Need new bike, advice appreciated
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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
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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Fix the old bike. Learn to ride it.
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#4
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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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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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GHOST Square Cross 4.8 Step-Through Women's Bike - 2018 is a cool bike tho
#7
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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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It is a pretty nice bike and I’m looking forward to a test ride.
#9
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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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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!
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!
#11
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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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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.
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?
#13
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I'm seeing the Althea 1 as having a 38t chainring
Last edited by AU Tiger; 09-27-19 at 07:29 AM.
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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?
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?
#15
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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.
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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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.
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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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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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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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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