Orbea, Giant or Specialized?

[Jallora]

I'm planning on buying a new bike at Christmas. My favorite local bike shop has a 2 year, no interest sale then. They carry Orbea, Giant and Specialized. There are other bike shops around that carry other brands, but I really like this particular shop and all of the people that work there. I feel comfortable with them, and I think they have outstanding customer service. So I'm looking at these three makes. I'm looking to spend $2000 - $3000, and I know that I want a woman specific bike. I learned the hard way that a small men's bike doesn't work for me, but I'll make due until Christmas. I will, of course, try all three bikes before I make my final decision, but I would like to hear any good or bad stories that any of you have had with these brands.

I look forward to hearing all of your thoughts, feelings and suggestions.

[SouthernBelle]

The general answer will be ride some of all 3 brands and pick whatever is most comfortable.

If it's a tie, look first at which has the better frame (though all make excellent frames) and second at which has the better components.

I don't think you can lose with any of the 3 brands.

[Flur]

It probably doesn't help you much, but I have a crush on the Orbea Diva. I've not ridden one though, so I can't tell you much more than that it looks cool

[Miranda]

I own a woman's specific design bike made by Giant. The OCR1. It's about $1200. That was almost heart failure for my DH when I bought it, but I tried to console him that it wasn't the all carbon girl I really wanted for double the price. Despite her not being all carbon, that will be my upgrade one day, I am happy with my Giant. I looked at a Trek Pilot too, very similiar, but something about it just didn't feel as good as my Giant. So, what girls have said about trying different brands holds true. The other two brands you posted about I do not have experience with. Also as posted, I like the pics of the Orbea Diva (never seen in person). I think there needs to be a cycling Santa for big girls that just leaves bikes for free under the tree... sorta like for kids. Wouldn't that be grand? Good luck with your decision!

[kenyonchris]

Ditto on the "whatever is comfortable" thought...
BUT for what it is worth, I have a Specialized Ruby Expert...and upgrade from a Trek 1500 and I LOVE it. The upgraded components and carbon frame really make a difference and was worth the 2750.00 price tag (and that was slightly discounted). I ride regularly and pretty aggressively although I am in no way an expert or really anything other than enthusiastic. So, I can vouch for it being a well built, nice bike, but I think it is a matter of individual preference and body type.
BTW, I will post the results and "review" of my tryout of the brooks saddle!

[ilima]

You really can't lose. I've never ridden an Orbea, but I have to say I prefer the look of the Onix to the Diva. If I liked the ride & it fit, I'd lean towards the Onix+wheel upgrade (Aksiums are heavy!) rather than a Diva.

Nothing wrong with Giant or Specialized, either.

[kirra77]

I just bought Jamis 2 weeks ago. IT is WSD. I am a small girl about 5'2" and love the bike. Check out my post and picture. It is design by a women for a women.

[melissam]

Jallora,

I think it's absolutely terrific that you have such a great bike shop! Each of the brands you are considering have great reputations. If I were you, I'd take a look at the warranties and crash replacement policies for each, to see if there's any obvious differences.

As far as choosing a bike, I'm going to reiterate what everyone else had said:

1. Ride them all.
2. See if any of them fit better than the others.
3. If no clear winner emerges, consider frame first, then components.
4. If there's still no clear winner, pick the one that when you look at it, it just beckons you to get on and go for a ride!

Happy shopping!

- Melissa

[Jallora]

Thanks for all of the suggestions and comments. So far I've only gotten to ride the Orbea...both the Onix and the Diva. I have to say that I LOVE the Onix. I can't wait until all of the 2009's come in so I can try them all.

Melissa,
Yes, I am very lucky to have such a great bike shop. We just love all of the people there...especially the owners. They have this amazing program. If you buy a bike from them and then trade it in within 3 years on a new bike, they'll give you 50% of the purchase price towards the new bike. How incredible is that? Plus they have their own credit card set up, and if you have an account with them, you get a % of all the money you charged on it during the year back in store credit every October. They always have 1 year no interest financing when you buy a bike from them on their card, and twice a year (Christmas and their anniversary) they have a 2 year no interest special when you buy a new bike on their card. My husband bought a Lemond from another bike shop earlier this year. A few weeks ago it developed a "thunking" noise when you really got in the peddles. He was pretty sure that the bottom bracket was loose. He took it to the shop he bought it at, and they told him that nothing was wrong with it. They wouldn't even get into his bottom bracket without charging him $120. So my husband took it to our favorite shop and asked them to look at it. They asked him to describe what it was doing. He told them. One of the guys hopped on it for a minute and said, "Yep. The bottom bracket is loose." $15 and 15 minutes later, it was fixed.

I consider myself very lucky to have such a great bike shop in town.

Aimee

[batsheva]

and the name of this bike shop is...? sounds well worth a visit...

batsheva

[Jallora]

First for the question on the name of the store, it is Santos Trailhead Bike Shop. Go to the main shop on US Hwy 441, not the Villages shop. I'm not crazy about the people working at the second location. They are running a special through the end of this week. If you finance with them and spend $1000 or more, you get no interest and no payments for 2 years.

I wasn't expecting them to do another sale until Christmas which is why I said I was getting a new bike then. Since they did one earlier, I got my bike earlier. They haven't gotten in a lot of the 2009 bikes yet, but they had two 2008 Orbea's left. They had a Diva and an Onix Dama. The Diva really didn't blow me away. I guess it's a little more "racy" than what I want. Plus it was a little taller than what I need. The Onix Dama was perfect. It was the right size, and it was like a dream when I rode it. I peddled it around the building and fell in in love. I know everyone told me to ride all three bikes before making my decision, but I just couldn't pass this up. Since it was a left over 2008 demo, I got her for $2250. I picked her up Friday night and got in a 10 mile ride before it got too dark. I put another 50 miles on her on Saturday. She's just perfect!

[kermit]

Congrats on the new ride! Sounds like really good people. Have fun! The posting of pictures is neccessary for any new bike purchase...... please!

[sundial]

I picked her up Friday night and got in a 10 mile ride before it got too dark. I put another 50 miles on her on Saturday. She's just perfect!

Oooh, sounds like you really lucked out! What a nice bike for your cycling pleasure. Now that we're approaching fall, you might have to pick up a light (and reflective clothing )so you can do some night riding.

[MauiRockHopper]

Great post, just what I was looking for as these are the brands I'm contemplating. Because of your post, I learned that Orbea had other WSD models besides the Diva, which are more affordable too. Is it true the Orbea wants to climb up the hills by itself? That sounds like a good feature!

I just started looking for a road bike and I've only tried the Specialized Dolce (base model $850) and wasn't too thrilled with it. I figured out that I will probably need to spend about $1500 to $2000 for the bike I want and for my needs. I don't plan to race but I will ride about 100+ miles a week for fitness, with some hills.

My friend has the Giant TCR CW and love it. I hope to try it out soon. She is very petite and had a pro fitting done. They said according to her measurements, she should buy a Giant. Unfortunately she had the fitting done on the mainland as there are no fitters in Hawaii. I'm not gonna get fitted but so far Giant is a big contender. I learned that they make the frames for Specialized and Trek but save the best technology for their own brand. So my thinking is Giant should be better of the 3.

I want to ride all of them before trying, but I think I am almost comfortable buying one sight unseen with enough research, and getting my LBS to tweak it out to fit me.

Question: if you buy a bike from somewhere other than your LBS, can you ask for a discount because the seller won't have to service the bike for 1 year? Seems like the LBS always throws a 1 yr service plan in when you buy a bike from them, so if you are from out of town the selling shop should discount you for the unused service you will pay your LBS for.

[sgtiger]

MauiRockHopper, welcome to TE! The best of luck finding your new bike.

Question: if you buy a bike from somewhere other than your LBS, can you ask for a discount because the seller won't have to service the bike for 1 year? Seems like the LBS always throws a 1 yr service plan in when you buy a bike from them, so if you are from out of town the selling shop should discount you for the unused service you will pay your LBS for.

Nope, sorry! The offer of the one year service is to get the purchaser into their shop on an ongoing basis with the idea that once they're in the store they might purchase other items. That and the service may be free but the new parts for the bike are usually not free, sometimes discounted though, if you should decide to swap out a part to fit the bike to you better. Their percentage of profit on a bike is not that great compared to all the little items that they sell (tubes usually have the highest percentage mark-up). Plus they want a chance to earn the shoppers loyalty so that they'll go back to that shop for any future servicing even after the service plan expires.