nichop

I'm looking to buy my first road bike and after advice. I'm no super fit racer and struggle up the hills so need something appropriately geared. I was looking at the Specializard Allez Triple Elite but I have to get a 2008 model and Specialized are dropping the triple. How do the 2008 models (https://www.specialized.com/bc/SBCBkModel.jsp?spid=32730) compare, particularly in terms of gearing ? Any other suggestions ?

-VELOCITY-

Trek 1000. You won't regret it.

smitty22

i'd look at fuji and giant too, but thats cuz i just bought a fuji. i just went through the same process you are going through now, looking for a "first" bike. go to an lbs and test ride as many as you can. gain knowledge about what components are better and which ones have the best value. establish a spending limit. find the best deal or buy the one that you keep walking back over to and staring at. let the lbs know that if you buy a bike from them you will be a true honest customer and get as many things through them as possible. find the place that makes you feel like your time and money is valued. it's like picking which striper you want to get a dance from, except nothing like that...at all.

jhan

I just bought my first road bike 4 months ago. I recommend that you look for an aluminum frame with Shimano 105 components. Trek 1500 and Cannandale CAAD 8 and CAAD 9 fit that bill. I chose the Cannandale CAAD 8 because it was being fazed out with the CAAD 9 so I got a good deal.

s4one

Allez elite is pretty good.

wanders

If triples are not available, check into compact cranks. As mentioned before, test ride as many as you can.

smitty22, you slay me. "except nothing like that...at all."

nichop

Thanks for all the advice so far.
The 2008 model Allez has compact crank but has Shimano Tiagra rather than 105s (except for the rear derrailleur). Is the 105 that much better than the Tiagra ?

mymxv

I own the 07 Allez Elite Triple and love it. It's smooth and fast. The 07 and 08 is the same except for the compact crank. My 07 had the same setup, Tiagra shifter and 105 rear derailleur. The new Tiagra is in par to the older 9 speed 105. It feels and shifts very well.

BarracksSi

True. You'll get a lot more ride time for the money when you get a bike.



But, yeah -- pick a spending limit and go from there. Or, pick a component limit. You'll find that, mostly, there are tiers of bike pricing, and if the frames are roughly similar in materials, it's the component groups that make the difference. I ended up first deciding what level of components I'd settle for, then decided whether I could stomach the price.

Amen

Unfortunatly, trek lowered the component groups on a lot of the mid level bikes for '08. I think it has something to do with the declining value of the dollar and the desire to keep a competitive price. I do not know if other bike manufacturers went the same route.

I just recently bought a 2007 trek 1500 which has full ultegra 9 speed for 850. It was cheaper than the 08 and had a better group! Plus it was in the now defunct discovery channel team paint job.

dayvyboy

I went with the 2007 caad9 and really like it. has 105s and ultegra on the rear. And a great frame. We have a lot of hills and it does really good for a double.

johnjamieson

I bought a trek 1.2 pilot for my first road bike, I love it awesome ride

PhilThee

I did that and found my spending limit kept creeping up with the more I learned about modern bikes.
I ended up getting a used bike off craigslist.

Then I went to a Cannondale Caad8



Do I get the brunette with the nice or the blond with the big

God it can be stressful at times

PhilThee

I think they've all been doing it for the last three or four years. Sucks!

Geoff326

go for the specialized allez