Carbon seatstays or post?

[redranger]

Well, I searched the forums and couldn't quite come up with my answer so I guess I will pose it here to those with more experience than yours truly. I have been narrowing down my new bike choices and have considerably narrowed the field. The Felt FW35 has a carbon seatpost, but not stays, but is full 105, and is a double. Both the Trek 2.1WSD and the Specialized Dolce Elite have carbon seatstays and seatposts, but are Tiagra front derailer and shifters, 105 rear derailer and are both triples. Furthermore, they are both one to two hundred more dollars. Is it better for me to go for the Felt with the better components or get one of the others for comfort. Do the carbon seatstays make that big of a difference over just the carbon post?

[batsheva]

i am not so experienced but have been VERY grateful to have a triple, especially as a new rider who needs all the help she can get on the hills-- if it were me (which it's not of course..) i would decide if you can live with the double rather than the triple - i would think this would make much more difference to you and your riding than whether the seatstays are carbon or not.

[alpinerabbit]

What she said - I'd go for the one with the better components but if required, take the triple. If not, make sure that double is a compact, not a 53-39. For hills.

[tulip]

How's the fit and comfort compare? My Luna (steel) has carbon fork and seatstays and is very comfortable. I've never ridden on a carbon seatpost. I switched my standard double to a compact double. I wouldn't have had to do that if I'd gotten the triple in the first place.

[sklarewc]

You might want to consider this: you will never change the stays, but you can upgrade your components (altho you may never do that either). On the other hand, if the stays are shaped--and I assume they are, with that hourglass curve--then you'll get a little more forgiving ride, right there. Also, I wouldn't want to go below the level of 105. The 105 group nowadays is very good. Btw, are the shifters 105s? I think that's more important than the derailleur (and a LOT more expensive to upgrade later).
All in all, I agree with the last post: it will come down to how these bikes feel to YOU. You've just gotta take the time to do a serious test ride, and try to get a sense of which one feels best. I own 2 bikes, and love the one that cost less, probably because it fits so well.
As for the carbon seatpost, one thing to think about is that you will not be able to mount a seatpost rack on it. If you like to ride w/o baggage part of the time but sometimes need to carry stuff, it's really nice to have a quick-release rack that just attaches to your seatpost (Topeak makes a great one, and a bag that slides on & off quickly & easily).

[violette]

Triple, Triple, Triple.

I have a Roubaix Elite, Double with all carbon, crank, seatpost, seatstay, Frame, Shimano 105, Ultegra... If you're a beginer, this makes NO DIFFERENCE. Get a triple, you'll be happy you did.

[7rider]

A bunch of us were chatting with a bike shop owner about bikes one day recently. A guy had come in with a NOS Blue he was thinking of buying and wanted to know the LBS's owner's opinion on the brand. (Just as the shop owner his/her opinion, and you'll get more than you bargained for!)

According to his observations, many new cyclists shop for bikes backwards.
They focus on components first, then frame (and often never even consider the wheelset).

Components are easily upgradeable and changeable. Therefore, they should be the LAST thing to consider on your list. First should be the frame. What frame fits you best? What frame feels most comfortable to you? Ride them all...ideally one right after the other, so you can compare one against the other. And don't discount the wheels that are on each bike. Ride one bike and ask the shop to swap out the wheelset on the same bike and you will be amazed at the difference in ride.

And...if you intend to ride for a long time, a few hundred bucks..does it really make that big a difference? If you ride 200 times, that's a dollar a ride.

[ilima]

I've always heard, in order of importance:

1. Frame
2. Wheels
3. Components

Wheels are, of course, the easiest thing to swap out. Many shop owners will be happy to quote you a price for upgraded wheels when you're buying a new bike. Or you could sell the wheels that come with your bike & buy decent ones. I have one set of crappy wheels (bought to use on my rollers mostly) and on hills especially I can feel a BIG difference between them and my nice wheels.

[alpinerabbit]

Triple, Triple, Triple.

I have a Roubaix Elite, Double with all carbon, crank, seatpost, seatstay, Frame, Shimano 105, Ultegra... If you're a beginer, this makes NO DIFFERENCE. Get a triple, you'll be happy you did.

There we go again, strawberry or vanilla. Depends on your terrain....

[violette]

There we go again, strawberry or vanilla. Depends on your terrain....

Did I say something wrong?