keep my TT bike or get a second hand road bike?

p929

Hi all,

In Oct last year I began with the cycling bug, I already had a MTB, which I rode for commuting (50km/day) but I wanted a 'road' bike for some commuting and weekend long rides. I went online and found a bargain, a Jamis Xenith (http://www.jensonusa.com/Jamis-Xenith-T ... ow-X-Small), but it happened to be a TT bike.I didn't notice the difference, I though...ahh it's the same thing!...wrong!

The first thing that made me scratch my head was the wheel size...650c, none LBS in Bogota has replacement for it..not even a single tube! So when I need something I have to buy it on Amazon. Also, shifting gears on the aerobars is kinda uncomfortable and I haven't mastered it yet. Additionally, it weights 10 kg, which is not light.

I haven't ridden it much, mostly due to lack of time. Nonetheless, I feel somehow scary of riding it because I'm used to my MTB, which makes me feel more robust mostly because of its upright position and wider wheels, the 23c are somehow scary.

As now I have time and I want to start training on a group, I took the TT bike for maintenance and they found that the freehub of the TT bike was broken, so I was looking up for a wheelset for replacement and I posted a thread related (viewtopic.php?f=40042&t=13082109). Afterwards, I read on forums that TT bikes aren't a good replacement for a road bike due to their limited handling on cornering and descends and climbing on them could be worse, and different muscle recruit.

Due to that, I thought on buying a second hand bike and found some options and I posted a thread (viewtopic.php?f=40042&t=13082283). Now my first option would be a Guerciotti Khaybar Androni Giocattoli team edition from 2009. It comes with a Dura Ace (7900) 10-speed drivetrain. Brakes are Oval. mavic ksyrium SL wheels. Total weight listed as 14 lbs (http://articulo.mercadolibre.com.co/MCO ... attoli-_JM).

Tomorrow I'll see it and my mechanic will take a look at it, and I think that I can get it by USD 1150, but now the doubt came back, because it's a kinda old bike and who knows what has it been through, and also the drivetrain might be half or more of its lifetime.

Then I started thinking...what about 'upgrading' the TT bike and ride it, now it has front mech Ultregra, rear mech and cassette 105, crankset FSA and brakes tektro. I'd like to have it all Ultegra and I found a new set on sale on USD 765, and the wheels would be USD 365 (from BWW+import taxes). That sums USD 1130, which is about the same price of buying the second hand Guerciotti, with the advantage that I could try to sell the TT bike on about USD 1000 and I'd have a light bike with carbon frame and a DA drivetrain.

So the question is, what would you guys do if you were in my shoes?

lincolndave

Personally I would sell the tt bike and buy a decent road bike, I cannot comment on the one you show in the link, but I would buy one that's not so old
Good luck with your search

pblakeney

Upgrading a bike you don't like that already has decent components simply does not make sense. New bike, but choose wisely.

fenix

1000 for an 8 year old bike seems a bit excessive to me.

1. Do your research before you buy a bike. A TT bike is nothing like a road bike.
2. Sell the TT bike - unless you are doing triathlons or TT's - you don't need it.
3. You don't need Dura Ace. Anything from 105 up (or the other equivalents) will be fine.
4. Do more research. If 23mm are scary - I don't see 25mm being that much of an improvement for you.
Any wider and you'll probably be looking at cyclo cross or gravel bikes.
5. Don't go 650 unless you really need too. Lack of choices there I'm afraid.

p929

Thx for the replies so far,

I think I'm now prone to sell the TT bike....it's gonna be difficult here, because the bike market is relatively small and TT bikes are quite specific. Unfortunately, there are not many good LBS here with worthy bikes. Most bikes here are from local brands (made in China) with low specs due to the low acquisitive power and good bikes are rather expensive or imported directly (as I did for the TT and the MTB). That might be the reason why 2nd hand bikes are also expensive.

Is it actually an 8 years old bike that old? I don't want end up with a worthless bike after a short time.

What about an AL frame, or should I definitely try to find a Carbon frame?

p929

Hi...
I went today to see some bikes. The Guerciotti was in a very good condition for a 2009 frame some painting issues but nothing to worry about. The DA drivetrain was from 2012 and seemed to be in good condition.

I also visited several shops and, as I said, not many options here, most of them were carbon frames replica from Taiwan, which are a no-go for me because we don't know how they are really made and safety comes first.

I saw a nice Wilier GTR with a potenza drivetrain at USD 2700, but they didn't have my size. I also saw an Orbea Orca M30 (105) at USD 2200. I was offered a cannondale supersix ultegra Di2 2012 completely new for USD 2800. The official distributor has it listed as USD 5800 (from that you can have an idea about how the prices are for bikes here). Therefore, it was quite tempting, but they only had 1 bike size 50, and I wasn't sure it'd be a good idea to buy one 2 sizes larger than all bike size calculator recommend me (47).

But at the end of the day I found the solution to my problem...a Pinarello Rokh 2014. The LBS where I usually buy told me that a client had the bike with ultegra 6800, Wheelset Aksium and cinelli integrated habdlebar with conti 4 season tyres. All of it in mint condition because the owner didn't ride it much. All the maintenance has been done in my LBS so they know it perfectly and therefore they told me I'd be a great price to get it at USD 2000.

The other good point is that I mentioned the seller that now I'll have to sell my TT bike and he looked interested in get it, because he's getting into Triathlon, so I hope I can sell it soon

Tomorrow they will take the bike to the shop for tuning and cleaning, so if everything goes fine tomorrow I'll own a beautiful Pinarello Rokh bike thx to all for reading the thread and your advices.