wrote:
Zoot Katz wrote:
7 Mar 2005 20:43:59 -0800,
. com, "Bill H."
wrote:


Yeah, go to a shop. Nobody on this message board can help you
anywhere NEAR as much as a good, local bike shop.


This is a newsgroup, using the NNTP protocol, not a "message board",
whatever the hell that is. There is much valuable information
contained in Usenet archives where stupid remarks are neither
forgiven nor forgotten.

There are people posting to this hierarchy of groups, from all over
the world who've been riding and wrenching bikes far longer than the
average LBS employee has been riding without training wheels. It's
likely to be the best resource in the world if you can learn to
ignore the bull****ers and nobodies.

I see you're accessing this group with your point&click web browser
(HTTP) so probably know squat anyway.
--
zk


What an asshole. The guy came here looking for advice. Why don't you
give it to him (if you have any) or shut up and shove your "I am the
alpha nerd" attitude up your ass.


While you've summed up Snooty Putz quite nicely, he *wasn't* flaming the OP
(Rangersfan), but rather Bill H.

Carry on...

/B


  #15  
Old March 8th 05, 09:12 PM
Zoot Katz
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8 Mar 2005 10:38:20 -0800,
.com, "Bill H."
wrote, in part:

As a personal example, I bought a new mountain bike last year. I went
to a few different shops (3, to be exact) and told them basically what
I was looking for and what I had to spend. The first shop I went to
let me take a couple Gary Fishers for a test drive. I ended up getting
the Marlin, even though the Tassajara had better components. The
problem with the Tass, even though it was still in my budget, was that
it was just a little too uncomfortable to ride. Had I done my primary
research over the Internet, I would probably have gotten more
recommendations for the Tass because of the components, but would have
still had the comfort problem. So trying out the bikes in person told
me a lot more than I would have learned online.


Now that's weird. The forks, handle bars, stems, rims, spokes, tires,
saddles, seat posts, grips, frame sizes, geometry and material is
identical on both bikes. IOW, anything that would affect comfort.

I'm guessing the shop didn't set-up both bikes the same when you did
your test rides. It could have been something as subtle as tire
pressures or saddle tilt. Unless there's an as yet unknown factor
about different colours being more comfortable for some people than
others.

I'm not dismissing Usenet as a resource. It's great for a lot of
things, but I think trying out something in person is the only way
you'll really decide on a bike.


Bingo. You found your bike
--
zk
  #16  
Old March 8th 05, 09:12 PM
Zoot Katz
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Tue, 08 Mar 2005 19:06:46 GMT,
, "S o r n i"
wrote:

What an asshole. The guy came here looking for advice. Why don't you
give it to him (if you have any) or shut up and shove your "I am the
alpha nerd" attitude up your ass.


While you've summed up Snooty Putz quite nicely, he *wasn't* flaming the OP
(Rangersfan), but rather Bill H.

Carry on...


Wow, how astute you've become in such a short time.
Velo Psycho is to be forgiven. It's probably too difficult following a
thread with his web-browser.
--
zk
  #17  
Old March 8th 05, 09:20 PM
Tom Keats
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In article .com,
"Maggie" writes:

Woo Hoooo...... That was harsh sweetie!!! Speaking as an honest
somebody who knows nothing about bikes....that was truly harsh.


When you look at the remark to which Zoot was speaking: "Nobody on
this message board can help you anywhere NEAR as much as a good,
local bike shop" and read it literally, /that's/ a pretty harsh
dissing of a number of extremely knowledgable and helpful
contributors here -- Mike, Mark, Jobst, and others.

At first blush it looks as if Bill H. is saying absolutely nobody
in r.b.m is as qualified to offer advice, suggestions or
recommendations as any bike shop staff whippersnapper (remember
the "you have to be kidding" thread?) But I think Bill was
actually speaking in terms of matching customer to purchase in
an in-person venue.


cheers,
Tom

--
-- Nothing is safe from me.
Above address is just a spam midden.
I'm really at: tkeats [curlicue] vcn [point] bc [point] ca
  #18  
Old March 8th 05, 11:00 PM
Bill H.
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Tom Keats wrote:

At first blush it looks as if Bill H. is saying absolutely nobody
in r.b.m is as qualified to offer advice, suggestions or
recommendations as any bike shop staff whippersnapper (remember
the "you have to be kidding" thread?) But I think Bill was
actually speaking in terms of matching customer to purchase in
an in-person venue.


cheers,
Tom


Tom,

Yes, that's closer to my point. In retrospect, my original reply seems
to have made the fault of sacrificing clarity for brevity, which wasn't
my intention at all.

Hopefully my subsequent post clarified my position accurately enough.
I know there is a ton of information on here and I certainly value it.
I seem to have ruffled a few feathers of those who think I'm wholly
dismissing their knowledge and experience. For the record, I think
this is a great resource for all riders. I also think that a personal
preference might quickly come up after a quick spin on a bike that
could affect a purchasing decision more than the opinions and
experience of others.

-Bill H.

  #19  
Old March 9th 05, 12:52 AM
Zoot Katz
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8 Mar 2005 13:50:03 -0800,
.com,
"Bill H." wrote:


The saddles on the two bikes were different. If they were both
identical when they came to the store, maybe they swapped a different
one on the Tass but the Tass was literally painful to ride whereas the
Marlin was only different from what I was used to.


I suppose that's another possibility. The specifications on the Gary
Fisher site claimed they're the same.

I'd feel comfortable by knowing the shop didn't try up selling you by
swapping out the saddle on the Marlin and give you another go on the
Tassajara. Or maybe not so comfortable with shop staff too lazy to
swap out a saddle for another test ride.
--
zk
  #20  
Old March 9th 05, 01:36 AM
Gooserider
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"Rangersfan" wrote in message
oups.com...
I have an excellent bike shop less than a mile from my house. The only
problem is their selection of bikes is limited to just a few models. I
know their recommendation will be limited in scope to those bikes. I'd
just rather have a recommendation not limited to the particular stock
of any one bike shop.


Hey, try being short(er). I ride a 50 or 52, depending on manufacturer, and
I've yet to find a bike shop with either size in stock. Lots of 54s and 56s,
but never one in my size for a test ride, and I have a high end(Waterford,
Litespeed, Co-Motion) shop just up the road.


 




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