Which road bike to choose?

[Saudiq]

Hi All, I need some help choosing my next road bike. The options I have available, 1. 2009/2010 Raleigh LTD with 105 groupset and Mavic kysrium elite wheels. This bike is brand new. Or 2. Specialized tarmac 2009 also with 105 groupset and a few extras, this bike is used. Finally 3. Giant composite prob 2008 with campy centaur groupset, and alex training wheels, this is used but is about R6k cheaper than the previous 2 bikes. Any advice would be appreciated

[DMC007]

Buy the one from Spat.

Specialized Tarmac.

[butafly]

i went thru 2 sets of 105 sti's within 3 years (return spring went). 10 years ago i bought a new frame and was able to pick up a 2nd hand campy centaur groupset for a good price. that campy group set is still going strong on my training bike meaning that i haven't had to replace any parts in over 10 years, sure the brake and gear levers are starting to rattle and i can have them replaced and serviced unlike shimano. so my advice to you is buy the bike with campy groupset. the frame is immaterial because they are all manufactured en masse in china/taiwan thus they should all be of the same standard (best is to buy new for the lifetime guarantee, you might not get this with a 2nd hand frame). personally i don't like a composite frame

[Saudiq]

<br />Buy the one from Spat.<br />Specialized Tarmac.<br />

<br /><br /><br /> thanx. That's the 1 im looking at.

[Saudiq]

<br />i went thru 2 sets of 105 sti's within 3 years (return spring went). 10 years ago i bought a new frame and was able to pick up a 2nd hand campy centaur groupset for a good price. that campy group set is still going strong on my training bike meaning that i haven't had to replace any parts in over 10 years, sure the brake and gear levers are starting to rattle and i can have them <u><b>replaced</b></u> and serviced unlike shimano. so my advice to you is buy the bike with campy groupset.  the frame is immaterial because they are all manufactured en masse in china/taiwan thus they should all be of the same standard (best is to buy new for the lifetime guarantee, you might not get this with a 2nd hand frame). personally i don't like a composite frame<br />

that's my biggest problem with the bike. Im not a big fan of the composite frame

[EZRider]

Hi All, I need some help choosing my next road bike. The options I have available, 1. 2009/2010 Raleigh LTD with 105 groupset and Mavic kysrium elite wheels. This bike is brand new. Or 2. Specialized tarmac 2009 also with 105 groupset and a few extras, this bike is used. Finally 3. Giant composite prob 2008 with campy centaur groupset, and alex training wheels, this is used but is about R6k cheaper than the previous 2 bikes. Any advice would be appreciated

 

Hey Saudiq,

 

I own a carbon Raleigh with 105 and Mavic wheels and it's a great bike. Stiff, light and responsive. The carbon frames are all good so get the one with the guarantee and the paint job you like. The second hand bike may be cracked, check carefully, and it also may not have a transferable guarantee. It doesn't make a huge amount of sense to go second hand if the price is the same.

 

As far as campy vs shimano vs SRAM goes, this horse has been beaten before. Both pros and normal folk have had very good success and failure on all of them and will happily point you towards whatever they are currently riding. The XT groupo on my MTB is bullet proof, surviving technical stage racing with ease. The 105 on my road bike performs flawlessly and if it didn't I would change to something else as I am not a fanboy.

 

Buy the bike you like as all of them will do the job.

 

Ray

[Eugene]

Depending on the price differences, I would go for the raleigh as you will get a brilliant warranty with it. There is nothing wrong with Shimano, in fact it is brilliant.

 

When it comes to re-sale, the Specialized is probably the better option over the Raleigh.

 

Campag is over-rated. I have both Campag and 105 groupsets and I really can't see what the hype is about Campag.

 

The 2008 Giant will have the older Ergolevers which I really don't like. They are too small, those little shift levers are uncomfortable to use and you can only get 2 fingers on to the brake lever to brake. The 2009 and beyond are much better.

[Spat]

Hi

 

The Specialized mentioned above has full warranty from Revolution cycles.

 

At least see the bike in the flesh and ride it up the road to get a feel.

 

Then you can make a choice, no pressure.

[Saudiq]

Hi

 

The Specialized mentioned above has full warranty from Revolution cycles.

 

At least see the bike in the flesh and ride it up the road to get a feel.

 

Then you can make a choice, no pressure.

 

That changes things quite a bit hey? I was very concerned about the warranty after reading the posts? I see the specialized website mentions the warranty only applies to the original owner?

 

Is the bike still at Revolution cycles or has been moved to cycletraders?

[Saudiq]

Hey Saudiq,

 

I own a carbon Raleigh with 105 and Mavic wheels and it's a great bike. Stiff, light and responsive. The carbon frames are all good so get the one with the guarantee and the paint job you like. The second hand bike may be cracked, check carefully, and it also may not have a transferable guarantee. It doesn't make a huge amount of sense to go second hand if the price is the same.

 

As far as campy vs shimano vs SRAM goes, this horse has been beaten before. Both pros and normal folk have had very good success and failure on all of them and will happily point you towards whatever they are currently riding. The XT groupo on my MTB is bullet proof, surviving technical stage racing with ease. The 105 on my road bike performs flawlessly and if it didn't I would change to something else as I am not a fanboy.

 

Buy the bike you like as all of them will do the job.

 

Ray

 

Thanks Ray. Would you say R15k brand new is a good price for the Raleigh?

 

 

 

[splat]

Buy the one that fits you best.

Nice components or fancy carbon is not a good substitute for the wrong size frame...

[Spat]

Hi

 

The bike is not at cycle traders its at Neil, another guy who deals in second hand bikes.

 

You can go check out similar bike at Chain reactions, they have it advertised there for 21 or 22k on special.

 

If you like what you see then contact me for the details of the owner of the spec.

 

The spec also has carbon flat bar which was selling for around 2k so thats a nice extra as well.

[Cyclewizz]

Buy the Spaz from Spat & then buy a Campy groupset & sell the 105 Sh!tmano.

 

Serious, buy the Spaz for R15k I think it's a fair price.

I also doubt that the warranty will be transferable to you but I could be wrong.

And for now you can use the 105 groupset.