Another "Which bike?" thread.
#1
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Another "Which bike?" thread.
Looking at two bikes, one is a 2014 Novara Randonee. Needs some TLC, but its a pretty good price. Second is a 2010 Cannondale Touring 2 at almost twice the price of the Novara but is in amazing condition and comes with front and rear rack, new Gatorskins, Wahoo Bluetooth speedo, and a spare Shimano front wheel with a generator hub. Both bikes fit, just curious which would be best for loaded long tours and everyday training rides. thanks
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#2
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I'd lean towards the Cannondale because of the extras, but we really need more information. What are the prices for the two bikes? Can you share links with pictures? I'm assuming that with over 6,000 posts here both of these bikes are the right size for you of course.
#3
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#4
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Take them both for a good ride and see which is more comfortable. Price is a consideration, but not nearly as important as a bike you can ride all day long.
#5
Clark W. Griswold
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Have you test ridden either? Did you like the ride of the aluminum Cannondale? Did you like the ride of the steel (or most likely steel) Novara? Have you test ridden other bikes? Did you like those more or less? Are you comfortable knowing you have zero warranty with either bike and are stuck if something happens that might be covered under an original owners warranty? These are just some questions I would ask. You also want to look at component quality and usage.
Obviously chain, cassette, rubber (tires and pads) and cables are general replacement items anyway so those are an easy write off but if you need to replace a derailleur or shifter or brakes that could be bad unless the frame is super desirable and neither of these frames are super desirable (not bad bikes but nothing special). Any bike I bought used I would want to do a full overhaul on it, unless you know and trust who built it and maintained it.
Unfortunately a lot of bikes from the factory aren't done up right and sometimes when bikes are built at the shop it can be less skilled mechanics who might miss certain things or have time constraints and may not take things apart to properly grease everything and certainly a lot of folks don't maintain them well if at all. What that means is you really should get it fully overhauled and pull everything, clean it and regrease it especially things like bottom brackets, pedals and seat posts but really any place you have threads or metal on metal contact.
I purchased a used bike once and didn't go to overhaul it till I had it for a while and ended up having to cut out a Dura Ace 7400 French Bottom Bracket completely ruining it, lucky the threads weren't buggered but it was not a good feeling. I have also seen enough seized stuff that I wouldn't want to go through it again or see it again.
Obviously chain, cassette, rubber (tires and pads) and cables are general replacement items anyway so those are an easy write off but if you need to replace a derailleur or shifter or brakes that could be bad unless the frame is super desirable and neither of these frames are super desirable (not bad bikes but nothing special). Any bike I bought used I would want to do a full overhaul on it, unless you know and trust who built it and maintained it.
Unfortunately a lot of bikes from the factory aren't done up right and sometimes when bikes are built at the shop it can be less skilled mechanics who might miss certain things or have time constraints and may not take things apart to properly grease everything and certainly a lot of folks don't maintain them well if at all. What that means is you really should get it fully overhauled and pull everything, clean it and regrease it especially things like bottom brackets, pedals and seat posts but really any place you have threads or metal on metal contact.
I purchased a used bike once and didn't go to overhaul it till I had it for a while and ended up having to cut out a Dura Ace 7400 French Bottom Bracket completely ruining it, lucky the threads weren't buggered but it was not a good feeling. I have also seen enough seized stuff that I wouldn't want to go through it again or see it again.
#6
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Assuming that the parts are close in quality between the 2 bikes, I'd lean towards the Novara based on price but that extra front generator wheel is a plus for the Cannondale. Is that something you are likely to use while touring?
#7
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Depending on how tall you are and if your torso/leg length is average or not could influence whether one of these might fit better than the other. From your description, I'd say that the Cannondale seems to offer a lot of added value for the $400 but when I looked at the picture I see subtle differences in frame geometry that make the Novarra look more to my liking. To my eye, the top tube on the Novarra appears longer and more "road bike" oriented. The Cannondale looks like it has a short top tube and might favor a more upright riding style. It it were me, I would use a metric tape measure and take a few notes and make a few comparisons of top tube length, virtual top tube, head tube length and seat tube length, standover height, etc...
Possibly either bike could be adapted to your individual physique and riding style. I purchased a size medium Cannondale T-800 touring bike off a guy from Craig's list for, I believe $200. It was from around 2004 and it came with a Brooks Pro big rivet saddle. I bought it on the assumption that I might sell the Brooks saddle for ~ $100 and then only be in to the bike for $100. The touring frame geometry is very different from my R1000 road frame. The virtual top tube on the T-800 is only like 50 cm which means for me to be fitted to the bike, I would need to run a 14 cm stem and a setback seatpost!
Possibly either bike could be adapted to your individual physique and riding style. I purchased a size medium Cannondale T-800 touring bike off a guy from Craig's list for, I believe $200. It was from around 2004 and it came with a Brooks Pro big rivet saddle. I bought it on the assumption that I might sell the Brooks saddle for ~ $100 and then only be in to the bike for $100. The touring frame geometry is very different from my R1000 road frame. The virtual top tube on the T-800 is only like 50 cm which means for me to be fitted to the bike, I would need to run a 14 cm stem and a setback seatpost!
#8
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Are you going to tour or do you like the idea of touring but not the practice of?
Neither is really good for training rides...unless you are asking which is good for training to tour, in which case they are the same for that as actually touring. A loaded touring bike on a training ride is the same bike when touring.
If you mean training for fitness...they are both heavier and neither is really good or bad. They will both cause you to work harder, so train harder, than a lighter road bike. If that's what you want, then pick the one that fits best.
You fix up bikes all the time so one in need of overhaul isn't a big deal. And the Cdale is good value for what you get...if younactually plan to use the spare front wheel.
Neither is really good for training rides...unless you are asking which is good for training to tour, in which case they are the same for that as actually touring. A loaded touring bike on a training ride is the same bike when touring.
If you mean training for fitness...they are both heavier and neither is really good or bad. They will both cause you to work harder, so train harder, than a lighter road bike. If that's what you want, then pick the one that fits best.
You fix up bikes all the time so one in need of overhaul isn't a big deal. And the Cdale is good value for what you get...if younactually plan to use the spare front wheel.
#9
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So how much are tires, cables, and tape? Are you doing the work or is that something you would have a shop do? A "complete overhaul" could eat up teh diffence between the 2 bikes real quick, Cannondale T2s were their higher quality touring bike; without knowing specific components I am guessing it is at or above the quality of the Randonee. I would go with the 2010 Cannondale (from someone that rode a 2000 T2 for 20 years), unless you know of something you are going to have to repair/replace.
#10
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The Randonee was on eBay and it sold for $325. The Cannondale is local, when I get a chance I’m going to check it out. I’m wanting something for loaded tours, I doubt I’ll use the generator wheel. But I like that it comes with front and rear racks.
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That Cannondale looks pretty nice; alu frame saves a good deal of weight...tire width probably somewhat limited but many folks don't tour with wider tires anyway. That front rack is heavy but the top platform could be useful on long tours. Generator hub is a plus, nice to have lights without worrying about batteries.
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Gearing?
#13
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Not sure about gearing, I’m going to go check it out and also look at a 1995 Trek 520 that looks to be in great condition.
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#14
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#15
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The Cannondale frame is also American made while the Randonee (or Trek) is Taiwanese. I've got nothing against foreign made bikes but it is nice to have a good quality US made bike...and the Cannondales are very good quality.
The 2010 model you are looking at is the next to the last year that Cannondale made them in the US and they have only made a few after 2011. I have a 2003 and a 2011. They are excellent touring bikes. Unloaded, the bike is going to be a little harsh. It's not too bad but it is a bit like driving an unloaded truck. But once loaded, the bike shines! The stiffer frame lets it carry the load better without as much sway as you'll find on steel bikes. Loaded the ride is nice and smooth.
Perhaps most important, the stiffer frame works better for out of saddle riding. I could never ride my steel bike out of the saddle without pedaling straight up and down. Any side-to-side movement on my part made the bike wander all over the road. With both of my Cannondales, I can get out of the saddle and swing the bike like I would on a normal standing climb with the bike tracking straight up the hill.
The Cannondale is a really good touring bike with an impeccable pedigree. It's about as perfect a touring bike as any I've ever found.
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Stuart Black
Plan Epsilon Around Lake Michigan in the era of Covid
Old School…When It Wasn’t Ancient bikepacking
Gold Fever Three days of dirt in Colorado
Pokin' around the Poconos A cold ride around Lake Erie
Dinosaurs in Colorado A mountain bike guide to the Purgatory Canyon dinosaur trackway
Solo Without Pie. The search for pie in the Midwest.
Picking the Scablands. Washington and Oregon, 2005. Pie and spiders on the Columbia River!
#16
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Agree with the above re: the frame. In leas than a year and a half I put around 10,000 loaded miles on my 1998 Cannondale T700.
Don't know where you are going to tour or how strong a rider you are, but that gearing would be too high for me. I do mountains and hills and am running a low gear of 24x34.
Don't know where you are going to tour or how strong a rider you are, but that gearing would be too high for me. I do mountains and hills and am running a low gear of 24x34.
#17
Full Member
If choosing between the two, I would lean toward the cannondale if the fit is roughly the same. Even with the price difference, I think the Cannondale will be a better "all around" touring bike than the Novara as is.
Front/rear racks. Longer chainstay. Racks already off to add fenders easily. and based on the picture, it looks like it comes with two bottle cages and a pump too!
Front/rear racks. Longer chainstay. Racks already off to add fenders easily. and based on the picture, it looks like it comes with two bottle cages and a pump too!
#18
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Agree with the above re: the frame. In leas than a year and a half I put around 10,000 loaded miles on my 1998 Cannondale T700.
Don't know where you are going to tour or how strong a rider you are, but that gearing would be too high for me. I do mountains and hills and am running a low gear of 24x34.
Don't know where you are going to tour or how strong a rider you are, but that gearing would be too high for me. I do mountains and hills and am running a low gear of 24x34.
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Stuart Black
Plan Epsilon Around Lake Michigan in the era of Covid
Old School…When It Wasn’t Ancient bikepacking
Gold Fever Three days of dirt in Colorado
Pokin' around the Poconos A cold ride around Lake Erie
Dinosaurs in Colorado A mountain bike guide to the Purgatory Canyon dinosaur trackway
Solo Without Pie. The search for pie in the Midwest.
Picking the Scablands. Washington and Oregon, 2005. Pie and spiders on the Columbia River!
Stuart Black
Plan Epsilon Around Lake Michigan in the era of Covid
Old School…When It Wasn’t Ancient bikepacking
Gold Fever Three days of dirt in Colorado
Pokin' around the Poconos A cold ride around Lake Erie
Dinosaurs in Colorado A mountain bike guide to the Purgatory Canyon dinosaur trackway
Solo Without Pie. The search for pie in the Midwest.
Picking the Scablands. Washington and Oregon, 2005. Pie and spiders on the Columbia River!
#19
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#20
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Likes For sloar:
#21
Senior Member
Nice looking bike. The Brooks is a risk as not all people fit them, unless you've tried one before. The brifters are really only an option.They are not cheap. I suggest stay with the original and try it out.
#22
Senior Member
re the shifters, they'll be Tiagra 9spd ones, perfectly good shifters--however, given their age, its worth doing a good spraying of the inner workings, done from outside the shifter simply by moving the lever as if to do a full sweep shift and aim the nozzle of a product like "Jig-a-Loo" copiously into nooks and crannies. Shift it a bunch of times over and over, spray again.
Dont know if you Yanks get JigaLoo, but its probably a silicone type lube, ie it isnt greasy, and it dries out very quickly, so dripping stuff isnt an issue in a minute, so spray the heck out of it.
the inner workings of shifters, whether sti or trigger shifters on flat bars, all use grease to lubricate the inner workings. This grease hardens over time, and while its easy to regrease trigger shifters that sometimes allow a cover to be removed , exposing the inner workings, sti shifters are done easier with these types of sprays.
BUT the sprays arent as long lasting as grease, BUT its really easy to just respray again, takes a minute or so.
I do this with my 10 year old tiagra sti shifters, maybe do it twice a season, and it keeps everythng moving easily and smoothly.
up to you if yoiu want bar ends, but these shifters work fine and doing the "shift and hold as far as you can to expose the openings to spray into" trick is so easy, just look into getting a can of the type of lube I referred to.
other Americans here can probably recommend a similar product
Dont know if you Yanks get JigaLoo, but its probably a silicone type lube, ie it isnt greasy, and it dries out very quickly, so dripping stuff isnt an issue in a minute, so spray the heck out of it.
the inner workings of shifters, whether sti or trigger shifters on flat bars, all use grease to lubricate the inner workings. This grease hardens over time, and while its easy to regrease trigger shifters that sometimes allow a cover to be removed , exposing the inner workings, sti shifters are done easier with these types of sprays.
BUT the sprays arent as long lasting as grease, BUT its really easy to just respray again, takes a minute or so.
I do this with my 10 year old tiagra sti shifters, maybe do it twice a season, and it keeps everythng moving easily and smoothly.
up to you if yoiu want bar ends, but these shifters work fine and doing the "shift and hold as far as you can to expose the openings to spray into" trick is so easy, just look into getting a can of the type of lube I referred to.
other Americans here can probably recommend a similar product
#23
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Thanks for the tips, I’m a big fan and user of both Brooks saddles and barend shifters.
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