It's time for another episode of "Alex's Bike Delima!"

"Anon" (tjsielsistneb) 11/05/2013 at 00:16 • Filed to: None

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In this episode Alex is thinking about getting a high end aluminum bike with high end parts as opposed to a carbon frame with mid range parts. Alex is afraid to buy a nice carbon frame because he's still finishing growing. Alex reasons that he could just buy a nice carbon frame after he's done growing and then just transplant the parts. However Alex does love carbon fiber. What will happen? Will he end up with carbon or aluminum? Who knows! Find out in the next episode of "Alex's Bike Delima!"

Grindintosecond > Anon 11/05/2013 at 00:29

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Carbon is what everyone wants. Why do you want it? Bike plus you an extra pound equals not a difference in reality. Get nice aluminum nice parts. Carbon in a crash will cost more to repair if not crack and be totaled. Aluminum or scandium is more d urable.

Anon > Grindintosecond 11/05/2013 at 00:29

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Well it's not so much about weight as it is ride characteristics.

erspimp03 > Anon 11/05/2013 at 00:36

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Ride characteristics? Buy a frame made of reynolds 531 or 853. You'll never look back.

Anon > erspimp03 11/05/2013 at 00:42

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I do want a steel bike, unfortunately good steel bikes cost almost as much as a carbon bike. Also they're heavier. However I want to buy a steel touring bike after I start teaching. The good thing about being a teacher is that you have 2.5 months off out of the year and I really want to tour across america during that time. Only 2 more years to go!

erspimp03 > Anon 11/05/2013 at 01:14

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Meh. I picked up my 531 frame for $50 bucks. If you know what you're doing, you can build a great road bike for sub-$500 with used parts. Assembling a bike is child's play compared to working on cars.

My advice? Start trolling craigstlist, ebay and the like. Get an old ultegra 9sp. gruppo, open pros on shimano hubs and some cheapo FSA cranks and you'll still be within 10lbs of the lightest bikes out there. Need to lose more weight? Do it off your own body. Train hard and you will still own everyone. I love making people second guess their multi-thousand dollar bikes with my hoopty ass KHS.

Team6.1 > Anon 11/05/2013 at 01:32

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High end parts are transferable to any frame you want. 1 hair line crack in carbon could mean bye bye $$$$ frame. As for the argument of ride characteristics, I would think nicer gears, pedals, brakes, shifter, etc would make a more noticeable difference than frame. But then again, what do I know, my tires are 3" wide and I have springy bits in the front and back, and it's only ever put me in the hospital once :-)

okmoca > Anon 11/05/2013 at 02:35

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Hopefully Alex learns how to spell "dilemma" before he spends a lot of money on a bike.

Seriously though, unless you are already well committed to training and potentially racing, save your cash and buy an aluminum bike like the CAAD10 (if you're in the US) or the Canyon Ultimate AL (if you're anywhere else BUT the US). The CAAD10 specifically is so well designed and made that several long-time racing friends swear it's the best bike they've ever ridden, carbon included.

Your other option is to just buy a used bike. I've been riding and racing for 20yrs and have never purchased a new bike. Not once. It's pretty easy to figure out your size using online fit calculators and you will save a bundle buying a used bike with higher end used components vs. a brand new bike with cheaper junk.

Given many in the cycling community's desire to have the latest/greatest every couple of years, there are always good used bikes available. The shift to carbon has put out to pasture bikes that 6-8 years ago were raced in the Tour de France but now are going for less than an entry level aluminum bike.

Find something relatively cheap (<$1500).....ride the hell out of it for a year....then decide what you want after you've learned a bit about what you like/don't like, your riding style, etc.

promoted by the color red > Anon 11/05/2013 at 06:05

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I'm still not entirely sold on carbon fiber as it's pretty much gone in a crash and it's $$$$$$$. Buy this and have it professionally tuned, train, and buy a better frame later on.

Meanwhile, I'll be hanging out here enjoying my cheap MTB parts that I may need to tap into after recovering my Rockhopper from the cops. Somebody hacked 1" off each side of the handlebars, junked my (admittedly shitty) fender, butchered the fit, and broke part of the front shifter. I was going to buy new handlebars but I'll save $20 and clean up the cuts. Fuckin' tweakers. Ah well, just glad to have it back.

Straightsix9904 > Anon 11/05/2013 at 06:06

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Steel is real. Really though. AL rides like a dog. Carbon is nice but stiff. TI is super nice. But expensive. It is a tie between Steel and Ti for me.

Anon > Straightsix9904 11/05/2013 at 07:47

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Good steel with good componets is expensive though. Also aluminum is nowhere near as bad as it used to be! According to reviews the caad10's (the bike pictured above) ride is about on par with stiffer carbon bikes. Also having a full carbon front helps the ride quality.

Straightsix9904 > Anon 11/05/2013 at 08:29

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I have had Pinarello, Bianchi and Colnago frames. Carbon/Steel/Al in almost all of them. Steel wins hands down. My Colnago that I have right now I picked up for $450 w/ a Campy groupo. It rides like a dream. I have spent a TON more on bikes. Like my old Colnago C50 that I don't love as much as my current ride. The one exception where I spent more and loved it more. My Merlin Extralight w/ full Campy Record. It was bliss, pure sex.

timateo81 > Anon 11/05/2013 at 08:43

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if you spend more than 10 minutes thinking about what bike to get you've wasted your time.

step 1) what's your budget

step 2) get fitted at a competent bike shop

step 3) the bike shop will tell you what bike in your price range fits you best

step 4) ???

step 5) buy it

seriously though, as long as you're not using a groupset designed for department store bikes, you're going to be fine.

you're making this too complicated.

Kugelblitz > Anon 11/05/2013 at 09:25

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I have a carbon/steel frame. Some Basque brand I forget which, Azera? I just ride it. I don't expect bicycles to be comfortable.