Thinking of a new bike

[pll]

I must ask for your opinions:

My current ride: a 2003 Felt F85 (all aluminum, Shimano Sora components).

And the two bikes I want to test ride:

• Kona Haole
• Bianchi Vigorelli

This "hunger" for a new bike was brought about by seeing that my LBS started carrying Kona, so I went to their web site to see what the offered. At and MSRP $2500, the components look great to me, and I like that it is steel. When I went the shop, they did not have the Haole and offered the Vigorelli (currently discounted at $1600). I'm calling other dealers in the area tomorrow, to see if anyone has the Haole in a size I can ride.

Thoughts?

PS: I should probably add that I don't know what's the best way to compare these two bikes. The Bianchi has a geometry closer to what I ride now, and that needed a fair amount of tweaking. My Felt is OK now, not great. I have no clue about the different tubing (Deda Zero versus Reynolds 631). And, on the shallow end of the sprectrum, the Vigorelli looks blah to me, while I like the look of the Haole. It seems the Vigorelli is also heavier -- the references I found indicated 19lbs+, while claims for the Haole where in the range 16-17lbs.

[Bike Chick]

They both look like great bikes. It just depends on what you want in components and what kind of riding you do. Do you have a lot of hills? Do you ride centuries?

I'm not as knowledgeable as the majority of ladies here but imo you've made an excellent decision to go with steel, but that's my personal choice. The Haole is more upright and would be a more comfortable ride than you were used to with your Felt and it has the better components, however, it has a standard double crank which would be a big change from your triple. The Vigorelli looks to be more aggressive which is similar to your Felt with lesser components but has a compact double crank, which would be an easier switch from your triple. What issues do you have with your Felt? I would look for a bike that would correct whatever you don't like about it.

It sounds like you are leaning toward the Haole, which is your first choice anyway. I would suggest test riding the Vigorelli and keep looking for a Haole to test ride, then decide.

[pll]

Thanks Bike Chick!

Types of rides: 27 miles and up, to centuries. Not many hills here, but I aspire to take it on rides like this one: http://travel.nytimes.com/2010/08/01.../01Biking.html

My issues with the Felt are (1) vibration, vibration, vibration (it rattles me, and my hands resent it especially on long rides; (2) the reach is long, so the current stem is very short, which makes the bike "twitchy". I have the suspicion (because of the similar geometry) that I may have tweak the Vigorelli in a similar way. When I test ride, I know I will have to cope with the factory stem and handlebar, so I'm afraid the test ride won't be 100% as informative as I would like.

[malaholic]

the reach is long, so the current stem is very short, which makes the bike "twitchy". I have the suspicion (because of the similar geometry) that I may have tweak the Vigorelli in a similar way.

Are you looking at the smallest size offered, or would you be able to go down a size to get a shorter top tube?

[pll]

Are you looking at the smallest size offered, or would you be able to go down a size to get a shorter top tube?

No idea. This is the part of the show when I feel so ignorant that I end up dropping the idea of a new bike. I'll see what the LBS recommends.

[pll]

Tested 3 bikes today:

• Bianchi Vigorelli: I was quite stretched; I'm guessing it can be fixed.
• Cervelo RS: *Heavenly*, it was so comfortable. I was able to do things I can never do in my bike, like get out of the saddle while on the drops; generally, pedaling while out of saddle was much easier. The position felt more aggressive than any other of the bikes, yet it was comfortable, no shifting in the saddle, did not feel overstretched.
• Moots Vamoots: I wanted to test this level of bling . I was surprised the ride was not as comfortable as the Cervelo. Had trouble with the SRAM shifters -- they forgot to tell me how the work and I have never used SRAM before.

The ride in the three bikes was much nicer than my current bike. I also noticed that the brakes were responsive -- it could be that in the three bikes I could reach the levers better from the hoods, but it is definitely something to check if I take my bike to something like the Hilly Hundred later this year.

I was shocked by how nice the Cervelo felt. The one thing I did not like, was the sound of the chain when I coasted. I also don't like the price... Sigh. Even though I would feel fast, I think it's too much bike for me. [Permission to have a mid life crisis]

Kona Haole: Impossible to test ride within 100 miles of my place, nobody has one on stock. I'll ask my LBS if they can order one to test (one of the shops kindly offer to sell me one so I can test ride it after I own it; needless to say, I won't be their customer).

I'll go buy a lottery ticket now.