Shut Up Legs
Down Under Member
I'm in the market for another road bike.
Why
While I've had many enjoyable years doing well over 100,000km on the Vivente World Randonneur touring bike I use for commuting, this year I've been using my Specialized Roubaix Expert SL4 (2013 model) road bike for commuting. This is mainly because I got fed up with various aspects of the touring bike, such as
- weight
- canti brakes harder to adjust than the Ultegra road brakes on my road bike
- ditto the triple crankset derailleurs compared to the double on my road bike
About the only advantage the tourer has over the road bike is that I have mudguards on the former, but recently I've even found a rear mudguard that fits perfectly on the road bike and works really well. So, since I've gone off using the tourer, I decided to start looking for a second road bike, so I can use one while the other is being repaired.
I noticed that the Bike Force store in Docklands (Melbourne) has various European bike brands available, such as: Wilier, Colnago, Pinarello and Bianchi. I haven't yet looked at the brands available in other stores around Melbourne yet. I rode a Wilier Triestina endurance road bike in June in the French Alps, and found it to be a very nice bike.
What
My main preferences for a road bike to use as commuting and leisure are
- light weight
- comfortable (i.e. endurance geometry)
- easy to fit mudguards on front and rear
- Shimano Ultegra (mechanical) groupset (with rim brakes)
I haven't yet decided on the budget, so let's keep that option open for now.
Opinions?
I'd be interested in your opinions on the different brands, and their pros and cons. I'm not interested in buying online (I'm a bit old-fashioned there, I know), as I prefer to be able to take a bike back to the store from which I bought it, if someone major goes wrong with it.
Regards & thanks,
--- Victor.
Why
While I've had many enjoyable years doing well over 100,000km on the Vivente World Randonneur touring bike I use for commuting, this year I've been using my Specialized Roubaix Expert SL4 (2013 model) road bike for commuting. This is mainly because I got fed up with various aspects of the touring bike, such as
- weight
- canti brakes harder to adjust than the Ultegra road brakes on my road bike
- ditto the triple crankset derailleurs compared to the double on my road bike
About the only advantage the tourer has over the road bike is that I have mudguards on the former, but recently I've even found a rear mudguard that fits perfectly on the road bike and works really well. So, since I've gone off using the tourer, I decided to start looking for a second road bike, so I can use one while the other is being repaired.
I noticed that the Bike Force store in Docklands (Melbourne) has various European bike brands available, such as: Wilier, Colnago, Pinarello and Bianchi. I haven't yet looked at the brands available in other stores around Melbourne yet. I rode a Wilier Triestina endurance road bike in June in the French Alps, and found it to be a very nice bike.
What
My main preferences for a road bike to use as commuting and leisure are
- light weight
- comfortable (i.e. endurance geometry)
- easy to fit mudguards on front and rear
- Shimano Ultegra (mechanical) groupset (with rim brakes)
I haven't yet decided on the budget, so let's keep that option open for now.
Opinions?
I'd be interested in your opinions on the different brands, and their pros and cons. I'm not interested in buying online (I'm a bit old-fashioned there, I know), as I prefer to be able to take a bike back to the store from which I bought it, if someone major goes wrong with it.
Regards & thanks,
--- Victor.