fries

Hey guys, I need your experienced perspective on which new bike I should purchase, if you don't mind.

I'm a brand new road rider and I'm buying my first entry level road bike. I've done a bit of research and hit up a few local bike shops in my area and narrowed it down to two bikes.

Option one is a 2015 Trek 1.1 C, which has all Claris components. The price is $850 CDN.

Option number two is a 2011 Norco CRD 2, which has a Tiagra rear derailleur and the rest of the components are Sora. The price on this one is $700.

Bike 1 comes with unlimited tune ups for 3 months, and bike 2 only comes with 1 free tune up.

Any comments would be appreciated!

Shuffleman

I am assuming that the Norco is the correct size when I give my advice. The norco is a better bike with better specs. However, $700 seems extremely high for a 4-5 yr old bike that cost only $785 to begin with. Bikes just don't hold their value like that. I did not check bicycle blue book for the price but it is just too high. If I liked the bike, I would check the blue book price and offer close to that rate. I am assuming it is around 450-$500. They are both good bikes though.

fries

Thanks for the reply.

Keep in mind that these prices are in Canadian dollar, so $700 is about $570 USD.

eyewannabike

Buy something that is lightly used. You can find a lot of bike for that amount of money in the used market. Find something that is made for endurance and not racing. Ideally, if you can up your budget a few hundred you'll get a LOT more.

mcours2006

Agree that $700 is high for a 2011 bike with Tiagra/Sora parts, but mostly Soras. Nothing wrong with the bike. I'm sure it's a fine bike, but it's overpriced.

You're likely intimidated by the used market like Kijiji and Craigslist, and I don't blame you, being a newbie and all. But for $700CAD you could probably find something like a 3-4 year old AL bike with at least Tiagra, if not 105's, in decent condition. But I understand your hesitation with buying from private sellers. It's nice to have the assurance and security of the LBS backing up their products.

GuitarWizard

Buy whichever bike fits you better (ask if you can get a basic bike fitting done with your purchase) with minimal swapping of components.

fries

Hmm, I did some looking around after I read your comment. I found this Trek Alpha 1.5, which seems like a better bike for less money. It is my size. Obviously I'd have to take her for a spin though. Thoughts?

cale

If you want to get a new bike and you don't know how to do the maintenance, buy it from a bike shop, hang around and ask lots of questions. just my $.02.