The biggest difference on bike gearing afaic is, is it a Traditional Double, Compact Double or a Tripple. If the bike is a traditional double its got two large rings at the front (say a 39/53) this make it good for flat out and downhill speed but makes it hard work on hills. The Compact (say a 34/50) is less speedy but easier on hills. The tripple has three chain rings which will give you a better range of gears (say 30/42/52) with less gaps between them the fashion however, is for a double; the choice is yours there. In a nutshell the bigger the rings the faster downhill but harder they are. The Cassette is the opposite the smaller it is the faster/harder it is but it can easily be changed if it doesn't suit you.Thanks, I'm tempted to go second hand. If I went down that route could any of you recommend what I should be looking for in terms or weight, gears wheels, brakes etc? Any particular spec to aim for? Sorry for all the questions but 1st road bike is always a bit confusing I guess!
I think the Sora on the Fuji is better than 6300 on the Pinacle (but not by much) and the Fuji is a 9sp, and has a wider range of gears and lower gears; the Fuji also has a higher top gear 50-11 as oppose to 50-12 which will make it faster downhill. The Fuji also has rack mounts which will make it easier if you decide to fit a rack for touring/commuting. Based on that out of the two I'd go for the Fuji but the proof is more likely to be evident in the flesh when you see/ test ride.j have upped my budget to arroung £500 but will be getting bike on finance so will have to get from evans or similar (evans has the best finance at 0% for 12 months!) so new question is whats the best road bike for arround 500 quidon the evans website:
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/pinnacle/dolomite-one-2012-road-bike-ec035886
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/fuji/newest-20-2012-road-bike-ec031219
just a couple i hav e seen what do you think?