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Need new bike, advice appreciated

Old 09-22-19, 10:47 AM
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ml9
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Need new bike, advice appreciated

Hi, I would appreciate any advice anyone could give me in my search for a new bike. I currently have a Liv Alight 3 (3x7) that I have not taken care of, unfortunately. The chain is a bit rusted as is the cassette. Instead of trying to get everything fixed, I thought that I would just start fresh with a new bike.

I’ve been riding for about 3 years, mostly rides is the 18-49 mile range on weekends and mostly on the bike path at the beach and the poorly paved roads to get to the beach. I haven’t quite mastered the gear system, so I usually stay in one gear (the highest one, usually) the entire ride, unless the I come upon an incline, then I will shift to a lower gear. After riding for 3 years, I should probably know better, but embarrassingly, I don’t.

I’ve been looking at the following 3 bikes, but if anyone has any other suggestions, I’d be open to those as well.
Thank you.

Cannondale Quick Disc 3 or 4 (2019)

Cannondale Althea 1 (2019)

GHOST Square Cross 4.8 Step-Through Women's Bike - 2018
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Old 09-22-19, 11:11 AM
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Fix the old bike. Learn to ride it.
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Old 09-22-19, 11:48 AM
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Originally Posted by DorkDisk
Fix the old bike. Learn to ride it.
That’s definitely an option, thank you.
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Old 09-23-19, 06:01 AM
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You said that the chain and the cassette are rusty. Even if you had to completely replace both of those and the crank, it would probably cost you less than $150 to have a bike shop do that for you and get the bike tuned up. That's a lot cheaper than a new bike. The Alight is a good bike for the type of riding you described, so unless it's falling short in some specific way (which it doesn't sound like it is) I don't see why you'd choose to replace it.
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Old 09-23-19, 12:11 PM
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Originally Posted by AU Tiger
You said that the chain and the cassette are rusty. Even if you had to completely replace both of those and the crank, it would probably cost you less than $150 to have a bike shop do that for you and get the bike tuned up. That's a lot cheaper than a new bike. The Alight is a good bike for the type of riding you described, so unless it's falling short in some specific way (which it doesn't sound like it is) I don't see why you'd choose to replace it.
I do love my bike, I just thought if the repairs were going to be too expensive, I may as well put that money towards a new bike. I'll take it down to the shop where I bought it and see what price they quote me. Thanks for your input.
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Old 09-26-19, 07:13 AM
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GHOST Square Cross 4.8 Step-Through Women's Bike - 2018 is a cool bike tho
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Old 09-26-19, 08:43 AM
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Originally Posted by ml9
I do love my bike, I just thought if the repairs were going to be too expensive, I may as well put that money towards a new bike. I'll take it down to the shop where I bought it and see what price they quote me. Thanks for your input.
Get the New Bike : If you could do your own work it would be worth fixing the Bike : But since you can't Get a New One : It will increase your enthusiasm to ride as Well Any of those bikes are nice. Go see what fits the best and enjoy it
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Old 09-26-19, 09:10 PM
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Originally Posted by Rick53
Get the New Bike : If you could do your own work it would be worth fixing the Bike : But since you can't Get a New One : It will increase your enthusiasm to ride as Well Any of those bikes are nice. Go see what fits the best and enjoy it
Yeah, I’ve decided to just go ahead and buy a new bike. My current bike needs more work than I thought. I’m hoping to test ride this weekend.Thanks for the encouragement

Originally Posted by rumrunn6
GHOST Square Cross 4.8 Step-Through Women's Bike - 2018 is a cool bike tho
It is a pretty nice bike and I’m looking forward to a test ride.
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Old 09-26-19, 09:17 PM
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Originally Posted by ml9
Yeah, I’ve decided to just go ahead and buy a new bike. My current bike needs more work than I thought. I’m hoping to test ride this weekend.
In that case, the Quick is probably most like your Liv Alight in that it has a rigid fork rather than a suspension fork. A few test rides should tell you pretty quickly whether you want to stick with the same type or change to a front suspension. If you decide to go with a suspension fork, I gotta say that Ghost looks really cool. I wasn't familiar with that brand until reading your post. Looked it up, and I really like the design just because it's different.

In any case, you've been riding for several years so you probably have a decent idea of what to look for when test riding. So just go test 'em out and find the one that feels the best. It's always fun shopping for a new bike -- enjoy!
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Old 09-26-19, 10:17 PM
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Originally Posted by AU Tiger
In that case, the Quick is probably most like your Liv Alight in that it has a rigid fork rather than a suspension fork. A few test rides should tell you pretty quickly whether you want to stick with the same type or change to a front suspension. If you decide to go with a suspension fork, I gotta say that Ghost looks really cool. I wasn't familiar with that brand until reading your post. Looked it up, and I really like the design just because it's different.

In any case, you've been riding for several years so you probably have a decent idea of what to look for when test riding. So just go test 'em out and find the one that feels the best. It's always fun shopping for a new bike -- enjoy!
Yeah, I have to say that the Ghost really caught my eye. I hope it rides well. Any opinion on the Cannondale Althea with 1x11 drivetrain? Thanks
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Old 09-27-19, 05:32 AM
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Originally Posted by ml9
Any opinion on the Cannondale Althea with 1x11 drivetrain?
Looks to be a nice bike. This summer I moved from a 3x9 bike to a 1x11 bike, and I really like the simplicity of it. It does stretch me just a bit on steeper hills because I don't have quite as low gearing as I had before, but that's been good for me to have to get better. The Althea seems to have the opposite problem: limited at the high end. The 32/11 combo would mean your highest gear ratio would be under 3, which seems low to me. But depending on your riding style, that might not be an issue for you, especially if you're not riding hills much.
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Old 09-27-19, 06:14 AM
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Originally Posted by AU Tiger
The Althea seems to have the opposite problem: limited at the high end. The 32/11 combo would mean your highest gear ratio would be under 3, which seems low to me. But depending on your riding style, that might not be an issue for you, especially if you're not riding hills much.
I'm seeing the Althea 1 as having a 38t chainring, with a gear inches spread of about 24" at the low end to about 94" at the high end, which is a pretty good range. A 94" gear is about 17 mph with a cadence of 60 rpm and about 26 mph with a cadence of 90 rpm. I think those are pretty good ranges for the top gear. Few people will truly spin out of a 94" gear under most circumstances.

Having said that, Cannondale's website curiously lists "MY18" bikes when pulled up through the site's navigation. Is there a link for the 2019 models on their website?
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Old 09-27-19, 07:26 AM
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Originally Posted by hokiefyd
I'm seeing the Althea 1 as having a 38t chainring
Good catch. I just went back and looked -- I was looking at the 2018 Althea 1, which is what popped up first when I Googled it. So yes, the 38T chainring gives a much more "normal" spread of gear ratios.

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Old 09-27-19, 02:54 PM
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Originally Posted by hokiefyd
I'm seeing the Althea 1 as having a 38t chainring, with a gear inches spread of about 24" at the low end to about 94" at the high end, which is a pretty good range. A 94" gear is about 17 mph with a cadence of 60 rpm and about 26 mph with a cadence of 90 rpm. I think those are pretty good ranges for the top gear. Few people will truly spin out of a 94" gear under most circumstances.

Having said that, Cannondale's website curiously lists "MY18" bikes when pulled up through the site's navigation. Is there a link for the 2019 models on their website?
I'm not allowed to post any links yet, but the connondale website does have a product page for the 2019 Althea 1. It lists SRAM Powerglide 1130, 11-42 for the rear cogs and SRAM NX 32t for the crank..I don't know if any of this information is what you are referring to...? I'm just starting to try learn all of the different bike components, but it's still all pretty new to me.
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Old 09-27-19, 04:26 PM
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Originally Posted by ml9
I'm not allowed to post any links yet, but the connondale website does have a product page for the 2019 Althea 1. It lists SRAM Powerglide 1130, 11-42 for the rear cogs and SRAM NX 32t for the crank..I don't know if any of this information is what you are referring to...? I'm just starting to try learn all of the different bike components, but it's still all pretty new to me.
Yes, that is what we are referring to. The crankset refers to the front cogs (chainrings). Since the Althea is a 1x drive train, there's only one number there. Some bikes have a double or a triple crank, which would give you numbers like 28/38/48 or 34/50. The cassette refers to the rear cogs. On an 11-speed 11-42 cassette, there are 11 cogs... the smallest having 11 teeth and the largest having 42 teeth. To get the gear ratio for any given combination of cogs, divide the front teeth by the rear teeth. A lower ratio is better for climbing, and a higher ratio is better for downhill. If you have to do any significant climbing, you'd really like to have at least one gear combination that gives a ratio under 1. If you don't have to worry about hills, then any bike you're looking at will be just fine with respect to gear ratios.

hokiefyd also mentioned gear inches. That's just a nice way to talk about gear ratios without using decimal numbers. To get that, simply multiply the gear ratio by the tire diameter.

As for the different Althea bikes in question, Cannondale's site shows the white bike as a 2018 model, but I find several retailers (e.g. REI) that list it as a 2019 model. Maybe they kept the same color scheme and specs for both years, or maybe the retailers have it listed wrong. In either case, as hokiefyd pointed out, the current model (whether it's a 2019 or a 2020??) has a 38 tooth chainring and is "meteor gray" in color.

Last edited by AU Tiger; 09-27-19 at 04:37 PM.
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Old 09-27-19, 05:55 PM
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Originally Posted by ml9
I'm not allowed to post any links yet, but the connondale website does have a product page for the 2019 Althea 1. It lists SRAM Powerglide 1130, 11-42 for the rear cogs and SRAM NX 32t for the crank..I don't know if any of this information is what you are referring to...? I'm just starting to try learn all of the different bike components, but it's still all pretty new to me.
You don't list your location -- are you in the United States or in a different country? It's possible that Cannondale offers different components in different markets. When I go straight to the Cannondale US site (not searching through Google), and click on the Althea page, it shows "MY18" on the site, as if it's displaying last year's model. I couldn't find anything that specifically shows the 2019 model. If the current model does indeed have a 32t chainring, then I would agree with AU Tiger that it might limit your top speed some.

It would be best to visit your local bike shop to see what's there and what feels good to you. In the end, the bike needs to fit you and you need to feel comfortable and confident riding it. If the Althea just doesn't feel right to you, then the chainring tooth count doesn't really matter -- it's not the right bike for you.
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Old 09-27-19, 07:27 PM
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Originally Posted by hokiefyd
Cannondale's website curiously lists "MY18" bikes when pulled up through the site's navigation. Is there a link for the 2019 models on their website?
Originally Posted by hokiefyd

When I go straight to the Cannondale US site (not searching through Google), and click on the Althea page, it shows "MY18" on the site, as if it's displaying last year's model. I couldn't find anything that specifically shows the 2019 model.
Now I see what's going on. From the home page on Cannondale's USA site, clicking Women's > Fitness > Althea takes you here. The first item on the top row is the 2020 model. It doesn't state the year because the assumption is that it is the most recent model. Beginning on the second row they start listing the 2019 models. And a Google search led me to the 2018 model. The 2018 and 2019 models appear to be identical, including both the color (white) and the 32T chainring. And the 2020 model changed the color to meteor gray and the chainring to 38T.
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Old 09-28-19, 02:08 AM
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AU Tiger and hokiefyd thank you so much for your help, time, insights, and explanations. This weekend, I’m hoping to test ride the bikes and going to see which bike feels best (hopefully they’re all available in-store) since you say that they’re all good bikes. I am located in the US by the way.
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Old 09-28-19, 05:21 PM
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Well, the good news is the chain ring is something easily changed, whatever it is on the bike you might potentially purchase. Fit and even things like color (which is not easily changed) are the most important factors. Your bike shop can change the chain ring for you to a larger or smaller one depending on your needs.
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Old 09-29-19, 09:29 AM
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Originally Posted by hokiefyd
Well, the good news is the chain ring is something easily changed, whatever it is on the bike you might potentially purchase. Fit and even things like color (which is not easily changed) are the most important factors. Your bike shop can change the chain ring for you to a larger or smaller one depending on your needs.
Thank you, I didn't even realize that that was an option. So, the frame and the fit are the most important things to consider as most other parts can be changed...this gives me a different perspective while trying to choose the right bike.
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