waffle541

So i meainly use my bike for commuting but i also love riding as a hobby.
My bike is on the edge of death.
I dont have experience with alot of bikes and i never had a carbon frame so i just cant wrap my head around chosing my next pair.
would love to hear better knowing peoples opinions, maybe a vote for witch is better? maybe pros and cons?

These are the options in my budget, they are all in very very good condition:

-Giant ocr c1 with ultegra triple groupset, full carbon

-Favorit.cz queen of ice frame emborsio italia rims woth miche hubs, dura ace shifters, 105 rear derailiur and ultegra front, full carbon
(this one costs about 25% more then the other options but its well equipped)

-Fuji team sl 2005 ultegra groupset, alloy frame yet 7.5kg!!

-Cannondale r600 upgraded with mavic open pro wheelset and dura ace shifters, full alloy(?)

Or maybe i should just say screw it and get a steel single speed for cheap, maybe CroMo...
F.Y.I sorry for the noobly built post, im new for foruming and sorry for no pictures it doest post when i have them in here

zze86

What do you ride now? How long is your commute and anything in particular you don't like about your current bike? Anything you wish it had? Which one of these options fit you better? Will this replace the current bike or will be an extra bike? Hills?

fietsbob

You asking blind, remote inspection of used bikes not new in a bike shop..right ?? ...

you going to pay airfare, so I can see them in person?

Skoda, and Favorit both have become better in past 30 years..



you do realize carbon can delaminate but still look OK, .. right?

and some here say, used carbon may not be such a good idea.. buy New.

a metal frame, at least, you can see impact damage..

waffle541

my commute is about 40-45 minutes with a basic aluminum bike the groupset on it is beyond repair so i would happly replace it, and as for the hills- just one steep and another small one

waffle541

thanks for adding a picture
i cant figure out how to do it

Retro Grouch 

If you were buying shoes instead of a bike, how much importance would you give to getting the right size?

toast3d

I suggest that most people avoid carbon frames, or as I like to call it, "crab-on".

No offense intended if carbon is your thing. You do you.

The reasons I suggest avoiding carbon are numerous. First is that it makes owning a torque wrench very important. You can't get away with not having one, or you are probably going to ruin your frame at some point by tightening something down way too much. Some carbon bikes do come with a little cheap pre-set torque wrench. It's not going to be enough, but at least it's something.

The next reason is a big one. While carbon is tough, durable, and flexible, it doesn't handle impacts too well. If you're the kind of person who is prone to their bike falling over... well you're going to have a heart attack every time it happens. And you're probably not going to feel safe riding it afterwards unless you get the thing x-rayed or something. And god forbid you should crash it, because you should probably never ride it again after that.

I'm sure somebody is going to come along and object. That's fine.

Is carbon worth the money? No. You can get alloy bikes that weigh the same as their carbon counterparts. And it costs a lot less. Of course if you want a really light weight bike, you will be dealing with carbon, and it'll cost more than a lot of motorcycles to buy. And you'll have to baby that thing, and you'll be absolutely devastated if anything happens to it.

waffle541

The ride is not long enough and im not pro enough to notice the changes, im not a performance athlete those little in size chances are neglectable when you can change things like stems,bars and saddle heights


and as long as im not running i wear shoes a bit bigger.

bruce19

If you were buying new there are a few things I'd suggest you consider. One is, of course, how you will use the bike and what you have for a budget. In choosing a frame material I think it's generally accepted that if you bought roughly equivalent quality CF or AL frames the components on the AL will be of higher quality at the same price level. If I had a set budget of a moderate amount I would be looking for a quality AL frame with high end gruppo and wheels. The modest weight savings you would get with CF doesn't really matter for me at this stage of my life and fitness.

waffle541

Lots of love for alu

wphamilton

Although I own only aluminum bikes and a steel single speed, I have to say that the frame material would be way down my list of priorities if I were deciding on a new bike. Carbon fiber would absolutely be acceptable, but not a deal-breaker either way.

Look at it this way: there may be one or two pounds (at the higher end) difference in the weight of the frame. The bikes may weigh 5 pounds more, maybe 10 or more pounds at the extreme ends, so the lighter CF frame isn't the big difference there. Why care about 1.5 pounds, seriously? I'd look at the whole bike - if the one I like happens to be CF or aluminum, then so be it and no regrets.

pdlamb

If you love riding as a hobby (per your first post), it's worth getting a bike that fits.

Try them all out, if you can. Take along a multi-tool so you can adjust the seat height. If you feel like a circus clown riding a kid's trike, it's way too small (and I see people riding like this every week in the summer!). I'd bet you're riding a bike that's too small right now.

zze86

Since it doesn't seem like there's anything in particular you are looking for nor did you mention anything deficient in any of these bikes, get the one that fits the best. If you want a carbon bike, get a carbon bike. If these are used I'd recommend getting the carbon ones checked out by a qualified shop first. Otherwise, these all sound like newer, comparatively equipped bikes. If they all fit and work properly, they should all be serviceable and pick the one that is most aesthetically pleasing and/or cost effective to you.

waffle541

thank you! that is very helpful

TiHabanero

Where I am located the shops here will come out front and tell you they cannot see hidden cracks in any frame. Carbon is the most difficult to detect as they can most certainly form on the inside of the tube and spread until a catastrophic failure occurs without warning. Metal frames can do this as well, however they typically crack through well ahead of a total failure giving time to find it, if looked for in an inspection. For this reason the shop I work in does not inspect carbon frames for cracks. All we can do is assess the overall condition of the bike as a whole.

toast3d

A very informative must-watch:

zze86

That is an informative video, thanks for posting it.

I can't believe he was touching all those hacked CF frames with his bare hands though. I found out how painful CF splinters were while I was handling a cracked CF arrow. Felt like finger was on fire and it was less than half an inch long. The splinters have barbs that go every which way and they do NOT like to come out.

Teamprovicycle

Get a bike that will fit you the best . all i can say is for a cummute bike stay well under 500 , try to get decnt wheels with fresh bearings and new tires done .

KraneXL

You need to first state your budget and your preference and style of riding. After that, any preference for material and style of bike. Is there/should be a stick for this?