Orbea Aqua T23, Jamis Coda or Giant Dash3?

[mellyb]

HI!
So I backed over my 15 year old mountain bike, which was my sole bike. Maybe it was a subliminal thing to get a new bike? At any rate, I am certainly more on the novice side of biking; I use it for fitness, biking around town with my little ones and am doing a sprint tri this summer (really don't care much about my time, I just love doing it), will likely continue with that but my not ever do a full tri. Am between a Jamis Coda, Giant Dash 3 and an Orbea Aqua T23. I like the ride on all three. Can anyone comment/help advise which to go for?

[tulip]

The Jamis and Giant have flat bars. The Orbea has drop bars. What's your bar preference?

[mellyb]

The shop will swap out the drop for flat bars on the Orbea, as that is my reference. It'll actually be $100 cheaper to do this!

[tulip]

Then my question is, if you are going to do triathlons, why would you want a flat-bar bike? I would suggest that you at least try out a few drop bar bikes. Drop bars provide alot more flexibility for hand positions, which is important on longer rides.

[mellyb]

It's just what I am comfortable on and used to. I really don't and never have liked the feeling of drop bars. I do like to the tris, but it's not the M.O. for the bike, per say.

[tulip]

The Orbea and Giant are aluminum. The Jamis is steel. I've been riding since the early 1980s, and can say with confidence that steel bikes are alot nicer to ride. I've had aluminum bikes in the past (Centurion Facet and Vitus), but I would not buy one these days.

I have a Jamis Coda and it is really nice to ride. I use it for errands, but I originally bought it for commuting. I would prefer to have drop bars on it, but that's a big job that I'm not going to invest in since I have two road bikes for longer rides.

You might want to consider the smooth ride of steel that the Jamis Coda offers, assuming that it fits you correctly.

[mellyb]

Thanks for your info, Tulip. The alum v stele thing definitely has me confused. Alum b/c lighter and easier for long distances but steel for comfort on rougher surfaces?

[tulip]

Thanks for your info, Tulip. The alum v stele thing definitely has me confused. Alum b/c lighter and easier for long distances but steel for comfort on rougher surfaces?

I would not say that aluminum is easier for long distances. Aluminum is very rattly to ride on, and gets pretty tiring and annoying on longer rides. One feels every bump. The Orbea might have a carbon fork; I couldn't tell from a quick glance at the specs. That would help. Go ride all three again and pay attention to the feel of the road. Go over bumpy roads, don't just stick to the smooth parking lot of the bike shop.

If weight is important to you, really look at the differences in the bikes (with pedals and saddles). I bet these bikes are going to be pretty similar in weight. I find the argument about the importance of bike weight for recreational riders to be quite silly. Most people would do better to get a comfortable bike that fits them and lose 5 lbs (or more!) on themselves, as opposed to buying the lightest bike, which would only be a pound or two lighter at the most. When you get up to higher level carbon bikes, then there's a big difference. The weight difference between the Jamis Coda and carbon Orbea Orca is going to be significant, but we're not talking about Orcas here.

[mellyb]

Thanks so much for all your valuable info, Tulip. I'll take your advice and go test them all again and let you know where I land!
happy riding