Which one

Dajoca

Hi.
I've recently decided to start cycling, as various injuries have started to limit some activities, so I thought a bike may help me to keep fit with some road use and the occasional trail.

I searched and researched on a very limited budget, avoided BSO's and bought second hand.

I somehow ended up with two though :oops:

A Ridgeback 604RX Tange Cro Mo and a Carerra Subway One 7005 T6 Alloy.





They are both in good condition and both feel the same on the road to me

The question is, if I have to get rid of one (when SWMBO finds out), which one do you consider is the one to keep.

cooldad

Personally the Ridgeback, but just because I have a soft spot for retro steel.
I'd mix and match the best bits onto the Ridgeback and sell what's left.

Dajoca

Thanks for the reply.
I hadn't considered canibalising one, thinking that the fit would be different for each.

Awesome avatar btw.

cooldad

Some bits won't fit, but things like saddle, grips tyres etc.
Brakes will swap (if you want - I quite like cantis) as long as you swap calipers and levers.

But saying that the Carrera is the more modern, and maybe sensible option. Just not the one I would pick.

My commuter is an old Kona.

The Rookie

Depends what riding you'll do, the Subway is the better bike, better brakes, lighter frame, and the ridgeback has a rusty chain and rusty cassette/freewheel, but as I also have a soft spot for older frames (I have two late 90's steel framed bikes in a fleet of four), I'd also suggest (if you are confident enough) improving the ridgeback and selling the subways with what is left, but to do that fully you could be taking them a long way apart!

Dajoca

I have to admit that I'm a bit of a hoarder, so my first instinct is to keep them both, but I doubt I'll be able to justify that, so I'm going to ride them both for a month and see which feels better (to my unfit and inexperienced self).
That gives me time to work out which are the best working bits, if they can be swapped over or are needing replaced and then decide from there.
The good thing is that the prices I paid mean I shouldn't lose either way.

Two more questions though.
The old Treks and Specialized bikes seem to get all the kudos for their steel frames, but are they really that much better than the Ridgebacks, as information on Ridgeback seems to be very thin on the ground, (except wistful memories of the old Freewheel catalogues).

The newer Carerra's seem to have a reinforced (ugly) bracket on the seat tube/top tube junction. Does this indicate any weakness in their previous designs?

Many thanks again.