Navigating the waters of buying a new bike

I was talking to dh this past week and said in passing that I would love to have a new bike if I continue to be so re-dedicated to riding. He said, "Sure, save the money and get yourself one." It's been a long time since I bought a new bike! :o

So, I have a little money in the bank that is not earmarked and will save some more over the next several months/year. I will likely buy around this time next year because I'd like to have a fairly significant budget.

I'm probably going to look mostly at carbon fiber bikes, but I would consider titanium. I love my steel LeMond, so not really looking that direction. I want Campagnolo components (it's what I'm used to). Will shops be at all willing to order in bikes with a certain set up for me to test? Some of the bikes I will be looking at have campy as an option, others don't. I don't expect shops that don't carry campy to let me test a bike with it. If I find a bike I want and it doesn't have a campy build option, I assume I'd have to order just the frameset or frame and fork and have it built up like I did my Klein. Is this correct or am I off on that point?

When should I start really looking? I feel like it will take me a while to test everything I want to. Within an hour's drive, I have probably 20 shops that carry almost everything I want to test ride. I'll have to drive 2 hours to test ride a Colnago. If I find "the" bike, I'll have no problem waiting to buy it, as I'm not a "have to have it now" kind of person and we finance nothing. I'm open to layaway, though. How does that work?

What is the process these days of testing bikes? Will they switch out the seat and let you ride it with your pedals and shoes? How far will they go to adjust it to fit for testing? Although it's been 12 years, I remember buying my Klein at my very favorite (now gone) LBS and the process was really great. I knew the guys there well and it made for a good buying experience.

I have had a lot of questions churning through my brain, but can't think of them right now. At this point I'm looking for any kind of advice. I know many of you have just gone through the process and I'm looking to learn from your experience. Thanks!

I was talking to dh this past week and said in passing that I would love to have a new bike if I continue to be so re-dedicated to riding. He said, "Sure, save the money and get yourself one." It's been a long time since I bought a new bike! :o

So, I have a little money in the bank that is not earmarked and will save some more over the next several months/year. I will likely buy around this time next year because I'd like to have a fairly significant budget.

congrats!!

I'm probably going to look mostly at carbon fiber bikes, but I would consider titanium. I love my steel LeMond, so not really looking that direction. I want Campagnolo components (it's what I'm used to). Will shops be at all willing to order in bikes with a certain set up for me to test?


No, I don't think so. Especially if you're not a common size.


Some of the bikes I will be looking at have campy as an option, others don't. I don't expect shops that don't carry campy to let me test a bike with it. If I find a bike I want and it doesn't have a campy build option, I assume I'd have to order just the frameset or frame and fork and have it built up like I did my Klein. Is this correct or am I off on that point?
It depends on the bike. You probably will want to build the bike, especially since you want Campy.



When should I start really looking?
Now. :cool:

I feel like it will take me a while to test everything I want to. Within an hour's drive, I have probably 20 shops that carry almost everything I want to test ride. I'll have to drive 2 hours to test ride a Colnago. If I find "the" bike, I'll have no problem waiting to buy it, as I'm not a "have to have it now" kind of person and we finance nothing. I'm open to layaway, though. How does that work?
If you decide to buy a bike that is sitting in the shop you might do layaway. But if you order a top of the line something or other in size 44, they probably won't .

What is the process these days of testing bikes? Will they switch out the seat and let you ride it with your pedals and shoes?
yes!

How far will they go to adjust it to fit for testing?
They'll go as far as you want (at a good LBS) And that's the bottom line, find a shop who will work with you

being married to a bike geek who owns a bike shop, he loves to talk to serious bike owners looking to be creative in their new bike. He has participated in the creation of so many bikes I have lost track, each and every one is exciting for him. Our niche is touring bikes and transport bikes, not road racing, not mt bikes, not carbon fiber bikes but he certainly enjoys campy parts.

So my recommend is go find that bike shop owner or manager - the one that gets where you are going with this bike. Start now and over the winter you and the bike shop owner/manager will be able to create the perfect bike for you. Good Luck, sounds like an awesome fun journey :)

A lot of bikes are sold as complete bikes. You may have a few component options from which to choose, but you are otherwise more or less forced to accept the bike as is or pay extra to have certain things swapped out (shops will often work with you on this). Some bikes may be purchased as a frame only. You could then build it up as you wish. It's typically more expensive to do that, especially if you get the parts through your shop (versus online). Plus, you might end up paying a build fee of $200-$300 at your shop. But, again, you get what you want.

As for test riding, a shop will generally let you test a bike with your own pedals and saddle. As for being able to order a bike for a test ride with no obligation to purchase: I don't think it's the norm, but it depends on the shop. Find a shop with a good fitter and try your best, with their help, to figure out the geometry you need prior to ordering and then work with them to dial in the fit after you buy the bike.

Lots of good advice. Thank you! I'm a fairly common height for a woman - 5'4", but I am about equally distributed between torso and leg length. I am not long-legged. I still have 25 pounds to lose, but it's falling off pretty quickly as I'm averaging over 150 miles per week. I am hoping that the bike shops will have a size that will fit me on the floor. I am leery about paying a lot of money for something without test riding it. Since I'm riding a lot, I'm realizing what is good and bad about my current bikes. I want to take my time and be very cautious about this purchase, as it will be one that has to last a long time. Thanks and please keep the advice coming!

Sometimes, they have another model of the same bike on the floor in your size so you can feel the fit and imagine how much better the one you want will perform. (I did that when I got one of my raleighs)

I'm 5'4 and have had to purchase most of my bikes sight unseen. It's been a gamble for sure. If you're in a big market, hopefully you'll have more bikes on the floor from which to choose.

+1 to Biciclista. Can't wait to hear about your new bike shopping and can't wait to see photos of your final decision!
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2012 Specialized Amira Elite, upgraded carbon handle bars, Jett saddle 143mm switched to 145mm 2012 Selle Italia Max SLR Gel Flow saddle

2011 Specialized Ariel Sport,suspension post,Serfas Rx Women's Microfiber saddle

Congratulations. The LBS we bought our Felt road bikes from does do layaway. They had to order my bike (I'm 5'0" and needed a 48cm). When they looked to see if they could still get one of the previous year or needed to order the new year for me (got the bikes right at change time for the companies) we discovered they still had a couple of special edition bikes in my size. So that is what we ordered and they still allowed us to do layaway on it.

Layaway at the bike shops here seems to be 3 months. As to what you put down varies widely. The shop I went with didn't care how much you put down, but I went to one that wanted 30%.

If I can test ride something close, I think that would be OK. It sounds like layaway may not work. Especially if 3 months is standard. Thanks for the info!

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Originally Posted by indysteel

I'm 5'4 and have had to purchase most of my bikes sight unseen. It's been a gamble for sure.

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This. I'm also 5'4" and didn't get to test ride any of my current bikes, although I was able to ride similar models for a couple of them. Mostly, I've just compared the geometry of the new bike to that of my other bikes, and ordered accordingly.

Our LBS that we did the layaway with we had them there for around 8 or 9 months paying on them. But the two guys who own it are really cool and as long as you are making payments they're cool. There wasn't any specific payment arrangement, just as much as you can when you and and please try to make a payment of something at least once per month. Then again they'll let customers they know put just about anything on layaway as long as the over cost is over $100.

Yep, Pinarello is on my list. :D I'm not looking for a "go fast" bike per se. My Klein is race geometry and built with crits in mind. But I'm also not looking for a touring bike. With just a few modifications, my LeMond could be fairly good for that. I'm looking for something in between. My Klein has a carbon fork, but as I approach the 50 mile mark, I start to really feel the road. That could also be due to my age or the lack of time in the saddle (although I'm averaging over 150 miles a week). I'm looking for a softer ride, but not a relaxed geometry, necessarily. I figure that that will mean looking at A LOT of bikes. I make very slow and deliberate decisions usually, so this is probably going to be a long process. Again, my thanks for the help, all!

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Originally Posted by velo

Yep, Pinarello is on my list. :D I'm not looking for a "go fast" bike per se. My Klein is race geometry and built with crits in mind. But I'm also not looking for a touring bike. With just a few modifications, my LeMond could be fairly good for that. I'm looking for something in between. My Klein has a carbon fork, but as I approach the 50 mile mark, I start to really feel the road. That could also be due to my age or the lack of time in the saddle (although I'm averaging over 150 miles a week). I'm looking for a softer ride, but not a relaxed geometry, necessarily. I figure that that will mean looking at A LOT of bikes. I make very slow and deliberate decisions usually, so this is probably going to be a long process. Again, my thanks for the help, all!

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Honestly, for what you're describing, I would strongly consider a custom steel bike. You'd get the geometry you want (which might be hard with carbon) and, ideally the softer ride you're after. Plus, you could build it up the way you want. It could very well end up cheaper than carbon.

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Originally Posted by indysteel

Honestly, for what you're describing, I would strongly consider a custom steel bike. You'd get the geometry you want (which might be hard with carbon) and, ideally the softer ride you're after. Plus, you could build it up the way you want. It could very well end up cheaper than carbon.

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Oh, I'm not ruling anything out at this point, including custom. I'm not looking for a very specific price point, just a general range. Thanks for mentioning it, though, and if you have specific builders you recommend, please let me know!

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Originally Posted by velo

Oh, I'm not ruling anything out at this point, including custom. I'm not looking for a very specific price point, just a general range. Thanks for mentioning it, though, and if you have specific builders you recommend, please let me know!

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Glad you haven't ruled it out. There are any number of great builders out there. It's too bad Luna is no longer in business (as far as I know). Sniff, sniff.

On my short list of dream builders for steel are Carl Strong, Dave Kirk, Ellis, Spectrum Cycles, Sweetpea, Yipsan (as previously mentioned). I'm sure I'm forgetting some others, and I have some additional names I'd add if Ti is what you're after. I also think Gunnar is a great option if you'd like a custom or semi-custom steel bike that's a bit easier on the pocketbook. For me, part of it comes down to aesthetics. I just prefer some builder's final products over others from kind of a gut reaction. Of course, wait times are a consideration as well. Some of these people are quite backed up.

I went with a custom Ti bike a few years that didn't work out for me as well as I would have liked. Okay; it didn't work out at all. I'm of the mind that it's more of a frame material issue than geometry, but I can't know that for sure. In any event, I'd want to work with a builder that understands the difference between buildng a bike for a 180 pounds guy and a relatively petite woman. Geometry is just one aspect of building; tube selection is another.

Anyway, notwithstanding my experience, I think custom can be a great option, especially if what you want just isn't mass produced or it's important to you to get exactly what you want.

Where do you live if you don't mind me asking? There may be a builder or two in your area that has a good reputation.

I second Indy's recommendation for builders. Since you're considering various materials, you might want to think about what you love and what you'd like to improve about your current ride and have a conversation with Carl Strong since he is a very, very rare bird in that he works with steel, ti and carbon.

Everyone who has worked with Carl seems to have only the best things to say about the experience. But the same can be said of Mr Kirk and Mr Kellogg (Spectrum) as well. Not as well versed with Ellis, Sweetpea or Yipsan to comment.

If you're not wedded to a particular material, I've heard it said that any good frame builder can use the material to create what suits your taste. However, this is not from my personal experience since I'm still in the "I'm not sure" stage myself.

Indy, sorry to hear you and your frame haven't come to terms.