Need to make up my mind

jeannot18

I have ordered a Bianchi via Nerone 7, but it has been delays and not sure when it will arrived. The Bianchi will be equipped with Sora. Now the guy from the shop is offering me a part exchange that came to his shop. It is a Specialized Elite 2009 fitted with 105. For the same price as the Bianchi. What would you do. By the way the Specialized would not come with a guarantee.
Thanks
JC

speshy

i've not ridden the Bianchi. but i do have the 2009 allez elite, and its a great bike with good spec for the money.
i bought mine in december, it was the last model my lbs had, fortunatly it was also my size....... 52 is perfect for me as i'm slightly vertically challenged..and they let me have it for £800 which was a £200 discount......well pleased.

i would def choose 105 over sora

go ride it and see how it feels..

how much are they asking for it?

jeannot18

Well the Bianchi I am getting is for £500, after the dealer was going to build a frame he had, then because the frame had a problem he told me that he could not sell it to me, so he agreed to let me have a 2010 model for the same price. The Specialized would be for the same price, but it is not new obviously. Bear in mind that I am getting this on cycle to work scheme, so the price should be more or less 40% cheaper. A bargain i guess, but now i want to choose the right bike, and should I go for a new one or second hand one.
JC

keef66

I'd personally go for the Spesh with 105. Just make sure you test ride it to be sure it's the right size for you. See if they'll throw in some new tyres as well.

sagalout

I'd go for the Specialized, assuming its in unmarked condition. The 105 is worth it

Ben6899

The Spesh is a lot more bike, but make sure it fits you as others have said.

Barrie_G

And try to get some sort of guarantee with it, even if it's just a couple of months worth, either that or you want a good long test ride on it before parting with your hard earned.

jeannot18

Thanks guys for the replies. Hmmm still don't know what to do really. The peace of mind knowing that the Bianchi is brand new and covered against the Specialized that is not...

I am going to see the bike, maybe try it and see what's what.

Thanks again
Will let you know what i go for
JC

Smokin Joe

Sora is crap.

I'd pick the 105 equipped bike anyday.

jeannot18

OK, went to see the bike. It is an ok bike, but I do prefer the Bianchi and will go with that. Later on I may be able to update stuff on the bike if needed. To be honest at my level the Bianchi will do just fine. Thanks again for the replies

JC

nochekmate

So you ask for advice re: bike choice and you receive some advice.

You then choose to ignore it all and buy the bike that has inferior components by some margin. Still it's your money to spend I suppose, but why bother asking in the first place? :shock:

Mr Bungle

nochekmate wrote:

So you ask for advice re: bike choice and you receive some advice.

You then choose to ignore it all and buy the bike that has inferior components by some margin. Still it's your money to spend I suppose, but why bother asking in the first place? :shock:

Because he has probably seen both bikes, tried them, and prefers the Bianchi ?

That was some of the advice after all.......

The spesh did sound better on paper - but we do not know how it fitted or what sort of condition it was in.

Mr Bungle

nochekmate wrote:

So you ask for advice re: bike choice and you receive some advice.

You then choose to ignore it all and buy the bike that has inferior components by some margin. Still it's your money to spend I suppose, but why bother asking in the first place? :shock:

Because he has probably seen both bikes, tried them, and prefers the Bianchi ?

That was some of the advice after all.......

The spesh did sound better on paper - but we do not know how it fitted or what sort of condition it was in.

jeannot18

OK guys I don't want to start an argument in this forum. I hear you when most say that the 105 is superior to Sora. But cosmetically the Bianchi looks really nice. I supposed I should ride the Specialized and see what it is like. When people say that Sora is cr@p, do they mean when you switch gear? RIght now i am on an old Trek 470 with Shimano RS100, so Sora would be a major jump in quality i guess. What does the 105 would give me extra? The guy at the shop says that the Specialized is fine, but I only have his word. With the Bianchi is something went wrong he would have to honor the warranty. I wish he never offered me that deal now, I had my sight on the Bianchi (i know with Sora only) but was happy to get that. Now the other one fitted with 105 comes in the equation and I am very undecided.
JC

hells

I have a trek 1.7 with shimano 105, I briefly had a second hand giant ocr2 with shimano sora. The Sora is a pile of poo, I hate the way it shifts. 105 is lighter and much more responsive. Sora has a shifting button (can't remember if it was downshift or upshift) on the hoods and a integrated brake/shift lever rather than a lever next to the brake and an integrated brake and shift lever. This means it is impossible to shift gear (in that direction) from the drops. I absolutely hated it. I strongly reccommend that you ride both the bianchi and the specialized before you make up your mind. Perhaps even pay abit extra to have the 105 on the bianchi. Asthetics are important but performance, fit and feel are even more important.

jeannot18

OK guys the quest is over!

Went to try the Specialized this afternoon and took it for a little ride. Whoaa what a difference with my old Trek. The 105 system responce is unbelievable. So we shook hands on that and I am going to get it tomorrow after a good clean, fitting my pedals and a last checkup.
To have the 105 on the Bianchi the guy told me that it would have taken the bike to £1,030 far too much for my budget.

So all i can hope now is for the weather to get better and go for some long rides.

JC ' Specialized owner

nochekmate

Ah, so common sense prevails after all - enjoy. I don't think that you can go too far wrong with the Specialized Allez as an intro. Having said that I do agree with you that the appearance of the Bianchi frame belies its price.

On another issue, how did the LBS justify a price of over £1K for upgrading a £500 Bianchi to 105 from Sora, bearing in mind that a 105 groupset is freely available for much less than £500 and there's the removal/exchange of the Sora groupset to take into account as well. Surely the upgrade should be about £200 at the most.

Anyway decision made - get the miles in!

jeannot18

nochekmate wrote:

Ah, so common sense prevails after all - enjoy.

How did the LBS justify a price of over £1K for upgrading a £500 Bianchi to 105 from Sora, bearing in mind that a 105 groupset is freely available for much less than £500 and there's the removal of the Sora groupset to take into account as well.

Don't know and don't care now. I will have a newish bike tomorrow so happy time, just need the sun to show up...
But yeah the 105 rocks big time, such a difference with my current bike.
JC

kingrollo

jeannot18 wrote:

OK guys I don't want to start an argument in this forum. I hear you when most say that the 105 is superior to Sora. But cosmetically the Bianchi looks really nice. I supposed I should ride the Specialized and see what it is like. When people say that Sora is cr@p, do they mean when you switch gear? RIght now i am on an old Trek 470 with Shimano RS100, so Sora would be a major jump in quality i guess. What does the 105 would give me extra? The guy at the shop says that the Specialized is fine, but I only have his word. With the Bianchi is something went wrong he would have to honor the warranty. I wish he never offered me that deal now, I had my sight on the Bianchi (i know with Sora only) but was happy to get that. Now the other one fitted with 105 comes in the equation and I am very undecided.
JC

I ride Sora every day on my Commuter - its fine.

jeannot18

First ride this morning on the Specialized. 42km. . OMG what a difference from the old bike. Hills are so much easier.

JC

Barrie_G

Good to hear that you're happy with it 8)

gregster10217

As long as you're happy with it, that's great. I think you found out that the difference in shifting quality/ease will help you enjoy your ride more. The Spesh is a nice bike, I tried the Allez Elite before deciding on my current steed. If it's almost new, don't worry about anything going wrong, and now you've started a relationship with your LBS, keep it going.
Enjoy the bike, just a shame the weather isn't looking that great for the Easter weekend!

jeannot18

gregster10217 wrote:

As long as you're happy with it, that's great. I think you found out that the difference in shifting quality/ease will help you enjoy your ride more. The Spesh is a nice bike, I tried the Allez Elite before deciding on my current steed. If it's almost new, don't worry about anything going wrong, and now you've started a relationship with your LBS, keep it going.
Enjoy the bike, just a shame the weather isn't looking that great for the Easter weekend!

Not just that, obiviously the 10 speed option make the bike so much easier to ride. On my old Trek the 7 gear did make it hard on some of the hills, but yesterday the same hills were much easier to climb. I would sometimes before dread going certain routes to avoid some of the hills but now there is nothing to stop me. Braking as well is a thousand times better and so is the handling. This is one of the best purchase I have ever done. Can't wait to put some serious miles in it. I have got a first triathlon in a couple of weeks (only 25 km) but this is going to make a difference on my finish time.
JC