Ruby Comp or Ruby Pro

[indysteel]

Thanks for clarifying that for me Jo-Ann. That further explains the price difference.

[li10up]

Well, I went to the LBS last night and got fit on my current bike. I think it went well and I feel more comfortable on my bike. He said I am on the right size frame. He rotated the handlebars upward…my hoods were down too far for me causing me to extend my wrists. Now the drops aren’t really in the right place so I may have to rotate the bars down a bit. But at least I know how to do that now. If/when I need to replace the bar tape I’ll move the hoods up a bit. He also raised my seat and moved it forward. I’ll see how it feels on my ride tomorrow. He also said I have a good pedal stroke…hey; at least I’m doing something right!

We then talked about bikes. I wanted the Expert but I can only get it in black, sorry Calgirl, but I just don’t know if I can go with that look. Just a personal preference. But I had them price me out three options.
Pro - $3897
Expert - $2815
Comp frame with Campy Chorus group - $3600

I really don’t know anything about Campy but it was the bike shop owner that really thought it was the way for me to go. But he may have alternative motives since he is in the business to make money, I assume.

So, I still don’t know what to do. I still haven’t even see the Ruby frame in person or taken a test ride on one. Close up it might not look anything like the pictures I’ve seen. In another post I said I test rode a Pro at a bike demo but it was actually the S-works bike…SWEET! Maybe I should just wait until the 2008’s come out and see what color the expert comes in.

[Jo-n-NY]

hmmmmm I wonder why there is Campy on the Comp. Specialized does not sell it that way. They do not use Campy on any of their bikes. My dh is not a fan of campy as he feels shimano has a smoother way of shifting.

For a few hundred more you can have the Pro.

If you are more comfortable on your bike this may give you more time to think about what you want, and maybe look around a bit more for a shop that might have even an expert or pro for you to try since he doesn't have any instock as you mentioned you have not even seen one yet.

~ JoAnn

[caligurl]

Specialized doesn't indicate what wheelset is used on each bike. Maybe the Pro has better wheels. That would explain it....

yes they do... and each version has different wheels...

[caligurl]

For a few hundred more you can have the Pro.

i gotta agree here... if you are considering going with the comp built up with campy (what did they do with the 105 that specialized shipped with the bike?) i'd just pay the couple hundred more and get the pro....

someone else got her 2006 pro groupo switched out from DA to campy record....

no... specialized does not sell campy... the bike store built it up (or will build it up) charging the difference (or whole price?) for the chorus groupo!

if you are considering the comp with the chorus... make sure you do your homework on price.... that seems an awfully steep upcharge for charging the difference... if they are charging you FULL price on the campy and not taking the 105 into consideration... then make sure you get that 105 set... at the very least it's a back up group/parts or you can sell it here or on ebay!

[caligurl]

I wanted the Expert but I can only get it in black, sorry Calgirl, but I just don’t know if I can go with that look. Just a personal preference.

hey.... no problem! that's why there are so many bike (or so many of anything!) we all have personal preferences! you like blue i like black!

i feel with bikes it really IS important to like the look of it! some people don't care..... I do!!!!

[li10up]

hmmmmm I wonder why there is Campy on the Comp. Specialized does not sell it that way. They do not use Campy on any of their bikes.

He would sell me the Comp and switch out the components.

I've heard that Campy fans are VERY loyal and wouldn't get caught dead riding anything else. Must be something to it. I dunno. I'm thinking I'm going to head to Austin sometime and see if I find a Pro or Expert to ride.

[Jo-n-NY]

He would sell me the Comp and switch out the components.

I've heard that Campy fans are VERY loyal and wouldn't get caught dead riding anything else. Must be something to it. I dunno. I'm thinking I'm going to head to Austin sometime and see if I find a Pro or Expert to ride.

I think that is a great idea and it will give you peace of mind.

I will agree with Cali on the campy change out. Unless you are familiar with this set, I would not agree to it.

Have fun in your search and keep us updated.

~ JoAnn

[li10up]

i gotta agree here... if you are considering going with the comp built up with campy (what did they do with the 105 that specialized shipped with the bike?) i'd just pay the couple hundred more and get the pro....

if you are considering the comp with the chorus... make sure you do your homework on price.... that seems an awfully steep upcharge for charging the difference... if they are charging you FULL price on the campy and not taking the 105 into consideration... then make sure you get that 105 set... at the very least it's a back up group/parts or you can sell it here or on ebay!

He didn't say if he was going to charge me the full price on the Campy groupo. He also didn't say if I got to keep the 105 set. I don't know much at all about Campy so I don't have any idea of this is a good deal or not.

Anyone know which bikes ship with Campy? Maybe I could do a price comparison that way.

[Bluetree]

Anyone know which bikes ship with Campy? Maybe I could do a price comparison that way.

I believe Bianchis come with Campys, although I've seen them in LBSs with Shimanos, too. Orbea actually has a "build your own bike" setup, where you pick the frame and then the components you want on them (Shimano, Campy or Sram). I'm heavily leaning towards them for my next bike.

You can price gruppos on online shops such as www.coloradocyclist.com.

[caligurl]

orbea's maybe????????? i know at one time i saw you could get shimano or campy on an orbea... haven't looked in a while, though!

bianchi's?

[caligurl]

ahhhhhhh bluetree beat me to it!

[indysteel]

Thanks for the update. I'm glad that they were able to tweak the fit of yoru current bike. Having followed this thread from the beginning, I'm curious: What bike are you currently riding and, if you don't mind me asking, what do you most want to achieve in upgrading to the Specialized?

But back to the current debate: I'm a Campy girl myself. I don't have Chorus on my current bike, just a mix of Veloce and Mirage (and a Chorus cassette thrown in for good measure), but I'm quite pleased with it. Everyone claims that the shifting with Campy gets better over time as it gets worked in, and that's been my experience as well. I run a Campy Ultranarrow chain and shifting in the rear is very smooth, minus the occasional r/d adjustment.

That said, I'm not a fan of the brakes and, having read up on it, it's the one part of Campy's line that doesn't always get rave reviews. If and when I have the pleasure of building up my dream bike, I'm going to use a different brand.

While I am a Campy fan, I'm not sure the LBS's proposal to swap out the 105 is very cost-effective. When I swamped out a few of my components, my LBS essentially charged me for the price difference between the Mirage and Veloce. From looking at the numbers your LBS quoted, however, it looks like they're charging you the full cost of a Chorus groupset (I'm basing that on Colorado Cyclist's price of $1215 for the 10-piece group; you could probably by a cheaper set on Ebay ). So, based on those figures, you're actually paying for two groupsets--the 105 that comes on the bike and the Chorus. At least to me, that doesn't make sense.

So, while I think the Chorus components are arguably a lot better than the 105 (and many Campy fans would argue that they're better than DuraAce, but let's not go there), I have to wonder whether it makes sense to do it that way. I still maintain that if you're willing to swap out components, you'd be financially better off doing a few choice upgrades to the Comp, e.g, your rear derailleur, to improve its performance. Otherwise, keep it simple and just buy the Expert or Pro.

[li10up]

Well, I did some calling around and found one shop that would sell the Ruby Pro to me for $325 less than my LBS. I called my LBS to see if they would match the price. They called me back and said that they gave me the lowest list price and that they could get in trouble with Specialized if they knew they sold it under the list price before the date they were allowed to drop the price.

Anybody know when this magical date is? Guess you have to have to have some inside bike shop knowledge to know about this.

Also, would you go to another shop to save $325? BTW, my local shop will give me free service on basic stuff for 1 year after the purchase price on bikes bought at their shop. I'd have to take the bike out of town to get it serviced if I wanted it done free for the first year. The other shop is only about 30 miles away but it still would be a pain. Hmmm.

[indysteel]

And the plot thickens.

Man, that's a tough one. On one hand, I think it's important to have a good relationship with a local LBS. You never know when you're going to need their help in an emergency. On the other hand, saving $300 + dollars on an expensive bike is sweet. Would you feel comfortable telling your local LBS that you'd like to buy the bike from them, but can they give you a ballpark date for when the price might be more negotiable? If you could hold out until then, you might be able to work out a good deal.

Since you're thinking of pricing other bikes for comparison, I would suggest looking at the LeMonds, too. In December, a friend of mine bought a 2007 full carbon, Ultegra equipped bike that lists around $2200. Stylewise, it wasn't my cup of tea, but she likes it.