gmccarthy

lol - nope thats not me. Just a fun rider.

I'm busy looking for a new bike to replace my old Cannondale R600. Went to a few shops today and have a few ideas of what I want to get. Saw a Cannondale R3000 for R22k - the guy at the shop said it was a 2007 model, but after looking on the Cannondale website the only R3000 I could find was a 2004 model. Is it a 2004 model? Is the shop trying to sell me a old bike? Also saw a Raleigh RC7000 about the same price. (These things aren't cheap!) and a Giant something or other with 105's for 15k My question is what should I be looking at when deciding what to get? The Raleigh and Cannondale had Ultregra components - the Raleigh is carbon, the Cannondale R3000 is aluminium. Is the carbon fibre frame better? I'm a big rider - 6'3 95kg's - is carbon/aluminium better for big rigers, or doesn't it make a difference? The Giant is slightly cheaper but still nice looking. Which bike would you get and why? gmccarthy2008-09-20 08:25:44

Thanks for the info. Just found my July copy of Bicycling - they review 8 bikes for around 6000-7000 Fuji, trek, schwinn, felt, raleigh, merida, silverback and giant. I'll take a good look through these which should help me making a decision. I'll look into second hand bikes but have never been a fan - if you don't know what to look out for you normally end up getting someone else's junk.

After discovering today that my Cannondale R600 has a crack in the frame (by the saddle post) i'm now looking for a new bike. Its probably not worth just replacing the frame (Can it be fixed?) as the bike it pretty old and the components are all looking a bit worse for wear, so I think I should retire it and get another bike. The question is what. Before I walk into the shop and the guy tries to sell me a bike for R20 000 I would like to know what I should be looking at. The price range for be around R6000-R7000, max R10k is its really special and worth spending the extra. I've been looking and the Raleigh bikes and they don't look too bad. The RC3000 is going for about R8000. Are there any good brands I should be looking at which are good value. Any I should stay away from. I would like to get another Cannondale but I think it's gonna be way too expensive. Any recommendations?