St8kout

Looking to buy a new bike and Google led me here in my research. Used to have a very nice Raleigh in the 80s that I bought at a police auction, but I loaned it to a gal who left it outside. Last time I saw it the whole bike was rusted and the tires were rotted.


I thought I hit gold at Bikes Direct with a $2599 Titanium Motobecane equipped with a Dura Ace gear set, but alas, "Sold out." (Wonder how long that ad has been up?)


Then I tried to buy an AeroCarbon Moto with electronic shifting Di2 for about the same price, and "Sold out" again. (And yet the ad is still up there).


Am I wrong to think they are luring people in with these, "too good to be true" deals, to get you to settle for the less-spectacular bargains?


I should just go back to the Trek Domane SL 4 I was looking at earlier and pull out my credit card. It's also in the same price range, ($2400).

Trsnrtr

Welcome. Good luck on your hunt for a new machine.

joesch

Why not actually see and ride a bike at our LBS? The investment your making obviously needs consultation so best to talk/see with local experts, especially since your not even sure if you want TI or carbon.

daverup 

Greetings from another newbie,
Good luck on the hunt

St8kout

Like a lot of people I never considered Ti before, until I saw them in my price range on Direct Bikes. So I read what I could find about them and liked what read, but I'm not interested in paying over around $2500 for one.


I looked online for local dealers, all of which are a good 30 minute drive at highway speed, away from my part of the city. Vegas is soooo spread out.


There's REI, which only sells: Cannondale, Co-op, Pure Cycles, and Salsa. (I was kind of interested in a few Cannondales, but I think I would prefer Trek.)

There's only one Trek dealer, who also sells Cannondale.

One Giant dealer, who sells only Giant and Liv, (although I've heard good things about Giant bikes).

There's some hole-in-the-wall Strip Mall bike shops spread out around town, in rented locations, that could pack up and leave at any time.


None of these dealers tell you much about their store or inventory. When I Googled their locations, one was still 'vacant and for rent' on the street view, meaning they just recently set up shop after the Google car drove by. Who knows how long they will be in business? When you click on a bike, they all send you to the bike manufacturer's website, so I might as well research bikes online from my house, at least before actually going to a store.

And lastly, a lifelong buddy of mine who has been riding bikes forever, bought a Trek road bike. I know how much a money miser he is, so if he spent his hard earned money on a Trek I'm pretty sure I can trust his judgement that it was worth it every penny.

St8kout

Just got back with my brand new 2020 Trek Domane SL5

It actually fit inside my Bimmer without taking a wheel off. Ok, so it took some maneuvering, but it did fit. I had removed the rear seat ahead of time (it just pops right out, no bolts to undo), giving it more room for the seat and handlebars.

It's actually a darker red than the pics. What they call 'Rage Red,' is Maroon, which looks better in real life than the website pictures. I never like the orange-red color that passes for red.

About the only thing to nitpick was the tool kit that fits inside the lower frame, (along with a spare tube and CO2 cartridge.)
The tiny tool kit that fits is $40. The kit that's a bit larger and more practical is only $9, but it doesn't fit in the frame slot. (The staff thought it did until they tried it.) So you would just have to carry it in your pocket. I was led to believe that the one that fit was only $9. Oh, well.

I was walking out the door when I saw the unconventional tire air plug. So back inside to buy an adapter to use a regular air pump. That would have sucked to have to drive all the way back there because I couldn't put air in the tires.

Now I'm just waiting for the sun to go down and the temp to drop below 90° (it's currently 114° here in Vegas). Queue the line from Aliens, 'it's hot in here' and Hudson (Bill Paxton) says 'Yeah, but it's a dry heat'.

VegasTriker

I'm not sure what bike shop you bought from in Las Vegas but the owners sure missed out on gaining some loyalty. Charging you for the valve adapter and not offering a discount on the tool kit after you just bought a $2K bike is not very bright. There are a few bike shops that have been here for decades – McGhie and Pro Cyclery come to mind. The one I use infrequently is at Tropicana and Pecos. It's been open for more than 25 years.

The valve on your new bike is a presta valve and that is pretty much standard on nearly all road bikes. Most modern pumps can be used on either presta or schrader valves by switching around the insert in the pump head. If you haven't come across the presta valve until now you have been away from cycling for a long time or had few bikes. Anything I bought within the last 15 years came with presta valves.

This time of year riders start out as early as daybreak to beat the heat and quit riding by mid-morning. If you are waiting for after noon high temperatures in the 90s you have a few weeks to get the bike ready. It gets decent in late September and fantastic in October. By October the afternoon temperatures should be in the 80s.

There are a couple of good cycling clubs in town. I often see a group of riders from the Green Valley Cyclists. McGhie in Summerlin hosts frequent rides and the largest is probably the Las Vegas Valley Cycle Club. They know the best routes which is good for someone new to the valley.

Siu Blue Wind

Hello and welcome! Be careful with online deals and too good to be true sales. Some bike brands DO NOT allow internet sales at all so it could be a dishonest seller.

St8kout

Yeah, and it's a $3K bike. Not only no offer of a discount but they tacked on an extra $10 more than it seems what other shops are selling that tool for. They also hit me up $2 for the valve adapter, which I thought was kind of a rip off. Btw, it was McGhie, the only Trek dealer in town. I bought it from the one in the southwest part of the city, closest to me but still a bit of a drive to get to.

Now that I have it home I was able to give it a closer inspection. They got a bit sloppy with the wrench during assembly, with a few scuff marks here and there. I know it's inevitable, but still, getting it fresh from the store like this? C'mon guys. I should have insisted they let me unpack it and assemble it myself.

It came without pedals, which I knew in advance, but there was no mention the first time I was there that I was going to get any kind of discount on them, (even though they are advertising a "Labor Day Sale"), so I bought a nice set of Shimanos from Amazon, and they installed for me so they could 'fit' me to the bike. Of course, I knew no matter where they adjusted the seat it was going to have to come all the way down anyway to carry it in my car, so I told them not to bother.

St8kout

No worries. I bought it from the only Trek dealer in Vegas.