Local bike shop advice ??? too confusing.

[gmac]

Hi to all, my first post seeking some sound advice hopefully.


I went shopping to my local bike shops at the weekend with very serious intention of buying a new bike. I received two completely different sets of advice although I gave the exact set of requirements on both accounts. as follows,


51 year old male 6ft tall and have in the last 4 months started to ride my Giant expression xl (heavy bike) in earnest after purchasing it 3 years ago and not used it very much. target was to reduce my weight from a hefty 16.5 stone to somewhere around 15 stone. half way there now after riding every weekday for 7 to 8 miles and at weekend longer trips of about 15 to 20 miles. I have pushed the giant expression to its limits and now its getting a bit boring to ride. I enquired in both shops what would they recommend. My budget is anywhere from £500 to £900.

Shop 1. is where I bought the Giant and they recommend a road bike Giant defy 2 Drop bars full entry level road bike.£825 , add clip on pedals, shoes, padded shorts, helmet, bike fitting session costing £50 but refunded if bike purchased. All close to £1000. I was a bit confused by all the information so I took my leave trotted off to next shop.

Shop 2.
Their advice was a specialised Sirrus elite, just over £600, remove the toe clip pedals for standard flat ones and that it. Sounds a better deal. IS it that good? ( I am not too impressed with the brake handles on the Sirrus they look cheapish)

Questions that jump into my mind is.... Shop 1 is really interested in me getting a good setup that I will ultimatley be happy with or cynical old me thinks they are trying it on, sell all they can to me. Shop 2 is just giving it to me straight. Thats the level you will reach, nice fast bike that is the next level up from what i have got.

I went back to shop 1 and they said a flat bar bike is only a minimal sideways move.

I admit at my age I will probably never go racing or be in the running for king of the mountains, I am just bitten by the bug!!

I would like more speed and push the weekend distances further out.

Your comments advice would really be appreciated. Thank you.

Gerry

 

[iAmiAdam]

I'm not an expert, but you'll probably be looking for a hybrid. Just ask to try many different bikes, see which you like most.

 

[Alembicbassman]

The standard aluminium Defy gets good reviews, the frame is the same throughout the range you're just paying extra for better kit.

The 2009 Defy 2.5 has Tiagra, still available in many places for a good price.

Don't be affraid to buy older models, often it's only the paint scheme that's changed.

Sora and 2300 aren't as nice

Best deal around at the moment is this:

http://www.wiggle.co...010/5360045297/

105 components one step up from Tiagra.

I'm 6'1 and 58cm frame is ideal for me.

£50 for a fitting is a bit rich.

You can get road pedals for as little as £30 from Keo and Shimano if you shop around, they take 2 mins to fit. You'll need shoes as well so budget at least £60 for shoes and pedals.

 

[Muddyfox]

I admit at my age I will probably never go racing or be in the running for king of the mountains, I am just bitten by the bug!!

I would like more speed and push the weekend distances further out.

I would say that shop 1 is encouraging you to realise and achieve what you really want out of cycling and shop 2 are trying to make a quick £600 by selling you something that is lighter than what you already have

If you buy a flat bar road bike, in 6 months time (or less) you'l wish you'd bought a bike with drops ..

Simon

 

[HLaB]

If you can afford it the Defy bike and shop sound better to me, and you already own a practical Hybrid; drops are more comfortable IMO on longer rides and they seem more interested in getting you sized up, again comfort. If you're more comfortable longer rides will seem more attractive and you'll burn the calories off without noticing. The Sirrus is a great fast bike (I've got an 06 Sport) but its so close but yet so far from a dropped bar bike; whilst on the hills it can compete with the drops the minute wind is factored in it loses out; you especially notice it when folk on drops freewheel downhill and you have to pedal hard to keep up; it left me yearning for a dropped bar bike which I have subsequently bought so cost more in the long run. The accessories recommended seem good advice too IMO but you don't need to buy them all at once, unless you want to.

Edit: I forgot to say Welcome to the forum

 

[BrumJim]

If you buy from shop 1, you will have spent a lot of money, but will understand why they persuaded you to do so. The more time goes on, the better you will feel about the purchase, and may find new hobbies such as Audax or Sportive rides, chasing down fellow commuters, or just going for a hoon around local lanes. Your budget was £900, and you spent it wisely.

If you buy from shop 2, you will be glad that you didn't spend as much money as shop 1 wanted you to spend, and that you got a bike that you like very much. You will be very happy touring around on your new Sirrus, looking slightly askance at those that use drop bars, congratulating yourself on not becoming a lycra lout. Your budget was £600, you got a very good bike, and enjoyed spending the other £300 that you didn't spend on the bike.

Me? I chose the former, but at the bottom end of your budget.

 

[MacB]

If you're looking to ride for longer and more strenuously then the ability to move your hand position makes a big difference. So a flat bar bike may not be ideal but don't rule it out, some limitations:-

Flat bars - one hand position but you can add bar ends, or you can switch, for minimal cost, to trekking/butterfly bars. I'd sort this at point of purchase as you need to get the reach right etc. I've done thousands of miles on butterfly bars and they are very comfortable, the round the world riders used them as well.

Trekking/Butterfly bars - as above but the big drawback, for me, was that there's no good way of getting the controls on the sides and that's where I found I liked to ride. Having to move hands to brake or shift gear gets irritating in the end. Not so bad on long trips where you don't need to access the controls so much, but a pain in town traffic. So this led me to drop bars, I use a shallow splayed out version, and I now wouldn't change back.

Drop bars - braking from drops, hoods(side position) or the tops if you add in crosstop levers, gear changing will depend on what system you choose. Something like Shimano STI would mean from the hoods or the drops.

What to watch for:-

compatibility - in their infinite wisdom bike manufacturers have decided that flat bars/trekking bars and various others should all have an external diameter of 22.2mm and drop bars, plus some noodle bars, should have one of 23.8mm. This means you can't just mix and match fittings to try things. There's also the fact that v-brakes require more cable pull than any other rim brake and therefore different levers or fiddly cable altering gadgets. Newer 10/11 speed road stuff seems to have been designed not to work with off road stuff.

geometry - if you buy a flat bar bike the top tube will normally be longer than the same size in a road bike. This allows for the difference in reach for the hoods/drops. If you do make changes this can normally be accomodated by a stem change but could impact the handling.

costs - messing about changing bars and controls can be very expensive, much better to try and get what you want on the complete bike.

I'd recommend going with a drop bar solution but more long ride than race orientated, otherwise the bars may be too low for comfort.

 

[Fab Foodie]

I'm with shop 1
Get the set-up right (and a 'bike-fit' is a great idea) and a nice drop bar bike will hustle you along the roads effortlessly like no other. If you want to cover more distance that would be my choice. What's more it'll feel so lively compared to your present steed you'll want to go faster and faster.

The defy 2 is a very nice spec bike, very nice frame, good drive-train and good solid wheels (though I'd want to change the tyres at some early opportunity to something a bit more zippy... same with all new bikes really).
Look Keos are good start for a pedal system.

You'd certainly not be dissapointed if you spent the extra on the Giant.

I don't think shop 2 is ripping you off, it's just a different more conservative response to your percieved needs. It's a sensible option, but the least exciting.

 

[Globalti]

Shop 1 gave you the best advice because they wanted to sell you the proper padded shorts and the helmet as part of the package. They know the shorts will make a huge difference to your enjoyment and comfort on a relatively narrow saddle and with your weight at its current level you will find it tough at first. I wouldn't necessarily worry about the pedals at this stage, maybe use the flatties and go for cycling shoes and clip-in pedals next month.

Can't comment on the bikes; plenty of others have but go for the best frame you can get. Once you are completely addicted you can upgrade the wheels and groupset, selling the used bits on Ebay to make it a reasonably inexpensive upgrade. For example I bought some almost new Ultegra brakes for £46 and sold my old 105 brakes for £7 less on Ebay, thus achieving a small but satisfying (to me!) upgrade in the overall quality of my bike.

My advice as a 54 y.o. who weighs 11 1/2 stone is to lay off the beer; if you can limit yourself to just a couple of pints at the weekends you'll find the weight drops off. Do bear in mind though that as you burn fat, you will replace it with muscle, which weighs more so although your fat may be reducing the weight loss might be disappointing. Sounds terrible, I know, but believe it or not a pint of fresh cold tap water can be as satisfying as a pint of beer and doesn't leave you feeling woozy in the head.

One more piece of advice: make sure the shops are recommending a sportiff bike, this is a bike that's built for old duffers like you and me who don't want the arse-in-the-air position of a hardcore race bike and want a little more comfort over long distances. I ride a Specialized Roubaix, which was built for the Belgian cobbles and for long distance rides and it suits me just fine. It is extremely comfortable and still fast enough.

Once you've made your choice stick with the same shop as they will appreciate the loyalty and will begin to give you little discounts.

 

[gmac]

Thank you for all the sound advice.

Shop 1 did mention a sportive type bike and they also showed me the difference in that bike and others. I am now 80% weighted towards the Giant defy following the advice above. I suppose its all about compromises, I just have to take the plunge and go for it. Once again many thanks.

 

[Cyclist33]

Just to throw a spanner in the works... Based on your weight, intent, and most importantly, NEEDS, I would go for the Sirrus, as I don't think like others that you will be clawing at the walls for drop bars if you don't get the Giant, the lowe price gives you scope for fun additives if you want them, you really don't need the extra clout of the higher priced bike, flat bar speedsters are great fun and more than capable of pace and distance and comfort. The Sirrus has wider tire clearance so if you want to go trans-Pennine or cyclo-cross it could handle it. The Giant is a roadracer and great at that but if you want a versatile rig, take the Sirrus.

I think it's 50-50 all the opinions on whether this or that shop had this or that strategy - it's about the bikes. Both shops want to make a profit, regardless of how concerned they are for your satisfaction.

Stu

 

[gaz]

Test ride the giant, and see if you like drop bars. If you don't it's a pretty easy choice.
If you don't test ride, then it will always be in the back of your mind ' should have gone for drops'

 

[threefingerjoe]

Have you considered recumbents at all? Reason I asked, is that you mentioned that you want to go for more speed and distance.

 

[delstron]

Test ride the giant, and see if you like drop bars. If you don't it's a pretty easy choice.
If you don't test ride, then it will always be in the back of your mind ' should have gone for drops'

Note that not all riders 'take' to drops from the first minute. I had to persevere for some weeks until I felt happy, now I prefer them.

 

[slugonabike]

I'm too much of a noob to be able to answer your specific question. My first ever bike is a (womens specific) Giant Expressions, it is a heavy bike isn't it?! Hope you have lots of fun both choosing and riding your new steed.