mcgeggy

Well, I thought I had finally made up my mind and decided on the Jari 1.5 Apex in size 56 - but as of yesterday that size is NLA!

Now I am down to these two choices:

Raleigh Willard 4 (105) for $1139 (size 58 seems to correspond most closely with my Synapse size 56...)
or
Norco Search XR Aluminum Apex $1600 (I would seem to be right between their two sizes 55.5 & 58...)

The Raleigh would ship to my house and I would assemble and take it to lbs for final tune up.
The Norco closest dealer is about an hour away from me, but they don't stock this bike so hopefully they can figure out the best size for me in store before ordering. This option obviously more than my initial budget though...

Geez, the bike industry really makes this whole N+1 thing difficult to accomplish!

ericzamora

You really should test ride the bike to determine final sizing. My local Norco dealer is pretty cool. I basically started up a relationship with them, brought in a few friends who bought bikes, i buy misc gear from him too. Each time i inquire about something new, and how much it costs, after his answer, i always add, Now what is MY price???? He knocked off $200 for my $1,400 hardtail. And $400 off my Search (it was a 2018, and 2019s were becoming available). There are ways to work the system, but being an hour away makes it tough. If you pursue that Norco, he really should order two sizes, and you get the one that fits. Shouldn't be too hard to sell the second, and it's his cost of doing business.

eric/fresno, ca.

mcgeggy

Thanks for the suggestions! I actually did see another lbs Norco seller a bit closer. None of them seem to stock the Search, but at least I have two options as to who may be more cooperative...

pbass

I never thought of asking a dealer to do that. As a result I've erred a couple times in choosing a bike that was just a bit too big because I get in there, get all excited and want to roll out on a new bike! I scored however when I bought my Rove--they had two, in the two consecutive sizes that I always seem to be in between, so I got to ride them both (and ended up with the smaller one).

Witterings

A really good LBS will measure / do a very basic bike fit or worse case scenario at least sit you on other bikes by the same manufacturer to at least get a good idea of what will fit you so theoretically you shouldn't ever be looking at the wrong size and if they're not prepared to do it you're possibly in the wrong shop.

srode1

If your question is only about fit, a good shop should be able to set you up on a bike with similar stack and reach to the alternative bike sizes from Norco and decide which one would be a better fit for you. It's really easy to do if you have measurements from a current fit / frame setup.

mcgeggy

mcgeggy

I went to a nearby Cannondale shop to check out the Topstone Apex 1 (love the color!). I was hoping to convince myself somehow that I could justify the $2100 price. They only had size L which felt a bit too big, and getting a size M in stock sounded a bit iffy even though they had one on order.

So I decided the Topstone Sora was good enough! Right back at my original price range and the Vulcan Green color was at least nicer than the Graphite of the 105 version. Another big plus was that I could add crosstop brake levers which I don't think is possible on the full hydraulic disc brakes of the Apex version. I had them added to my road brake and love them.

Overall I feel good about sticking to my budget and I think I'll be happy with this bike!

Metieval

I forgot about that green on the Sora, it's a super sharp color, even better in person.

Hmmm

We want photos!

ericzamora

I second this!

eric/fresno, ca.

RocThrower

I agree that the green looks really sharp is my favorite of the 3 paint jobs. Congrats!

shoota 

Agree pics please!

RE: QR + Disc, hasn't been a problem for me at all. I literally can't tell the different between any of my QR/TA bikes. I'm not sure what the fuss is all about there.

Metieval

flex.
for those that don't like it, it matters.

shoota 

Flex in what? I've never noticed any flex. What happens when whatever it is that flexes, flexes?

gus6464

QR sucks with disc brakes. With TA the rotor is always in the same spot in relation to the caliper. With QR it is not. Also it is very easy to flex the rear with QR and get rotor rub.

shoota 

I've not experienced either of those issues. But anyhoo, it doesn't matter. TA is technically more advanced and definitely feels safer, even if it isn't.

Metieval

lateral flex in the fork, which causes loss in steering precision.

but there are other advantages to lighter stiffer forks due to being tied together in a box. vs Over building forks in attempt to make them stronger to resist lateral flex but still failing to do so.

cheap QR forks for disc brake bicycles are terrible to ride in my experience. Especially after experiencing better. Thus I like TA disc brake forks.

QR vs TA

threaded head sets vs threadless,

threaded BB vs PF

tubeless vs clincher vs tubular

17 lb carbon vs 30 lb steel

red vs blue vs yellow

cloth vs , cork, vs rubber bar tape

why is there a fuss about anything? Why is there a fuss about stuff that supposedly doesn't even matter to you?

mcgeggy

Thanks, I'll get some pics up as soon as I pick up the bike later this week!

shoota 

Thanks for the info on the QR forks. I've never ridden a cheap QR disc fork so maybe that's why I've never experienced the flex.

valve_timing

post that tamland please

Spoonrobot 

This is demonstrably not true, it's ex post facto justification for what is a safety, production and feature change. Thru-axle is more likely to end up in the same spot due to forcing the hub into the same vertical position but is not designed for consistent rotor centering and does not do so in practice. The placement of the rotor in relation to the caliper is determined by seating depth within the dropout, orientation of the locknuts both vertical to the hubface and on the z-axis, runout of the locknuts, and the respective parallel facing of each dropout.

Thru-axle used to be tired entirely to bikes with hydraulic brakes, those types of calipers are self-centering to a large degree. This was erroneously attributed to thru-axle. As thru-axle continues to filter down to bikes with mechanical brakes it will become obvious to more users there is no inherent centering or repeat-ability designed into the interface.

shoota 

Right?? I mean I have the WORST possible combo: QR + mech calipers. In theory I should have all kinds of problems getting my rotor aligned correctly. Guess what? Never had a problem.

gus6464

Yes because as with everything surrounding you if did/didn't happen to you it must be the absolute case with everyone else as well.

My Marin Muirwoods 29er with QR started out with mech brakes. Every time I took out a wheel I would have to faff with the caliper to get it to seat just right again whether the front or the rear. After putting Deore hydro brakes on it the faffing was still there. I have yet to mess with the caliper when taking out the wheel of my gravel and full suspension mtb which have TA.

shoota 

Fair play. Now that I think of it my dad's fat bike was a pain if I took the wheel off. I guess I got lucky, I'm certainly not complaining