Specialized Bikes

[StuAff]

Specialized beats Colnago. Simples.

With the following observations.

- Specialized are not necessarily the nicest people for an LBS to deal with, and, as Norm has it, the LBS is the key with smart bikes.
- Colnago bikes do make middle-aged male cyclists irresistible to women. Or so I am told
- Specialized own brand tyres? Take them off and throw them away unless you crave reincarnation as a skid mark.
- Colnago's distribution in the UK is such that I'd never, ever order a bike, but settle for what I could get off the shelf with a reputable LBS. If you're reading this Ernesto........... go back to Madison!
- Specialized are a secretive bunch. How come we haven't heard about the fork recall?

My LBS (Velocity Bikes) have just started stocking Colnago. They used to stock Specialized but got fed up with dealing with them. Whether they have any more joy with Windwave remains to be seen. They also stock Trek. But Specialized must make better carbon bikes, at least this year....lol. And what about BMC? Cuddles won the Tour on one.....!

As to what I'd buy...I buy for myself, not whatever some pro or other's team has decided he'll ride. Admittedly, the likes of Cervelo do make a point of having extensive input from the likes of Thor Hushovd, the Madone was of course named after one of Lance's favourite training climbs....but what's right for them and right for me or you aren't necessarily the same thing. 99% of them get absolutely standard OTP frames with very few exceptions (Cav had a custom Addict when HTC were riding Scott), certainly for 'normal' stage racing. The spring classics tend to see more customisation to allow for wider tyres etc, but even then many are riding stock frames. And even with widely available (though expensive) parts and regular clincher tyres, the UCI's 6.8 kilo weight limit looks frankly ridiculous. At Eurobike, Storck had a Fenomalist frame (not their top of the line, but still 900g or so) with Super Record and Mavic R-Sys wheels (light, but again you could get considerably lighter) and it came in at 6.6 kg.

My dream bike garage (at least this week): Viner Maxima RS2 (full custom carbon- not just for frame sizing, but carbon layup to suit riding style and preferences),Viner Aeternum (stainless steel, but again custom sized), Cervelo R5ca and/or Storck Fascenario (stock sizes, but this would be the 'ultra-lightweight' choice, frame weight about 700g in each case). And a UCI-utterly-illegal (on account of 20" wheels) and who cares, Moulton Speed. 9kg of British hand made gorgeousness.

 

[VamP]

I've just watched an interview with Levi Leipheimer on the Bicycling.com magazine site in which he gave his reasons for joining Quick Step for next year and one of the reasons is the fact that he will be riding Specialized bikes. He suggested that for him they are one of, if not the, best bikes around and this reminded me of the reports that Cav also wanted to continue using them after leaving HTC. I know a lot of people on this forum use them and that they are good bikes but thought that Colnago, Trek and others were superior to Specialized. So, what do you consider would be your choice of road/racing bike, without taking cost into the consideration.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

At the risk of sounding somewhat cynical, I suspect that Levi has a clause in his new contract to the effect that he will speak highly of the bike he rides.

I don't think, sadly, that I shall ever be in a position where I will be choosing a race bike, without having at some stage to reflect the cost.

With that being the case, I suspect I will always spend more time worrying about which wheels to get, rather than the frame or groupsets.

 

[fossyant]

I've looked into ordering a Rourke 953 - 24 week wait (6 months) as they are so busy.

Spesh would possibly be the 'informed' decision for a carbon bike - lifetime g-tee. Likes of the Italian marques only give 3 years or so.