Oh What to Buy... Road Bike Heaven

[Oneriver]

I am in the market for a new bike. YIPPEE!!!

I ride a Specialized Dolce Compact Comp. This is my 3rd year on her. She has been and is a FAB bike. Comfortable. I love my bike. Before that I rode a Specialized Hybrid. So I am partial to Specialized and strongly considering the Ruby. I am waiting for the 2012.

My favorite bike shop sells Specialized, Felt & Cervelo so I will ride the Ruby, the ZW4 (?) and the Cervelo RS I think. Other shops in town sell Orbea, Giant, Bianchi & Scott. (I am not interested in a Trek). My LBS is wonderful, close by and I would really like to give them a sale. They have graciously told me they think the Orbea, Giant, Bianchi & Scott are also worth considering. Of them all, I am mostly salivating over the Orbea. I don't want to have to drive far for bike service though. I do think my local bike shop would service it for me. I would just feel bad. :-(

Anyway, does anyone have any input about Ruby vs. Orbea vs. Cervelo? Those seem to be the favs thus far. I'm gonna be a snob about components so the bike will have to have Ultegra or SRAM Force at a minimum.

I am a recreational rider. I probably ride 80+ miles per week. I've completed one century and I am riding my 3rd MS 150 this year.

Thanks in advance for your help.

[Owlie]

Giant generally seems to be better bang-for-buck than Specialized, but if you ride a Dolce comfortably (without many modifications in terms of stem length), I'd be a little leery of Giant's women-specific bikes (is that what you need?) because their top tubes tend to be on the long side. Doesn't hurt to try one, though.

They're all good bikes, so go ahead and test some out.

Out of curiosity, why aren't you considering Trek?

[Oneriver]

Hi Owlie,
No modifications to the Dolce. It just fits me great. :-)
Re: Trek. I don't like either the customer service or the quality of the mechanics at the LBS that sells Trek. My preferred LBS outshines them on both. There are actually two very good LBS's close to my house. Both sell Specialized - and then a few others. But not Orbea. Boo.

[Owlie]

Hi Owlie,
No modifications to the Dolce. It just fits me great. :-)
Re: Trek. I don't like either the customer service or the quality of the mechanics at the LBS that sells Trek. My preferred LBS outshines them on both. There are actually two very good LBS's close to my house. Both sell Specialized - and then a few others. But not Orbea. Boo.

Okay, then go ahead and test-ride a Giant. The Avail's top tube is too long for me, and while the Dolce in my size has a shorter top tube, I'd still need a shorter stem. But I'm some kind of freak , so it just might work for you with a shorter stem. They're nice bikes for the money...if they fit!

Part of me says to tell you to go ahead and get the Ruby if you like the LBS and your Dolce fits. But by all means, go ahead and try out all the bikes on your list just for comparison's sake.

[Oneriver]

Thanks Owlie. I'm hoping to ride some next week. I'll probably ride the Cervelo, Orbea, Felt & Ruby. I must say the Orbea looks and sounds sweet. :-)

[pll]

It seems to me that several of the bikes you mentioned (Cervelo RS, Felt Zw4, Specialized Ruby) and your Dolce have a more relaxed geometry than any of the Orbeas has... What is the reason you are upgrading if you are happy with the 3-year old bike, as opposed to, for example, getting some fabulous wheels on your Dolce?

[indysteel]

I'm curious as to why you're getting a new bike, too, if the Dolce is so comfy.

In any event, don't feel bad about buying a bike at one store and then servicing it at your favorite LBS. I'm sure they'll be happy for the business, especially since a lot of shops make their money in the service department anyway.

[kermit]

I am a huge Specialized fan, however if I were to get a new ride, I say try everything, especially the Orbea, they are sexy!

[Stellar1]

I've got a new Orbea on order. Rode the Orbea Dama with Ultegra, Sella Italia, the other day and really like it. It has compact double and the LBS guy put a cassette in the rear which is a little better for hills. I will go with this. I will have the Speed play Zeros taken off my present bike (which is steel and a bit too heavy) and put on the Orbea. Try it, you will like it.
Stellar 1
(Seattle where there are hills)

[Oneriver]

Thanks for all your responses. I do love my Dolce. The reason I am in the market is my desire to ride a full carbon bike. I'm assuming it will help me up my game further. Or one can hope. :-). Glad to hear the feedback on the Orbea too. They sure do look sexy!

Happy 4th of July to everyone.

[Miranda]

Here is my carbon roadie.... Orbea Onix Dama Ultergra...

http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showt...ht=candy+sweet

I Love my Orbea.

I had to drive 5hrs round trip to get her from the closest Orbea dealer. The alum version Aqua Dama was the only bike I could find in my size to test ride the geometry. Fit like a glove. I ordered the carbon Onix from Spain sight unseen. Kinda like a mail order bride. And so the love affair began lol.

I really would have loved to have the Orbea Diva with Dura Ace. But, a big jump in price tag, obviously.

Fwiw, I also crashed pretty bad on her...
http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showt...=century+crash
...while my body did not hold up so well... the carbon bike frame did.

Happy Shopping!

[Oneriver]

Thanks for your comments and advice Miranda. I looked at your links. Your bike is beautiful... and I too love the black tube running up to the seat post.

Your accident sounds awful. I can't believe the stupid dog owner. We ride in the "country" too and encounter dogs... have had a few of my riding buddies crash with dogs while riding together. Highly upsetting that dog owners are not more responsible.

I trust you are all recovered and you go that century in?

I'll let you know what I buy after I do some test rides. Gotta figure out if I can ride an Orbea or not. Hmmm.

Roberta

[Miranda]

Thanks for your comments and advice Miranda. I looked at your links. Your bike is beautiful... and I too love the black tube running up to the seat post.

Your accident sounds awful. I can't believe the stupid dog owner. We ride in the "country" too and encounter dogs... have had a few of my riding buddies crash with dogs while riding together. Highly upsetting that dog owners are not more responsible.

I trust you are all recovered and you go that century in?

I'll let you know what I buy after I do some test rides. Gotta figure out if I can ride an Orbea or not. Hmmm.

Roberta

Thanks... have not been able to ride right since the accident... have some permanent damage to parts of my body. But, still working on trying though.

It was a challenge to find an Orbea to ride. Your other choices are good too. Ultimately, get what fits you the best.

I had a Giant wsd alum frame road bike prior to the Orbea carbon. What a mess. Just sold it on consignmet at my lbs. It was so ill fit, two frames size too big for me. I was in pain always riding. Only good thing about it was that I found TE lol. I needed help. The ladies here were so wonderful. So, maybe fate for a reason.

The Orbea geometry I sought out after a professional bike fit. I was willing to travel any distance to get a good fit... and not repeat another very sickening expensive mistake... with no thanks to the lbs that sold the Giant to me.

The alum ride I just felt was harsh on my bad back disk problems. The carbon sucks up the road and smoothes things out. More comfort, equals happier longer rides.

My Onix stock is not a light carbon. She's about 18-ish pounds. The Diva is one pound lighter in the frameset alone. Thus 1K more for that lighter pound. I *think* the lbs owner told me in the Diva the steer tube/head is all carbon... where in the Onix there is some alum... thus the extra weight. But, someone at Orbea could verify that.

They do also have a crash replacement discount policy. Think it's 20/25%. The dealer inspected my Orbea for frame cracks. Good to go. Due to the cost of that bike I happen to have it insured also on my home owners as a rider. Fwiw.

OK, hope you didn't become half blind reading all that... I'm a bit of a gear reseach geek that way lol.

[Lavigne]

I also had to make the tough choice between the Ruby and the Orbea. The Ruby was at the LBS and was a decent fit after a few adjustments. The closest Orbea was about 7 hours away (one way) but I just couldn't bring myself to buy the Ruby without at least testing the Orbea. So, I made the drive and fell in love with it. The fit is perfect, it rides like a dream, and it's GORGEOUS.

Like you, I felt a little guilty when I took it to the LBS for new tires. (They could have ordered it for me but I really didn't want to pay for a bike I hadn't tested.). My guilt was not necessary. When I rolled her in everyone was gawking, literally. They asked where I had gotten it and said they too would have driven to the ends of the earth for that bike. I get complements every time I ride. It's the Onix Dama TLT in black, white, and turquoise.

[Susie Derkins]

If the Dolce fits you well, you may find (as I did) that the Felt's ZW geometry is too relaxed for you.

I don't have any Orbea or Bianchi dealers anywhere near me, so those weren't on my list. Scott did fit me very similarly to Specialized.

In the end, though, I'm partial to Specialized. I went in planning to buy the Dolce Comp, and came home with a Ruby Comp instead. The angels sang, what can I say. If you really like the way the Dolce fits you, do you want to mess with success?