RidingMatthew

i have been looking at the Nashbar Carbon 105 Road bike.
I currently own a Scott S40 Speedster 2007 with Tiagra components..

Has anyone bought this nashbar bike? The reviews seem pretty positive.
how do they like the carbon? how much lighter would a carbon bike be? Does this bike ride well?

I am planning on, if i buy it, to upgrade brakes to 105 as well.

So with brakes the total for the bike would $888! It just seems like a great deal.

hueyhoolihan

i agree, that would be a a great deal.

rms13

yup, seems like a great deal

RidingMatthew

any experience with the carbon nashbar bike?

rpenmanparker 

As in the case of another poster recently you should also consider the Performance near equivalent. If you have a Performance store locally, you can get full bike shop sevice and not have to complete the assembly yourself. Nashbar and Performance are owned by the same company. The two bikes are very close if not exactly the same. Also you can get double Performance reward points right now worth almost $200 on a future purchase

Ravenwing

That is a great price! Got mine on sale, but not that low. I think its a great bike for the price, with the typical mix of generic carbon frame and 105 components. It's light, handles well. The only changes I've made to mine have been a Selle Anatomica saddle and Continental tires to replace the Kendas that came on it. Also changed the cranks, but only because they came with the Power2Max power meter I picked up for it. The bike is just getting ready to tick over 2,000 miles, with zero issues. I've never owned brand name higher-end bikes, so I don't have anything to compare it against, but its doing the job just fine for me. Flashy, it ain't......but that's ok with me.

Maelochs

I was holding out for a quoted frame/fork weight ... the people who wrote reviews on the Nashbar site (for just the frame) claim they have built it up at 16-17 lbs using Ultegra, which would be my preference if I was going to drop the bucks in the first place.

I figure it would be the same frame one would get from the bigger Chinese open-mold suppliers, but a little more expensive to cover Nashbar's awesome return policy. So ... RM13 and Rpenmanparker could tell you about what to expect as well as Ravenwing (really glad to hear from someone who actually has the bike.)

One thing everyone mentions is that the bike is Extremely stiff--some folks seem to like it even for long rides, some seem to think it is a little to aggressive.

rpenmanparker 

Last time I looked at the claimed weight of a Nashbar carbon frame (no fork) about six months ago, it was not competitive with the lightest offerings from Hongfu, Dengfu and Workswell. I can't remember exactly, but I think it was over 1,000 g. Not horrible, but shall we say, two generations behind state of the art. I consider the other brands mentioned to be one generation behind the big name guys who are hitting 675-700 g.

rpenmanparker 

Matthew, please forgive me for mentioning that you would have gotten more interest and responses if the title of your thread were not so mysterious. Some folks will read a post like that. Others just say, "Meh!" and move on. It really helps to let people know what the subject of your inquiry is if you want them to tune in and respond.

Jim from Boston

soo...

IMO, that is nice of you to take the time to give that advice.

Actually I read this thread because I was intrigued by the apparent introductory comment (? to a rant). If it was titled as a direct question about bike comparisons, I would have have said the Boston, or my Michiganian equivalent of "Meh," something like "Who cares?."

Actually, I always thought “Meh” was a Mid-Atlantic regionalism, but I note you post from Houston TX.

RidingMatthew

@Ravenwing "That is a great price! Got mine on sale, but not that low. I think its a great bike for the price, with the typical mix of generic carbon frame and 105 components. It's light, handles well. The only changes I've made to mine have been a Selle Anatomica saddle and Continental tires to replace the Kendas that came on it. Also changed the cranks, but only because they came with the Power2Max power meter I picked up for it. The bike is just getting ready to tick over 2,000 miles, with zero issues. I've never owned brand name higher-end bikes, so I don't have anything to compare it against, but its doing the job just fine for me. Flashy, it ain't......but that's ok with me."

that is cool that it is a good price but I think I am going to pass unless it goes to 30 or 35% off then I might really have to reconsider. My wife let me buy a new light and some new panniers so this might be too much for our budget right now. I really like my Scott but I was wondering the weight was. I could not find that anywhere. I am not sure why Nashbar does not include that with their write up. I wish I could find the weight of 2007 Scott S40 Speedster so I could know to compare.

@Maelochs
"I was holding out for a quoted frame/fork weight ... the people who wrote reviews on the Nashbar site (for just the frame) claim they have built it up at 16-17 lbs using Ultegra, which would be my preference if I was going to drop the bucks in the first place.

I figure it would be the same frame one would get from the bigger Chinese open-mold suppliers, but a little more expensive to cover Nashbar's awesome return policy. So ... RM13 and Rpenmanparker could tell you about what to expect as well as Ravenwing (really glad to hear from someone who actually has the bike.)

One thing everyone mentions is that the bike is Extremely stiff--some folks seem to like it even for long rides, some seem to think it is a little to aggressive."

I am not sure if my Scott is considered stiff or not. I like and feel like it is a pretty and fast bike but part of that could be the motor I am wondering if this carbon 105 would allow me to get a little more speed and perhaps a little more vibration reduction while riding.

@rpenmanparker
"Matthew, please forgive me for mentioning that you would have gotten more interest and responses if the title of your thread were not so mysterious. Some folks will read a post like that. Others just say, "Meh!" and move on. It really helps to let people know what the subject of your inquiry is if you want them to tune in and respond."

i am sorry i tried to edit the title and could not change it. sorry for being confusing. I was having a brain burp and could not think of what to write as a title. thank you all for your responses especially those who own the bike.

rpenmanparker 

Universality of the internet. I learned it here.

mattave

I was actually looking at this bike too, but found another great deal here: 2015 DeGroot III sand

Full Ultegra (including brakes!) for $889, if you're into Alu.

dr_lha

Considering that even a cheap UK sourced Ultegra groupset online costs around $600, that's a really good deal.

mattave

That's pretty much why I pulled the trigger. If the bike falls apart I'll at least have some good components to move over!

RidingMatthew

@mattave that is a good looking deal but the bike is an awful color.

dr_lha

I see that their Salsa Vaya knockoff (the Fahrlander) can be had for super cheap as well. Sadly they don't have the 105-level on in my size.

mattave

To each his own. I actually don't mind it, but the steath carbon look of the Nashbar is pretty classy. But Ultegra cranks will always look better than FSA

RidingMatthew

@mattave that is correct to each his own. I like the classy no logo look of the nashbar and I figure you are right about the Ultegra looking better too. I will contintue to ride my Scott unless the percentage changes any more!