trickycoolj
08-02-2011, 09:08 PM
Long time lurker, first time poster… really maybe about 3 weeks or so. You guys keep popping up in my google searches so I had to finally join!
A little bit of background, I’m 26 about 5’5’’ live in Seattle and recently made a very positive career switch. I’m neither coordinated nor athletic; music was my “thing” in high school since I wasn’t so great at sports. As a kid I loved riding bikes with the neighbor kids and for half of my childhood lived in a housing development that was basically a half mile circle of perfectly paved roads and cul-de-sacs that we’d race around until the sun went down. My last bike purchase was at the age of 13, I was fully grown and had very much out grown my Toys R Us fake mtb. My parents finally agreed on a 1997 17” Specialized HardRock AX FS. I distinctly remember my mom saying I’d never understand how much money that cost (something like half a paycheck?) and it was the last bike my parents would ever buy me. Boy, were they right! I’ve been rocking my HardRock ever since. It’s a champ. I’m on my 3rd saddle now that I understand sitbones should be ON the seat!
That said, for the last 10 years or so I’ve lived in towns directly on the 206 mile Seattle to Portland Bicycle Classic route. It’s an epic weekend of 10,000 riders coming through town and I always secretly wanted to try. One year my dad did it with no preparation on what my friends have described as a Frankenbike, a box store clearance floor model mtb outfitted with car sized lights and batteries. We all thought he was crazy, but he just wanted to prove it to himself. 3 years ago my mom’s boyfriend and his buddy signed up and put slicks on their mtb’s. Mom and I were the support team, got up at 4am racked their bikes up on my teeny Honda Fit and dropped them off, met them at several of the food stops along the way for encouragement, and stood for hours in the rain after the finish line festival ended to cheer them into Portland. They learned, got road bikes and trained somewhat (they also like mountain climbing and other extreme sports) and for the last two years have made remarkable time achievements. That said, I’m tired of cheering at the finish line, I can totally do the STP! Oh wait, I need a ROAD BIKE! :eek:
I’ve been doing all kinds of research and have been out test riding at a few LBSs as well as two REIs. I’ve tried looking at Craigslist and a few used shops but the used bike market in Seattle is difficult since things sell so quickly if they’re quality. So far I’ve tested:
-2011 Trek Lexa SL (my first try on a road bike, liked the shifters, hated the white/gold/sliver paint job)
-2011 Specialized Dolce Sport (didn’t care for the Sora style shifters, loved the red paint job)
-2011 Marin Portofino (Again Soras and this bike was heavy/sluggish so didn’t bother to seek out the WSD version)
-2011 Novara Carema Pro (REI house brand, full 105 gruppo, rode fairly nice, a bit heavy and the frame had big welds, also a blah black and white paint job)
-2011 Raleigh Capri 3.0 (A local company now, full 105 gruppo and nice cranks, was a double and I’d prefer a Triple since I live at the top of a hill, the welds on the frame didn’t look very nice and in general felt a notch lower all around to make up for the 105 price)
-A used red clunker almost as old as me (great non-profit LBS that teaches all things bike to kids, but not a lot of used selection, the top tube was way too long and it had downtube shifters that I couldn’t figure out, good for the tinkerer, not for long hauls or busy lives)
-2010 Specialized Dolce Elite Triple (Clearance at an LBS, they put it on a trainer and I had a chance to really feel that Specialized WSD geometry was a bit too cramped, too far down in the drops)
-2008/9? Trek 2.1 WSD (Also clearance at an LBS, big step up from the Lexa, carbon fork, seat post and stays, Tiagra/105 mix, upgraded wheels… Orange/Cream paint job it’s a creamsicle for sure!)
That said these all hover around the $1k mark, which is significant to pay a month’s worth of rent for recreational equipment. I want this bike to grow up with me just like my HardRock. (I swear I feel like I’m cheating on it!)
Right now I’m really leaning towards the creamsicle 2008/9? Trek 2.1 WSD it felt good on a trainer and in the parking lot. It’s a great frame for the money which the LBS guy mentioned would be worth upgrading components someday unlike lower models. They’re asking $999 and according to Bikepedia it was $13-14k at release.
Hopefully I’m on the right track as I test and critique these bikes. I know color has nothing/everything to do with it. I want to love it and my HardRock is boring black so I’d like to switch it up. I do feel like I have learned an immense amount of bike in just a few weeks. Am I going to get a good long term ride looking at this price/group? I’m probably over analyzing, it comes with the trade. I just want to start getting out to ride, possibly join the local bike club and do classes, social and training rides with them as well as prep for the 2012 STP. I’ve put on 30-40 lbs in the 4 years since college, desk jobs are terrible for that, so I’m hoping to really engage myself in something fun with a big end goal for fitness!
A little bit of background, I’m 26 about 5’5’’ live in Seattle and recently made a very positive career switch. I’m neither coordinated nor athletic; music was my “thing” in high school since I wasn’t so great at sports. As a kid I loved riding bikes with the neighbor kids and for half of my childhood lived in a housing development that was basically a half mile circle of perfectly paved roads and cul-de-sacs that we’d race around until the sun went down. My last bike purchase was at the age of 13, I was fully grown and had very much out grown my Toys R Us fake mtb. My parents finally agreed on a 1997 17” Specialized HardRock AX FS. I distinctly remember my mom saying I’d never understand how much money that cost (something like half a paycheck?) and it was the last bike my parents would ever buy me. Boy, were they right! I’ve been rocking my HardRock ever since. It’s a champ. I’m on my 3rd saddle now that I understand sitbones should be ON the seat!
That said, for the last 10 years or so I’ve lived in towns directly on the 206 mile Seattle to Portland Bicycle Classic route. It’s an epic weekend of 10,000 riders coming through town and I always secretly wanted to try. One year my dad did it with no preparation on what my friends have described as a Frankenbike, a box store clearance floor model mtb outfitted with car sized lights and batteries. We all thought he was crazy, but he just wanted to prove it to himself. 3 years ago my mom’s boyfriend and his buddy signed up and put slicks on their mtb’s. Mom and I were the support team, got up at 4am racked their bikes up on my teeny Honda Fit and dropped them off, met them at several of the food stops along the way for encouragement, and stood for hours in the rain after the finish line festival ended to cheer them into Portland. They learned, got road bikes and trained somewhat (they also like mountain climbing and other extreme sports) and for the last two years have made remarkable time achievements. That said, I’m tired of cheering at the finish line, I can totally do the STP! Oh wait, I need a ROAD BIKE! :eek:
I’ve been doing all kinds of research and have been out test riding at a few LBSs as well as two REIs. I’ve tried looking at Craigslist and a few used shops but the used bike market in Seattle is difficult since things sell so quickly if they’re quality. So far I’ve tested:
-2011 Trek Lexa SL (my first try on a road bike, liked the shifters, hated the white/gold/sliver paint job)
-2011 Specialized Dolce Sport (didn’t care for the Sora style shifters, loved the red paint job)
-2011 Marin Portofino (Again Soras and this bike was heavy/sluggish so didn’t bother to seek out the WSD version)
-2011 Novara Carema Pro (REI house brand, full 105 gruppo, rode fairly nice, a bit heavy and the frame had big welds, also a blah black and white paint job)
-2011 Raleigh Capri 3.0 (A local company now, full 105 gruppo and nice cranks, was a double and I’d prefer a Triple since I live at the top of a hill, the welds on the frame didn’t look very nice and in general felt a notch lower all around to make up for the 105 price)
-A used red clunker almost as old as me (great non-profit LBS that teaches all things bike to kids, but not a lot of used selection, the top tube was way too long and it had downtube shifters that I couldn’t figure out, good for the tinkerer, not for long hauls or busy lives)
-2010 Specialized Dolce Elite Triple (Clearance at an LBS, they put it on a trainer and I had a chance to really feel that Specialized WSD geometry was a bit too cramped, too far down in the drops)
-2008/9? Trek 2.1 WSD (Also clearance at an LBS, big step up from the Lexa, carbon fork, seat post and stays, Tiagra/105 mix, upgraded wheels… Orange/Cream paint job it’s a creamsicle for sure!)
That said these all hover around the $1k mark, which is significant to pay a month’s worth of rent for recreational equipment. I want this bike to grow up with me just like my HardRock. (I swear I feel like I’m cheating on it!)
Right now I’m really leaning towards the creamsicle 2008/9? Trek 2.1 WSD it felt good on a trainer and in the parking lot. It’s a great frame for the money which the LBS guy mentioned would be worth upgrading components someday unlike lower models. They’re asking $999 and according to Bikepedia it was $13-14k at release.
Hopefully I’m on the right track as I test and critique these bikes. I know color has nothing/everything to do with it. I want to love it and my HardRock is boring black so I’d like to switch it up. I do feel like I have learned an immense amount of bike in just a few weeks. Am I going to get a good long term ride looking at this price/group? I’m probably over analyzing, it comes with the trade. I just want to start getting out to ride, possibly join the local bike club and do classes, social and training rides with them as well as prep for the 2012 STP. I’ve put on 30-40 lbs in the 4 years since college, desk jobs are terrible for that, so I’m hoping to really engage myself in something fun with a big end goal for fitness!