What would you do?

[Owlie]

Someone "helpfully" put the employee pricing sheet from the company that makes the bike I'm looking at on the lunch table at work.

I happened to be flipping through it, and came up with the following:

Bike 1:
2012, Carbon frame (in black and red, my favorite bike colors!)
Mostly 105 (chain, cassette, crankset, possibly brakes are other things)
$945

Bike 2:
2011, carbon, Ultegra (except brakes)
$1575

The 2013 version of Bike 2 has Ultegra on it, but the crankset, cassette and chain aren't. I'd like full Shimano parts for ease of finding replacements, so I'm seriously reconsidering this brand. It's not Giant, but it seems to have the same practice of using "off-brand" parts to keep the cost down (and looking at the 2013 offerings from Giant, they seem to be doing less and less of that in the price range I'm looking at.) I'm contemplating just saving my money and getting the SuperSix that I was considering to begin with.

And then, there's bike 3: A steel CX bike with disc brakes and SRAM Apex. Approximately $950 with my employee discount. The only downsides are that it's SRAM (the hoods are more comfortable than Shimano, but I cannot for the life of me figure out the shifting), it's quite a bit heavier than my current bike and sizing is tricky. It's sized similarly to Surly, by the looks of it, so I'm somewhere between the extra-small (51.2cm top tube) and the small (53cm top tube). Tempting, but I'm trying to figure out where I want to put my money. New road bike that fits, doesn't cost a whole lot but isn't what I want; a new road bike that (I think) fits, is exactly what I want but costs nearly double the other bike; or a bike that's versatile but isn't a "go really fast" bike.

I need to win the lottery.

[thekarens]

I know nothing, but I'd go with the CX bike if I had a decent road bike. I might be biased towards steel though. :-)

[indysteel]

Even if a bike isn't fully speced with Shimano at the outset, you can generally still use Shimano replacement parts. So if the 2013 version of Bike 2 otherwise fits and meets your requirements, I would consider it. But a carbon bike with full 105 for less than $1k is a really good deal. That would be my pick.

[SFLiz]

What is the price delta between the 2011 and 2013 versions of Bike2? Cog and chain are inexpensive to change over time when you are ready. I just swapped out the cassette that came with my new bike from Tiagra to Ultegra (most of groupset is Ultegra, except for front derailler -105, and cog). Cost $110 from LBS. I haven't shopped at Wiggle since I moved back to the U.S. but when I was living in Australia, I used to buy the majority of my bike parts for my mountain bike and flatbar from the U.K. store. Shimano brakes from there would not set ya back much and you can acquire when budget allows. Ditto for chain. But it's really too bad the crankset is not Ultegra. That's prob going to be at least $250 to swap out I would think (not sure).

Ultegra is such a great groupset, I lean toward the 2011 bike2 unless you think you can wait patiently for your next bike (super6).

It doesn't sound like you want Bike3, if less weight and zippier is what you would like to have....do you really want to go heavier than your current bike? I wouldn't worry too much about SRAM hoods; I think you can grow accustomed to them with a little practice.

I wouldn't get a bike I didn't want at the onset (Bike1 for you).

[Owlie]

What is the price delta between the 2011 and 2013 versions of Bike2? Cog and chain are inexpensive to change over time when you are ready. I just swapped out the cassette that came with my new bike from Tiagra to Ultegra (most of groupset is Ultegra, except for front derailler -105, and cog). Cost $110 from LBS. I haven't shopped at Wiggle since I moved back to the U.S. but when I was living in Australia, I used to buy the majority of my bike parts for my mountain bike and flatbar from the U.K. store. Shimano brakes from there would not set ya back much and you can acquire when budget allows. Ditto for chain. But it's really too bad the crankset is not Ultegra. That's prob going to be at least $250 to swap out I would think (not sure).

Ultegra is such a great groupset, I lean toward the 2011 bike2 unless you think you can wait patiently for your next bike (super6).

It doesn't sound like you want Bike3, if less weight and zippier is what you would like to have....do you really want to go heavier than your current bike? I wouldn't worry too much about SRAM hoods; I think you can grow accustomed to them with a little practice.

I wouldn't get a bike I didn't want at the onset (Bike1 for you).

I agree, I'm not overly enthused about Bike 1, except that it is a pretty good deal.
I don't have employee pricing on the 2013 bike yet, but it'll probably be somewhat less expensive. I'm not overly concerned with the cassette or chain, but one of the guys at work suggested switching out the crankset and brakes at the outset.
As for bike 3, it would fill a different role. I'd just save my money and buy the SuperSix later. Component-wise, it's an upgrade from what I currently have. I've been wanting a CX bike for a year or so, and it gives me the opportunity to see if I like riding off-road before committing to a mountain bike.

Thekarens, the "decent road bike" is sort of the problem. It's got 2300 components with a Sora rear derailleur, and it's not cost-effective to upgrade the components, especially considering that it doesn't really fit. It's close, but not sustainable to keep except as a backup or trainer bike.

[indysteel]

What crank and brakes come standard on the 2013 bike?

[Owlie]

What crank and brakes come standard on the 2013 bike?

Crank is a Rotor compact double. The brakes might actually be Ultegra; if not, they're Oval.

[indysteel]

Granted, the mechanic in your shop likely has more experience on how well these components work, but I would suggest not swapping anything out until you see how the components perform. Otherwise, you may be just spending more money unnecessarily. And with brakes, I'd suggest swapping out the pads first if you're not happy with the Oval's stopping power. You'd be suprised how much of a difference good brake pads, e.g., Swiss Stop and Kool Stop, can make.

[Owlie]

Granted, the mechanic in your shop likely has more experience on how well these components work, but I would suggest not swapping anything out until you see how the components perform. Otherwise, you may be just spending more money unnecessarily. And with brakes, I'd suggest swapping out the pads first if you're not happy with the Oval's stopping power. You'd be suprised how much of a difference good brake pads, e.g., Swiss Stop and Kool Stop, can make.

The brakes I'm not so worried about. I'm using Tektros right now, and my bike is a mishmash of Shimano (shifters and derailleurs), SRAM (chain and cassette) and FSA (crankset) components. So it's not a huge deal to not have brakes that match unless there's an issue with performance. As far as the crankset goes, one guy at my workplace loves it and another hates it.

However, new dilemma: New road bike vs. CX bike. The roadie would probably be the 2013 version of Bike 2 or a Supersix (if I can afford it). The CX bike is in the vein of the Surly Crosscheck. It's not a performance-oriented CX bike--it's designed as a do-anything steel bike, with road parts (Apex) and low gearing, and disc brakes. It's a fairly relaxed geometry bike. I like the versatility of the CX bike (off-road riding!), but BF is concerned that I won't like riding off-road (he doesn't, and I'd like to ride with people when doing that sort of thing) and I'll have bought a bike that isn't what I want in a road bike. The other option, I suppose, is the "performance" CX bike (Spec Tricross or Crux, C'dale SuperX, etc), but that seems like a bit of a waste if I'm not actually competing.
Help?

[indysteel]

What kind of off-road riding are we talking about? You mentioned mountain biking earlier in the year, which is why I'm asking.

[Owlie]

I'd like to try mountain biking, but I'm not sure I'm ready to commit to a mountain bike. Also, those things get expensive fast, and what I'm looking for (a hardtail 29er) is generally a bit more expensive because they're so popular (according to my boss).

I'm looking at gravel/dirt roads right now. I guess "off-pavement" might be a better description.

[SFLiz]

Owlie, I feel like I'm not qualified to respond since mostly everyone has more experience than I. I do find your question raises a tough dilemma because I myself love CX bikes but I think you have to examine closely what you are searching for in your next bike. Although a CX is the one bike that can cross over the lines on both ends of road and trails, seems like if you really are hankering for a new nicer road bike (which I get a strong sense is the case from your posts), the CX would not satisfy this desire since it's going to feel slower and less responsive in steering if you use it for road too. Do you plan on riding fire roads, singletrack; and if so, do you think you'll do it often? A CX bike will work for singletrack but it's going to be tough working uphill and I'm sure even more so coming down. I have a mountain bike and a road myself. Have you test rode the CX bike yet on roads? Are you concerned with gaining speed when you're on a road bike? If so, you most likely will feel the difference between the CX and road. Especially climbing!

CXs are great middle ground bikes but it won't satisfy your desire for a nice road bike. If you are still going to primarily bike on road and want a new road bike, I suspect you'll find the CX bike might not satisfy you when you are on road. It really comes down to trying to predict how much more light trail riding you will adopt. You're basically going to be compromising either way since when you ride on gravel/dirt trails on a road, it'll be suboptimal/ downright uncomfortable ride; conversely when you ride on road with a CX it will be suboptimal. If you decide to ride increasingly "gravelier" trails, then you won't want to take a road at all. In that respect alone, you're prob better off with CX over new road bike. If you didn't want a new road bike so badly, I'd say a CX is always nice to have. If weight is not a concern, go CX. Hmm, tough decision since you're not sure if you'll want to ride trails much.