Polonswim

I have been lurking and posting some short responses, but I think it is time to start asking some serious questions. I DO NOT want to start a flaming Campy/Shimy/Ti/CF/Al war. I am NOT asking for recommedations. I just want to know how you knew that you were about to pull the trigger on the right bike.

I will be buying a new bike in the near future, I want it to have that OCP/bling factor. (Ok, so I have a small ego.) I want it to be something that I am proud of being seen on. And I want it to be fun/comfortable to ride. I don't need a full on race bike unless it is comfortable to ride and begs to be ridden.

I will get only one chance on buying a really nice bike. I am talking about Pinarello, Scott, Colnago, Serotta, Kuota, etc. Something screams nice ride.

From a lot of the pictures of your bikes, you have some great rides. I know that you can't always get to test ride every bike you are considering. How did you know that the bike you bought would be comfortable, fun to ride, and the one you love? Where did you do your research? Who did you talk to?

Again, I don't want opinions on what to buy, but how did you know to buy it?

Machka 

When I was looking for Machak, here's the process I went through:

1) I rode the types of rides I like to do for 2 years on the bicycle I had.

2) During those 2 years, I observed the bicycles of others doing the types of rides I ride, and made notes of things I liked about their setups. I also made notes about things I disliked about my own setup.

3) From all the information I collected during those 2 years, I compiled a list of what I wanted in a bicycle.

4) Then I searched the internet for all the bicycles that matched my description. I came up with approx. 50 bicycle manufacturers who had a bicycle that was in the ball park

5) Then I started to narrow it down based first on price, reputation, and shipping. I narrowed it to about 10 bicycles.

6) Then I posted my type of riding, my list of qualifications, and the 10 bicycle possibilities on a Buying forum to get the opinions of other cyclists. That ended up being a very long post as everyone seemed to have an opinion.

7) Meanwhile I researched those 10 possibilities further myself, and with the information in that post, and my own research, I narrowed it down to about 4.

8) All the while, I was getting some really good feelings about one particular bicycle. Not only was it getting rave reviews from other cyclists, but it was also a Canadian bicycle, they would custom build it for me, and there were dealers in my city.

9) I called up both dealers, and chose the one that seemed the most enthusiastic ... I was measured, the measurements were sent off, Machak was built, and sent to me.

10) Machak and I bonded on the very first ride.

pedex

It was the right size, it was old and proven, it had semi horizontal dropouts, and fenders could be easily mounted on it. Wasnt a complicated decision.

bob the nailer

since the main priority for my new bike is climbing, i started with weight, wanted something light but also strong, i knew i wanted carbon, and i must admit added in a little of wanting a bike you won't see under every other rider- i narrowed it down to look 585 and cervelo r2.5 or r3- when i went to the lbs to be fitted, the cervelo 2.5 is discontinued, the 3 was a little better(very minor) fit than the look, it was lighter and cheaper, so i went with it- downside was it won't be here til march, not that i need a new bike in winter anyway. as far as components i started with wheels, went back and forth between fsa600, ksyrium sl, campy eurus, and velomax ascentII- finally got a great price on a set of fsa600 campy compatible on ebay and went with it. after a lot of hemming and hawing i am going with compact crank(campy)50/34, will ride an 11/23 for around here(edmond, OK) and when i go to mts or somewhere with lots of climbing 13/26. why campy instead of shimano- don't really know- i ride ultegra on my current bike and have no complaints, guess i just wanted to try campy, and shimano doesn't make right now a compact crank, although their web site says it is coming, and i could have used fsa-good luck with your selections.

sirshane13

By fit and by what I liked. Listen to what people say, then make your own decision. Just make a decision, and so long as it fits, for most choices out of that short list of yours, you really cannot go wrong.

I think it's hard these days to get a truly bad product, especially when so much goes into our purchasing decisions and we have people pissed off enough to write bad reviews in popular press.

tinrobot

I was really concerned with comfort over speed. I'm more interested in doing a century than winning a sprint. I looked online, and read a lot of reviews. Then I saw a bike that had the right specs and it was on sale. It was my size and the right type of material (I knew I wanted steel/carbon.) The manufacturer had a pretty good reputation, and all the people who reviewed it online were very pleased with the bike.

I got the bike, but it wasn't quite right, so got a fitting and made a few tweaks, such as swapping out the bars and few other things. I'm totally happy with it.

2Rodies

The bike shops I was dealing with let test ride the bikes. By test ride I mean taking them out for several hours. The only bike in last three years that I've bought that I didn't test ride first was the Orbea Orca, and that bike turned to be the wrong bike for me. Having said that I've been riding for over 16 years and I know what I like in a bike. If had done this with the first road bike that I bought I doubt that it would have made much of a difference.

toomanybikes

it's very simple - I send a deposit to the framebuilder that has my measurements on file - told him the colour I wanted and 8 weeks later a new steel frame and fork arrived at my door.

What could be easier?

simplyred

..

DXchulo

Interesting question. This is like asking "How do you know when you're in love?" It's tough to explain.

For me it came down to a blend of 3 things: price, fit, and looks. You have to have all 3. If one is slightly off, then you're looking at the wrong bike. For example, if you see a killer deal but find yourself thinking "That TT is a little off, but I think I can make it work," then you're looking at the wrong bike. I've been tempted on things like that a few times, but in the end it's not worth it.

Eventually a bike comes along that is a good deal, fits well, and looks good. When it happens, you get a tingly feeling inside. That's when you know you have the right bike.

lol...Now how do you know when you're in love?

Polonswim

Thanks for the responses so far. I really appreciate the help. I am also pleased that this has not become a flame war of which is better. Keep the ideas coming. You have given me quite a few things that I hadn't thought about before.