Fairguy

Hi everyone. I am getting a road bike, and my price range is around $1000. I have checked Giant, Cannondale, and Felt, mostly, but I'm not decided yet. The bycicles I have checked are:

Felt F70 (the yellow one, 2005, carbon fork and seat stays)
Cannondale R700
Giant OCR... (I believe 2, not sure)...

Which one would you recommend?..My main concern is the frame...the Felt seems to be the better frame reg materials, as it includes the carbon stays, but is also a little more expensive... However it has all shimano 105, as opposed to the other ones that have mixed 105 and tiagra stuff...

Is Felt a good bike? (I have not heard about it before). Which one would you get if you were to choose between the four brands mentioned in the title? (Felt, Cannondale, Giant, or Trek)

Thanks very much for any information you could provide.

Fairguy

Miniklobb

they are all very good brands and i would trust any of them. what do you plan to do witth the bike, fitness, racing, touring?

viper5dn

My friend rides a Felt and loves it. I would go with the Felt, as I think that it gives ya' the most bang for the buck. Happy Riding!

Serpico

cannondale is the standout in that list

good luck

uplateinoh

I was impressed with the fact that the lower end Cannondales (R700 and up I think) have essentially the same frame that they use on the R5000. They don't seem to be as well equipped at the same price points, though. Felt's sound like they give a lot of bang for the buck and so do Giants. I wasn't impressed with the Trek's I saw in the $1000 price range, but they sure seem to be popular. I actually ended up with a 2005 Specialized Allez Elite, a bike I hadn't considered before seeing it in the shop. It has a great frame and decent components for $1050 (triple).

SDRider

I just picked up a Felt F65 for $899 at my lbs. I also saw Supergo had one for $1,199. A great value IMO. I may be a bit biased though.

slvoid

Felt, go for the felt.

rickkko

I'd ride all four then pick the two the feel the best then compare all aspects of them to each other. Then make your selection.

..rickko..

TheKillerPenguin

C'dale = awesome frame

Felt = awesome deal, if you can find an f65 around $1K

intence

The Cannondale is a good choice if you think you might upgrade the components down the line. It comes with a nice frame, so it should last you a while.

AFAIK, the Giant OCR series all use the same frame, so you're paying extra for better components (going from OCR3 to OCR2 or 1) but getting the same frame.

Fairguy

Thanks everyone!!.. :-D

Your input is very helpfull, and I will sure make a more informed decision!!...

I would like the bike mostly for exercising, but I also want to use it to get to the office... and on that area, my concern is that I don't want to leave a $1000 bike locked outside... (I would like to get it into the office with me, but the policy of the company is no bikes in the building)... I am planning to get a bag where I can put the bike in, and just tale it inside.... has anybody done this?... (I saw some bags on the internet, and they look just exactly what I am looking for, but I am not sure yet...they run for about $70)... Any opinions regarding this would be greatly appreciated....

Regarding frame alone, which one would you say is better of them all?... (The Felt has carbon stays, and my infinite ignorance suggests that is better ?? (not sure, though)....

One person mentioned that cannondale is easier to upgrade... would not it be pretty much the same thing for any bike?... (I assume all those components fit any decent frame, right?....

Thank you very much again for all your input, I sure am glad to have joined this forum...

Bye for now,

Fairguy

TheKillerPenguin

Its not that the cannondale is easier to upgrade, its just that at the $1k mark they tend to skimp on components because the frame is so expensive. The frames are really great though, and are very comfortable over even bumpy roads.

coclimber

Full disclosure: I went through the same process as you about 3 months ago, and bought a Felt F65. Seemed to have even more bang/buck than the Giants, and I'm very happy with it: I've put about 500 miles/month on it, and I'm already beginning to dread the onset of winter! My next purchase: a new saddle, as the Felt racing saddle doesn't quite cut it on the long rides (50+ miles), though its definitely not terrible.

RE: your question about carbon seat stays -- there should be a benefit here over aluminum in terms of absorbing road shock. The art of al/cf frames seems to be deciding exactly what material should go where... the forks and seat stays seem to work pretty well for Felt. Add a cf seat post, and you seem to get the stiff, power transfer benefits of aluminum but a bit of a softer ride on the tush.

About the Felt frame quality: it is high, you can bank on it. The guy who started Felt is very innovative, and is about as knowledgable about materials as they come. He does exterior and interior double-butt'ing (sp?), customizes the frame construction for the size, makes very light but strong frames, and the quality is top drawer. I wouldn't want to leave mine locked up for any length of time -- definitely figure a way to get it into your office!

RE: upgrades -- yes, there's no reason you can't upgrade the Felt, or the others, like you can the C'dale. In fact, there are many places to see immediate gain on the Felt. Wheels, BB, cranks come to mind...

AND, like others have said... you won't go wrong with any of these bikes. Good luck.

HiYoSilver

Since you're looking, don't forget to test ride a Giant FCR also. Personally I like my long OCR touring better, but the ride last week with a companions FCR was interesting and did absorb the road a tad better.

lmans66

I have that same Felt 70, 2005, yellow....go with it. Not only does it look fast and cool, it is a great bike for the money

TheDTrain

Of course I would say Felt.

roadwarrior

R700 in NOT a mixture of Tiagra and 105...it's 105 with a Truvativ crank and Cannondale's brakes
the frame is the frame that Simoni won the Giro on and Astraloa won the World Road Championships. CAAD7..best frame of the bunch in your group.
If you want to be around a grand, Cannondale kills them all due to the level of frame. It's a world class performance frame.

mrhatten

Get and Orbea with some campagnolo... other than that, just pick a brand that you love... like orbea and campagnolo.

R900

I would go with the best ride/fit, but on paper the Cannondale has decent components and a super US built frame. I say go with the Canny.

John

bbattle

I went to the Cannondale/Specialized store but wasn't made to feel welcome by the staff, who must not have been able to smell the $2k in my pocket. They didn't seem to have a good service dept., either.

I had a Trek mtb so I went to that store and tried the 1000, the 1200, and a 1000c. the fit wasn't right; I was too far forward, out over the handlebars. They put me on an Orbea, adjusted the seatpost, checked the fit a bit, and off I went.

The Orbea fit me and that's ultimately the most important thing about whatever bike you get. If it doesn't fit, it won't matter if it's cf, titanium, Record, DuraAce, etc.