NameGoesHere

Here's what I'd like in a new bike:

Double or Compact
Carbon: Stays, fork. (seatpost would be a bonus)
Nothing lower than 105s
Sub 20 pound

The closest I've found so far is a 2005 or 2006 Bianchi Giro, but it has a triple, and seems a touch overpriced. I am not a fan of bikes everyone has, and here that'd be Trek and Specialized. I've considered Felt, and would consider Cannondale too.

Anyone have any suggestions? I really like the Bianchi, but at $1300, it's a little much. Then again, for what I want, $1300 might be as good as I can find. Is it?

Thank you all for your help.

dogpound

I'd say that's pretty good and I bet you can get it built with a double

NameGoesHere

It's already built, and I think for $1300, I get what it has. If I want changes, I pay more, which is where the deal drops off, because I still have to put pedals on it etc (it actually comes with pedals to be sure).

Another question, what's a good way to test a bike? I doubt they'll let me take it out for a real ride, so how do I get a good feel for it? That is a n00b question, but I don't know what to expect about this kind of thing.

However you are right, I believe, the stock bike came with the option of a double or triple I think, in 2006 (bike may be a 2005, either way).

Thanks!

mayukawa

To test the bike, take it out on a bad road that's near the LBS. Ride over those roads and make a note of how it feels. Too harsh? Not enough road feel? Tackle some steep hills and climb out of the saddle. Laterally stiff enough? Now descent that same hill. How does it handle the high speed descent? Also try some slow speed, sharp turns to see how it handles.

tcoop25

I agree with the Bianchi, and most bike shops will upgrade any bike with whatever you need (for a price, obviously). You really need to give it a test ride though. You can pick everything you want from a list, but it still may not fit you the way you thought it would. Why not go to a bunch of local bike shops and test ride the Trek, Cannondale, Felt, Bianchi, and whatever else catches your eye. Most good shops will let you take it out for long enough to get a good feel for the bike. Then make your decision.

cs1

Try bikesdirect https://www.bikesdirect.com/

Tim

Patriot

C'Dale or Bianchi, always a good choice.

Glory Cycles is haveing a sale on the RC4 Blue frames. Just an option.

https://www.glorycycles.com/blcocyrcfr.html

https://www.glorycycles.com/blcorc5alfr.html

badkarma

If you're serious about buying a bike, a lot of LBSs will let you take out bikes for a few hours so you can get a really good feel of it.

A lot of shops will swap out the cranks if you want them to, and they probably won't charge you much, so just ask and see what they say.

Miller2

I have a 2005 Bianchi Giro and am quite pleased. IMO $1300 for that bike is reasonable. If they were asking the full price of $1599 that would be high for a 105 bike.

cfbrtr

I recently just got a Cannondale R800 Double for under $1300. One LBS was having a sale on 2006s but all they had was triple crankset. I called another LBS in town that carried Cannondales and they agreed to price match. So I got the bike I wanted plus the color I wanted (it was black the other was silver). After riding this bike for a week now I feel like the $1300 for the bike was a steal (those people at the shop should have never let me walk out with that bike that cheap). Now is probably your best bet to find a great deal on closeout bikes.

dtrain

I was going to throw out the Felt F75. A couple places around here are clearing out the '06s right now for $200 off (~$1,200). Here's a full review and another thread. I'm checking one out this weekend.

https://www.bikesportmichigan.com/reviews/feltF75.shtml

https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=221752

iansir

Fuji has some good offerings of Al frames with carbon seat stays. I rode a Roubaix frame a year ago and am still kicking myself for selling it - very stiff, incredibly smooth ride (even compared to the titanium I ride now). Check out anything in the Performance (Roubaix) line:
https://fujibikes.com/2006/road.asp
Those MSRP sound a bit high but you can get them for MUCH less, especially when places like Performance have them on sale. I got a Roubaix Pro for $850 a year ago on sale (105 components).

(Y(L|S+

... and I'll recommend them. Specifically the F75 or F65. You can get a good deal on them at this point in the season. I got the F75 and loved it. A frame defect cause Felt to send an F65 frame as a replacement but I think it was one of those isolated instances that can and do happen to the best manufacturers.

***Butch***

Why would Felt send you a F65 as a replacement for your F75?

the beef

The Bianchi Giro comes factory-spec in both Triple and Double versions. $1300's okay but not too much of a deal - my bike shop had a sale on the oh-five's for $1099 the other month. Try talking them down.

Still, they're excellent bikes, and I would give my internet stamp of approval if you went ahead with it.

dtrain

I've read his postings about this before. It was a frame-only replacement...and they are identical frames (just the color and decals are different). I guess they had more F65 frames in stock.

NameGoesHere

Goal is to get what I want for the $1300, which I think I should be able to do. Problem with riding at the LBS is that I'm pretty limited with only two locals, carrying Trek Specialized and Fuji (and maybe Masi). Of those the only one I'd really want is Fuji.

I've tried to convince myself to have confidence in Motobecane, but I just can't do it. I don't have the tools on hand to put a bike together, nor the skills, and I would NOT be excited to take a bike for my LBS to build, esp since I ride with these guys semi-regularly.

Thanks, never heard of that, and I'll look into it for sure.

Awesome, thanks! I'm getting myself pretty excited about the Bianchi, but the shop hasn't returned my email (2 days). Shop is 1.5 hours away or I'd just go over there...

Thanks. My only concern (minor) with Felt (same goes for Fuji) is that they use a lot of their branded parts that other people farm out. Bar, stem, seatpost, etc. This may be fine, but I know nothing about these components from these brands. This alone would not keep me from buying either of these brands.

My LBS sells these, and actually has a 2006 (or 05) Roubaix in stock in my size. It has a triple, and due to the fact that the owner won't contact me about it (after I've contacted him at least 3 times), I've sort of written it (and buying a bike from him) off my list... I don't quite get it, either... he knows I have a huge hole in the frame I have now, he knows I want to buy another bike, but... no contact. Well either way. I do like the Roubaix, and I'll definately consider it.

Thanks! The Bianchi gets my "oooooohh pretty" vote at the moment, and were it right in front of me, I'd probably buy it (triple and all).

Thanks for everyone's help!

Wow quoting everyone sure does make a long post.... sorry...

NameGoesHere

Ok I'm still looking for a new bike; the Bianchi didn't pan out. However, I have now saved a little more and can broaden my scope some. Call it $2000, but consider I'll want to buy shoes, pedals and a helmet.

So with the same list of requirements as above, what bikes should I be looking at? Thanks!

c4s6

Why not a Pedal Force ZX3 built in Centaur? $1,760.34 as far as I can tell, with $100 credit for LBS assembly. 17 lbs in size 55. Seems like a rocking deal to me.

badkarma

Go to all the shops in your area and see what you find. I've seen the Madone 5.2 on sale for $2250, so I'm sure you can something with 105 and carbon stays for well under $2k.

badkarma

If you can get away w/o having carbon rear stays, I've seen the R1000 for around $1500 (2006), that's a great frame with pretty good componentry. I think it comes with a carbon seatpost, but I might be wrong on that.

Phantoj

FYI: the only Cannondale with carbon stays is the all-carbon Synapse. (Well, I guess the Scalpel has carbon chainstays...)

NameGoesHere

I've never heard of Pedal Force. I will look into them when I'm home; thanks for the suggestion!

There are only 2 shops in my area, and one sells Trek and Specialized. While I like both brands fine, I don't really want to ride either of them. Trek because, well because, and Specialized because for whatever reason, I don't like the sloping top tube on most of their bikes in my range. I strongly considered Cannondale (that's what I have now), but I'm not crazy about the stays on that bike. I have no real reasoning behind that, just preference. I will reconsider Cannondale.

Also, with my max now being in the 2k range, I'd rather be able to find a bike with Ultegra or better.. I'm not stuck on that though. I am guessing pedal/helmet/shoes will be in the $500 range, which leaves about 1500 for the bike. Maybe I'm back where I started. Thanks for all your help!

NameGoesHere

What is the 2007 replacement for the R1000?

rpc180

Probably the Ultegra Equiped CAAD9 Optimo 2.

What didn't you like about the seat stays on your old Cannondale? If its a CAAD4 design or older, you'd have the straight bar ones that caused the "harsh ride" complaint. CAAD5 and up had the hourglass stays that really help.