Biking To Live » trek

Bicycle Comparison Chart

Bryan — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 19:49:29 +0000

Most of you know I’m searching for a new bike. My price point is right in the neighborhood of $800 which doesn’t let me get to the 105 component level I want unless I can find me a good deal used (which I’m open to) or buy online (I’m skeptical of doing). I do know that I want at least a 9 speed rear cog set and would like STI. I’m open for compromises such as considering a triple chainwheel set instead of a double. After finally concluding that I won’t be challenging Lance or Levi in the Tour De France I’ve decided that I can probably forgo my 105 requirement. At most I’ll be doing the organized ride which would be more for distance riding rather than placing. The number one priority of my new bike is, as it always has been, to help me lose weight.

I decided to make myself a handy-dandy chart to help me along and to show you what I’m looking at (the real reason for the chart is because I’m an Excel geek that can’t help myself). I did get an email from a guy who has a 2007 Specialized Allez Elite Triple that sounds promising. He’s sending me pics tonight to look at.

Those bikes in the chart below labeled as ‘local’ are available at a Local Bike Shop while the ‘online’ bikes are available at Bikes Direct. There are advantages and disadvantages to buying at either place. I wish there was a Bikes Direct store here in Dallas that I could go look at some of their bikes. We have one back home in Florida but, alas, I’m not there right now. I didn’t include any bikes from Performance Bikes but those are options too. In fact, I’m thinking of hitting their store tonight just to see what they have since it’s been so long since I’ve been in there.

Bicycle Comparison Chart (click to enlarge)

Update:

I mentioned earlier about a guy with a 2007 Allez Elite. It’s actually a double not a triple. Pics of it are below. My initial thoughts are that it looks to have been ridden hard which isn’t necessarily bad. The cogs do look pretty grimy to me and the entire bike needs a cleaning. I’m not sure about the cranks. On the plus size, he wants $500 for it which seems like a great deal. I’d value my readers opinions.

I downsize the pics he sent me since they were around 2mb each.

Click to Enlarge

Looked At Bikes Yesterday

Bryan — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 14:17:42 +0000

I had a bunch of time to kill yesterday afternoon so I went to a local bike shop and looked at some bikes. I’ve gone in several times up until now to casually look at bikes but since I’m kinda in the market for one I went in looking for specific price points and component setups. Here’s what I found at one particular shop.

$500-$850

Decisions, Decisions

These were clearly your beginner level bikes with all of them featuring 8-speed Shimano Sora and Tiagra component groups. I have a 7-speed now so moving up to a 8-speed doesn’t seem like that much of an improvement. All of them had no-name brakes and the shifting mechanisms aren’t nearly as functional as something with Shimano 105 or above shifters. Bikes in this range included the Trek 1.1 or 1.2 and some of the low-end Specialized Allez. Like I said, these looked to be beginner level bikes and not something I wanted to get.

$1000-$1500

I would classify these as intermediate level bikes and most likely the price point I’ll be targeting if I have to buy brand new. Most of these bikes came with at least 105 components with some variances here and there in shifters, brakes, or derailleurs and were all aluminum frames with carbon fiber forks. For instance, you may see a bike with 105 shifters, derailleurs, and cranks but no-name brakes. Or 105 everywhere except perhaps an Ultegra front or rear derailleur. The hard part was finding the combination of components I liked on a bike that was the right size and color. I found what I thought was a great deal ($1199) on a Specialized Allez in Saxo Bank colors with 105 everywhere except the brakes.

$1600-$3000

The bikes in this range are what I consider geared towards advanced level riders. You start getting into carbon fiber rigs with Ultegra or better components and nicer wheel sets. Personally, I think when you’re paying this much money you’re paying for weight savings more than anything and with somebody like me riding one of them I just don’t think the extra cost is worth it. If you know what I mean. Granted these are some nice bikes but I believe these are out of my price range and, truthfully, think that I probably weigh too much to be riding carbon fiber.

$3000 ++++

Either Pro level bikes or bikes for folks with too much money who think they’re Pros after watching the Tour de France. You name it and these bikes had it. I actually caressed (?) a Trek Madone 6.9 and just had to shake my head at how light it was. There’s no doubt it weighed less than the bag I take to work everyday. At $8,000 for the one I fondled I’m not surprised they aren’t flying out the door in today’s economy. They had a nice group of ten or so that were just standing there for show.

That’s certainly not a detailed synopsis of what you get for the money but I think you can basically see how it’s broken out by price. It seemed to me that you got more for your money with Specialized than with Trek (at least in the intermediate level price range). They had Cervelos but I can’t even afford to walk down that aisle.

Bianchi Green = Yuk!

This particular shop did have a used/demo section that had a nice Bianchi with a full Ultegra setup for $1,350 but for some reason I just can’t get over two things with Bianchis. First, I hate the traditional green color most of their bikes are painted in (makes me want to gag). Second, is that I can’t help but think ‘woman’s bike’ when I say or see ‘Bianchi’. I don’t know why. I don’t even have an ex-girlfriend called Bianca.

Call me picky but color is somewhat important to me. The low-end beginner bikes featured a lot of red (on the Specialized) and Trek has some funky looking bright color schemes I don’t like. Not until you get into the $1000-$1500 price point do you see some imagination with the paint jobs like the Saxo Bank setup on the Allez I liked or an awesome blacked-out scheme on another Allez that totally blew me away. Even at the intermediate level I still didn’t like the Trek paint jobs.

Here’s two questions for my readers:

1. What did you look for when you purchased a bike (components, colors, prices, etc.)?
2. What is the big difference between 105, Ultegra, and Dura Ace? Is it weight?

Ten Awesome Looking Time Trial Bicycles

Bryan — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 22:10:34 +0000

When it comes to looks and style, it’s hard to beat the coolness factor of time trial bicycles. Built for speed, they employ aerodynamic designs that have been developed over years of testing and racing. Riders are fitted to their time trial bikes in order to transfer the maximum amount of energy as possible from their bodies to the bike. These specialty bikes also use cutting edge materials like titanium and carbon fiber in order to make them as light as possible.

I’ve collected some images of trial bike bikes that possess the ability to not only be fast but look fast.

BMC Time Machine

BP Stealth

Cevelo P3C

Cervelo P4

Fuji D6 Professional

Kestrel Airfoil Pro

Look 596

Specialized Transition

Trek Equinox TTX

This is a repeat of the Trek Equinox above but I’ve included it because of the awesome paint scheme that was specially done for Lance Armstrong’s comeback to professional cycling. The 1274 signifies the number of days that have elapsed since his last race and his return at the Tour Down Under this year.

Lance Armstrong Time Trial Bike

This is certainly not an all inclusive list. I’m sure there are others out there that could have made this list but just weren’t included. My criteria for this list were that they have the coolness factor and aren’t prototypes. If you have a recommendation for the list please include it in the comments.

A Tale of Two Bicycle Shops – Bought new tires today

Bryan — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 23:11:22 +0000

Well, if you read Ride 24, you know that I’m way, way overdue for some new tires. My old tires have been on my bike 15 years and seen who knows how many miles. I by no means road all those years but I did ride some. I think dry rot was the biggest factor in their deterioration. Regardless, I had to have a new set.

Friday I had called around looking for a new set and getting some prices for comparison. I had been to a shop ‘A’ earlier in the week and they had some Bontrager Selects for $18 per tire. I called shop ‘B’ and they had the Bontrager Select K for $19. The difference between the Select and Select K is that the Select K has a kevlar belt to help with flat protection. While my gut told me to go to shop ‘A’ (because I liked that shop better, the people were nicer, and the prices good) I decided to go to shop ‘B’ to get the Ks. I was willing to pay the extra $1 for the kevlar belt.

I show up at shop ‘B’ and tell the guy at the counter I need a pair of Bontrager Select Ks in 700×23. The guy leaves and comes back a couple minutes later. He asks me again what I need. I tell him and he proceeds to look at me like I’ve got two heads. I tell him again. He leaves, can’t find’em and gets another employee to help. I walk over and they’re looking at tubular tires that are folded up on a rack. I think some of them are even MTB tires. They turn around and ask me again. I tell’em again and emphasize that it’s the one with the kevlar belt. The room immediately became brighter as two light bulbs came on. They turned around and headed to the back where the clinchers were hanging on the wall. While they’re gone I head over to look at the new Trek Madones and Cervelos. I’m sure I left a puddle of drool on the floor.

A few more minutes has gone by and one of the employees comes up to me with two tires. They’re the Selects not the Select Ks. He proceeds to explain to me that even though the computer says they have six in stock that, in fact, they don’t have any. He asks if I want the Selects or if I want them to order the Select Ks and I tell him, “No. Thanks.” I head over to Shop ‘A’ and pick up the Selects from them. I show up at Shop ‘A’, tell the guy what I want, he’s back less then a minute later with exactly what I need and I’m done. Amazing.

Why didn’t I just go ahead and buy the Selects from Shop ‘B’? Well, because this is the second time Shop ‘B’ has demonstrated themselves to not be organized or helpful. The first was a couple of months ago when I went in to have myself measured for a new saddle. The guy that came out to help made me feel like I was interrupting him, he couldn’t figure out how to make the sit bone fitting tool to work, and I left with having wasted 30 minutes. I was willing to give them the benefit of the doubt and gave them a chance at redemption with the tires. They again showed they weren’t ready for my business.

I’m now committed to shop ‘A’. Why? A few days ago I was in there and found CO2 cartridges that were half the price of another shop (call it Shop ‘C’), last week they treated my wife good when she was in there to surprise me with some new tubes, their customer service is good, and they have in stock what they say they have. They take care of the customer. That’s 99% of running a successful business in my book.

Well, now I have two new tires that I’ll install today and be ready to ride come Monday.

(Jaxgtr, Shop ‘A’ (my favorite) is the same one we talked about via email.)

I’d be interested in hearing your stories about choosing your favorite LBS.

Ride 18 – Wet and Wild

Bryan — Sun, 25 May 2008 00:51:29 +0000

I slept in a little this morning and took off at about 7:30 AM for my Saturday ride. It had rained yesterday and last night so the roads were wet but not bad. I had to dodge the occasional puddle but nothing major. I went out today just trying to ride a good distance while maintaining a good speed. I wanted to try and average around 15 mph. I also had a basic idea of where I wanted to ride too.

Throughout the ride I saw a lot of folks out for their Saturday morning exercise. Bikers, runners, walkers, dogs walking their owners and so on. At one point I saw a group of about 5 women who had been running. They were gathered around one of those orange igloo water coolers getting a drink on the side of the road. Several were in the same shirt. As I continued up the road I saw another group of about 6 women; again in the same shirt. It must have been some kind of organized runners club or something like that. I continued to see several other runners.

About two miles after my usual weekday turnaround point I hit a new section of road that is pristine for bike riding. The road has only been in existence for about a year and isn’t well-traveled. It has a bike lane and rides very well. I think I was passed by one car on this section of road.

After turning around and making it about halfway back home I hear, “on your left!” I look over my shoulder and it’s a guy passing me. I’m cruising along at about 17 mph and this guy is moving pretty good. He’s riding a Colnago with aerobars and he’s tucked in. He’s probably ten years older than I am but like I said, he’s bookin’ it. A few minutes later I get passed by another guy, about my age, riding a Trek. The two guys are together it seems and I’m able to stay with them pretty good. In fact, they were rabbits for me to chase. I didn’t want to catch all the way back up to them so they wouldn’t think I was some jerk. To stay with them I really had to push it and it felt great. The both stopped as one of the guys was apparently ready to turn into his neighborhood. I passed them then but the guy on the Colnago passed me again a few minutes later and turned down a side road about a quarter mile later.

This was another super ride. It was nice to see all the folks out getting exercise and even better to see a couple of fellow road riders. It was also great to be able to really push it.

Here are the numbers for today: 25.14 miles, 1 hr 36 min, 20.8 mph max, 15.6 mph average