Quote Originally Posted by Running Mommy View Post
Specialized
(prolly shouldn't go here, but gonna jump in anyway)
I would never buy a Specialized. This is purely from a bike dealers standpoint seeing how unethical their business practices are. They are very cut throat- even to their own dealers. In the past I had a Specialized road bike, and a mountain bike. So did hubby and son, but now that I have a bit of background, I wouldn't touch one. Do they make beautiful bikes? yes. That's the sad part. I guess it comes down to how you feel about things like that.
Again, your call. If the bike fits, it speaks to you, and you don't mind dealing with a company that has a "at all costs" attitude about business. Go for it. It's kind of like the anti vs pro wal mart debate in a way.
(I'm sure I'll get slammed for this, but I think people should know.)
I second the motion that Specialized is unethical. In fact, I refer to them as Specialized Nazis! We go to an awesome LBS, who used to sell Specialized, in addition to others. Dh and I both have Cannondale. However, the owner recently stopped selling Specialized because they tried to bully their way into his shop by making him sell ONLY Specialized. It was all or nothing, so he opted for "nothing". He knows another LBS owner who went all Specialized and ended up losing his store because of it.

So, while of the three bikes you listed, I leaned more toward Specialized, it wasn't because I'm a Specialized Nazi, but because of my limited knowledge of the three, the Specialized did seem like the better choice for quality.

How about you get a Cannondale instead?!!!