Cannondale or Specialized or Bianchi

[Joe24]

I thought compacts only had 2 chainrings...or am I mistaken?

You can get compact triples aswell as doubles.
Compact bikes and compact gearing is different. Frames that are compact have a sloping top tube.
Compact double chain rings have nearly the same range as a tripple would, but you miss out on the granny ring. But, after going into Derbyshire into the hills, i dont think there is a need for a tripple.
Raceblades arent bd. But they lack the protecting if you go through puddles, the water from the back wheel goes on the seat tube and splashes onto your leg, then down into your shoe. Howeer, i've been out in some heavy heavy rain with lots of standing water and i just kept going. I dont use the front one though, so that doesnt help in keeping my feet dry. If you want to stay completely dry then full mudguards will be better for you.

 

[Young Un]

i went on the club run last night and there where quite a few big long hills,

only on one of them did i go onto the granny ring on my giant scr2, so i think you could manage. btw i went into the granny ring cus i was stuck behind a slower person and the road wa properly narrow so couldnt overtake.

 

[wlc1]

I've got a spec allez and I commute 20 miles each way to work and it's fine. Yea it can get a little uncomfortable every now and then but by the time I'm cycling home I've been up for 16 hours ( I work shifts with long days) sp fatigue has alot to do with it.

I also use the bike for recreational rides so the mileage is climbing ( hence the reason for me trying to persuade the wife to let me have a commute bike and a nice carbon fibre one for the longer fun rides) ..

I say test them all and only you will know whats right for you.

 

[joebe]

Ignore all the talk about road bikes being unsuitable for commuting because they'll fall apart, who ever says that is talking out of their arse.

10000 miles to date on my De Rosa on Central London's unforgiving streets and I've only had to have one wheel rebuilt (I dented the rim trying to bunny hop a pot hole I only spotted at the last minute).

Treat yourself to the bike you want and get out there and enjoy it. Do what you want to do and ignore everyone else.

(for the record I have no rack/panniers and no mudguards. When it rains I get wet. But, man alive I have fun doing it!!!!)

 

[gbb]

On the subject of mudguards....dont forget riding in the rain is one thing, but winter riding (if you use a good bike) is very damaging.
Salty crud will get all over your bike, in the mechs, on the frame, finding any little scratches and causing corrosion.
My original Via Nirone was a summer only bike till last year. Everything was fine, until i started using it in the winter. Next spring i found corrosion around the alloy steerer on the forks. Nothing too bad.....but its there.

If i'd used mudguards...it would have prevented at least some of the problem.

 

[Joe24]

i went on the club run last night and there where quite a few big long hills,

only on one of them did i go onto the granny ring on my giant scr2, so i think you could manage. btw i went into the granny ring cus i was stuck behind a slower person and the road wa properly narrow so couldnt overtake.

This is a bad excuse Young Un Its nearly as bad as saying, "i wasnt on your back wheel, i was just checking you didnt have a puncture"

As for winter riding on a road bike, there are bits, mainly the front mech on my bike that have crudded up. The spring on it really is completely crudded up. Other bits were also dirty, untill i cleaned them.

 

[monnet]

They're all good bikes. I'm not overly familiar with the Bianchi, but they are pretty good (and pretty). I've got a Spesh and it's great, so I can highly recommend them. Cannondale's usually score highest on frame quality.

Of course the usual try before you buy caveats apply. As an example: Trek's are good bikes but when I sat on one it wasn't right for me - the Spesh was perfect. I'd not planned on buying a bike made by either when I started looking.

 

[stewaran]

thanks all,

Tonights the night. they are ready to go at the shop.

just hoe im ok with STP's(?) only riden with toe clips in the past.

 

[Nick1979]

STP??
Maybe you mean SPD? Shimano's montain bike clipless system? You'll be fine, it takes a (short) while to get used to but it's easy to use.

Oh and please, no SPD if you go for the Bianchi! No Sh*mano stuff anywhere near a proper Italian bike :-)

 

[Joe24]

I would go for SPD-SL on a road bike. Ment to be much better. The SPD-SL is one sided, but you will soon get used to clipping in and un clipping. When you first fit them, put yourself in a door frame that you can watch the TV at, and just clip, unclip, clip, unclip untill you feel confident and can do it pretty much without looking at what your doing. Then go out for a ride. You wont forget to unclip, it will be sitting at the back of your mind. If you dont unclip in time and fall over, then you will have just joined another huge club

 

[Nick1979]

If it's mainly for commuting, MTB systems are not so bad: easier to clip/unclip and you can walk with the shoes.
If you want to use it for more 'serious' biking, road systems (but not SPD-SL of course, it's Sh*mano :-) ) make more sense as Joe24 said.

But I'm sure there are hundreds of other threads with long arguments about clipless pedal systems!

 

[4F]

put yourself in a door frame that you can watch the TV at,

And the TV helps how ?

 

[Nick1979]

And the TV helps how ?

It simulates the "external nuisances" such as traffic, lights, potholes...

 

[stewaran]

im used to toe clips, so hopefully shouldnt be too bad

 

[Joe24]

And the TV helps how ?

Stops you being bored, and also gives you something else to be concentrating on whilst doing it.
If you really wanted to simulate being out on the road, you should do a recording of someone shouting abuse at you, telling you to hurry up.