What bikes do we lust over?

what size frame do i want?

Going back to Condors for a sec - what do people in the know really think of them? Are they genuinely great bikes? Or style over substance? Are there any obvious downsides?

It depends on the bike and it depends on your inseam, but maybe 54.

xp

How about this:

http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/windsor/thehour.htm

You'd want to put some brakes on that badboy though.

Oh wait, it's got drops. You could swap those out real easy and for not much money.

That looks like a cool site, thx!

hmm, that seems like a good deal. is that a good deal? i have no idea what makes a good frame or about any of the components

The general consensus about Bikedirect bikes is that the frames are nice and the components are decent. It's definetely a good deal. The Kilo TT is also much beloved, and the Hour is actually the same frame as the Fuji Track (http://fujibikes.com/2008/bikes.asp?id=418) and the Kilo TT apparently has the same frame as a KHS Flite (http://www.khsbicycles.com/05_flite_100_08.htm) and a nice fork. All of these bikes are made at the same factory in Taiwan.

Actually the KHS Flite and the Kilo TT have different geometries, so it must be the same frame as an older model Flite

thanks!

I think Condor is pretty good really. I've test ridden a few and their frames are really well put together. Possibly they are a bit over priced (the style factor and the central london store probably account for some of that). I'm probably not the best judge though.

Thanks Ed. I haven't test ridden any, but since I have SO little to compare them to I wonder if it would make any difference. I guess now that I'm beginning to toy with the idea of actually buying a nice bike, I should work out what discernible difference it would make from my Trek 1200, because a worthwhile upgrade is going to be at least in the £1500 region and I'm not rich enough to spend that much without having a pretty good idea why.

Check out Geoffrey Butler down in croydon to compare with Merckx and DeRosa, On Your Bike in London Bridge to try LeMonds and Mosquito in Islington for Colnago and Pegoretti. There's a new shop on upper richmond rd called prologue, which I know nothing about, but they are selling Litespeed.

Quite frankly, mark, you of all people ought to be riding an italian bike.

(Mosquito also do Moots and Independent Fabrication so you might get something really lustful to ogle at)

Also, not sure if this is possible, but could you get say a frame or frame and wheels on the cycle to work scheme and get the groupset separately, thus saving a chunk of money on at least some of the bike?

Hmm, prologue is only about a mile from my house.

Aren't Italian bikes all style and no content?

Possibly that goes for Bianchi (see ddb's problems).

I hear good things about ribble but unless you are willing to travel you would have to buy mail order.

I bought my Marin from Mosquito - their knowledge etc was excellent, but they weren't half snooty

Mark, you should take a look in condor and Mosquito at the moment as there is some good stuff in the sales. (£1000 of a scott all carbon TT CR1 bike, to bring it within your price range, although this would be silly for you). Some ex demo stuff at Condor too.

Always done well out of the clothing in the condor sale too.

http://www.tntcyclery.com/images/pugsley_th.jpg

http://www.rockyroaduk.com/images/ktrak1.jpg

Seems like a total gimmick although this vid looks fairly fun:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HP4VwaD7rd4

... but if I'm around that much snow why the hell would I want to be messing around on a bike?

That does look like a huge amount of fun.

OK, while looking for mark I have found my next girlfriend:

http://www.mosquito-bikes.co.uk/images/bikes/pegoretti/luigino%20large.jpg
http://www.mosquito-bikes.co.uk/images/bikes/pegoretti/luigino_04_zoom_2.jpg
http://www.mosquito-bikes.co.uk/images/bikes/pegoretti/luigino_04_zoom_9.jpg

want

What do you guys think of this?

xp tp gbx: Holy........but you could never ride it. Or wrench on it. Or breathe on it.

Mark, I like, very classic looking but will be light as anything. I would probably want to replace the downtube shifters though, but this is because I can't walk and chew gum at the same time and certainly can't use down tubes without looking at them.

mark i dont see value there. v. good frame, bad looking alloy fork, serious compatibility/replacement of parts issues, tubulars, downtubes shifters.

if you wanna rock this like 1989 (buy some oakley iridium blades and a neon headband) and dont care about compatibility or parts replacement issues (read: low mileage, high end recreational riding) you could do a lowball offer. but for what you want i dont see it. also it looks too big for 6'.

Cheers Ed and Hunter - I agree, there are too many things about it that aren't right, and with my limited knowledge and inclination to have to work on a bike, it's definitely not a good buy. But interesting.

The shifters - I know what you mean. I was SO stoked when I discovered, like, shifters from the last 20 years, and I don't think I can give them up now.

Just been looking through the Mosquito website. Steel bikes are soooo pretty, but there was one option which was £1350 in steel and £2450 in Titanium. I'm not sure I could justify such a premium under any circumstances.

GUYS DO I BUY THIS THERE'S LIKE AN HOUR LEFT

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250215849515

OR DO I WAIT AND BID ON THAT VOODOO WAZOO THAT'S UP RIGHT NOW

i have decided to slowly build a CX bike

gbx, i own one of those (featured in various ilx photos). if youre racing, no (heavy). if yr fenders/rack, no (no eyelets). no bottles. clearance for 32s rear, small 30 front. thats 1996-1998 vintage. about 5 lbs frame 1.8 fork i think? $360 new in 1997.

i do however love the way it rides, very roady.

that settles that, then.

i want something that has the potential to be raceable.

on the chance i don't get into medical school (which seems to be the case), i think i'm gonna move to portland next year, and having a "real" CX bike would suddenly be even more urgent and key

....should we have a thread for ebay deals???

http://cgi.ebay.com/JAVELIN-PRIMITIVO-CYCLOCROSS-CROSS-FRAME-PARTS_W0QQitemZ140207325623QQihZ004QQcategoryZ98084QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.com/Voodoo-Cyclocross-Road-Touring-Bike-Frame-w-Kelly-Fork_W0QQitemZ180216035201QQihZ008QQcategoryZ98084QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.com/03-Fuji-Cross-Pro-Cyclocross-frame-and-fork-54cm_W0QQitemZ170195375462QQihZ007QQcategoryZ98084QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

awww, my baby
http://img452.imageshack.us/img452/3421/gitane6sd.jpg

derailin', sorry

(i think 54cm might actually be too big for me? Hunt3r how does CX sizing differ from road? i am short)

shit i have to go back to work

conventional wisdom says go 1 or 2 cm smaller, but i like them the exact same size as my road frame if possible and use a shorter higher stem. that way the steering axis "feels" mostly the same to me. when i raced a smaller frame (the gitane) i felt like too much weight on front wheel or something.

cx trivia. in 1995 or so, there were almost no cx options, and no US mass market ones, available in the US. so u got an ALAN or other euro frame. imagine, i mean avg riders dint even know what they were. I had canti posts brazed onto an rb1 in order to have one. so schwab cycles in denver brought in a bunch of those gitanes cause the local scene was starting to blow up.

That voodoo wazoo looks great I have half a mind to bid on it for my GF.

wow it is v nice

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