One of these 3 bikes

gareth2134

Hi you lot another question from myself.

I was originaly going to buy the trek 4.5

but with looking at another 2 bikes i am now split with which i should go for.

I'm also looking at the trek 4.7 and the 5.5.

Now i know when you pay more you get more for your bike but for somone with my experience on a road bik which is none would i be able to tell the difference.

As for mountain biking which i have done for years if a beginner was going to buy a bike and spend £1800 but they could afford one for £4000 i would tell them not to waste their money on the most expensive as with their experiance they wouldnt be able to tell the difference between a £2000 bike upto a £4000 bike apart from a few little things obviously.

So a decision to be made on my experience buy you guys would be great thanks.

Oh and F.Y.I i do want to get into road biking alot so its something i will keep up im not testing the waters i already know i want to do this.

Thanks alot.

salsarider79

If your serious, have the money and know its what you want to do (are you trying to convince us or yourself? ) then why not go for a slightly better bike. You say you've been riding MTB for years, so I'm guessing you'd have some idea of the difference.

Looking at them they are all very lovely. Go for which ever you think. White bar tape is lovely but hard to keep clean. Thats my only real concern. (The pimp in me says the 5.5 as I like the colour and the Force groupset, but thats me)

gareth2134

Well I have a friend who is a buyer for trek so I get 50% off my bikes but im not to botherd about the looks i do like the 5.5 for looks but thats not my motivation in buying the right bike.

seen your specialized very nice whats it like to ride is their a big difference in how other model road bikes are made to each other for instance trek mountain bikes have a shorter in lenght fram to the gary fisher bikes which are longer and more aerodynamic.

The Shiny

salsarider79 wrote:

I White bar tape is lovely but hard to keep clean.

I use carpet cleaner on mine.

If you can aford it just go for the highest spec, it will reduce the 'I wish I'd...' feeling (for a bit anyway!)

As for geometry, all you can do is get down to your LBS and sit on a few, see how they feel.

gareth2134

Yeah am going down to evens cycles on friday to have a look around.

just looking at some padded shorts aswell now as i have a feeling their going to be my new best friend.

salsarider79

Can you put some punctuation in your post? Nearly died reading it all in one go!!!
Okay, sorry.
All road bikes are different in the same way that all MTB's are made different. Manafacturers all approach the same problems different ways. Carbon, steel and Ti frames generally have good bump absorbing quilites, so you'll get a smoother ride than with Aluminium. Steel and Ti frames will last longer than carbon. Carbon and Ti frames don't rust.
Also if you want to ride faster look for a shorter headtube, as that will get your front end down a bit and make you more aerodynamic. If you want comfort then look for a longer headtube which will sit you more upright.
You have Shimano, SRAM and Campagnolo for gearing and each one changes gear differently. Shimano have two levers (One brake lever and a secondary lever behind it) to change gears. SRAM uses just one lever to go up and down. Shimano are easiest to use, Campag the most comfortable.
I like the Specialized Tarmac as a fast bike (The pictured one is a 2003 S-Works which wasn't mine, this one was http://www.pinkbike.com/photo/2078443/) and the Specialized Roubaix as a relaxed long distance machine. See www.specialized.com for the current range.
Go for road shoes/pedals as well as they are more stiff than MTB shoes. Carbon soled shoes are amazing but expensive.
Try to get a ride on several bikes to get an idea of what you want. All bikes are different and it would be hard for me to say get this bike or that bike, as they might not be right for you.
Hope thats all okay.

giant_man

Don't keep your mind set on a Trek. There are other makes out there, you know?

gareth2134

Brilliant thanks salsa, as for the grammer in my posts i will throw some breaks in lol.
I have a habbit of getting lazy when am typing its not the first time somone has said that.

Thanks for info very usefull about the headtubes, I think am more drawn to the longer headtube for comfortability and if my competitivness gets the better of me then I will go shorter and shorter and shorter lol.

cheers.

gareth2134

giant mancp wrote:

Don't keep your mind set on a Trek. There are other makes out there, you know?

I get 50% of trek bikes so forgive my trek madness giant lol.

STEFANOS4784

http://www.hardie-bikes.com/products.ph ... 1675&rs=gb


Look at that, not shiny and spanky new though :?