Calling all cyclist.

U2R2

I fancy myself getting into cycling later this summer.

Haven't really rode a bike since the ubiquitous ten speeds of the 70s.

I live in the Appalachian foothills so no matter the route there will be hills involved. I imagine most of my riding will be on surface streets but two likely longer routes(15+ miles) will involve gravel. One is a poorly maintained pothole pockmarked road through a national forest. The other is a state route on which I would likely ride on the wide gravel shoulder for much of the way.

I am looking at these bikes, available at the nearest reputable bike shop:
Giant Defy Disc 2
Canondale Synapse Disc Tiagra
Canondale Synapse 105

Questions:

1. Does the above style of bike sound like a good choice?
2. I'm leaning toward the 105. Is the 105 drivetrain worthy of the additional $300 over the Tiagra? or thew even cheaper Sora.
3. Any other brands in that price range I should take a look at?
4. Any advice you would like to dispense?
5. Am I insane?

Machka9

5. If you're insane, that's a good thing ... all cyclists are slightly insane.

4. If you're riding on gravel, you'll want to make sure the bicycle can handle at least 28s if not 32s. That's tire width and is slightly wider than what you'd ride if all your riding is on road.

3. What do you have available? Have you been to shops to look around? Are you willing to order online?

2. 105 is good. I'd lean toward the 105. But the others aren't bad. I've ridden some long distances on a bicycle with Sora so some of it depends on how well you maintain the bicycle. But as for gears themselves, if it is hilly where you are, I'd be looking at the bicycles with a 32 ring in the rear. I'd also be asking questions as to whether or not is possible to make changes to the chainring so you've got a lower gear. You might not need to do that, but it's worth asking.

1. Sure ... kind of depends on what you've got available where you are.

The most important thing is to get one in the correct size.

Then, you'll need to make a list of what you want in a bicycle. You've started that here by mentioning:

• Gravel riding = wider tires
• Hills = lower gears
• Do you think you'll want a rack so you can carry panniers (the large bags that hang on either side of a rack) so that you can do overnight tours? If so, then the bicycle will need eyelets.
• What else?

NorthCascades

The absolute most important thing is that a bike fits you well. If it doesn't, nothing else matters, it shouldn't be yours. You can get painful repetitive stress injuries from riding an ill fitting bike. Any good shop will fit a bike to you, but pay attention during test rides, and arrange to do some longer test rides.

105s are good. The Tiagra hoods are pretty uncomfortable in my hands. Your mileage will probably be different. But try each group level and see how they feel for you. I can't say whether it's worth your $300, but I have a lot of thoughts on that.

Gravel is more involved to talk about. "Gravel" is a new marketing buzzword for an endurance bike with clearance for wider tires. I have a "gravel" bike, but I rarely ride it on gravel. Hate the *kitten*. I love riding it on hard packed dirt roads, though. My racing bike with 23 mm tires couldn't do that, I could ride over dirt, in a straight line, and could make turns at the slowest speeds ... a "gravel" bike can take a dirt road like it's pavement. Out here we have a lot of decent dirt roads, with great scenery and more loop options. On the other hand, there's actual gravel, and when you start dealing with that, there are questions about how deep is it, what's underneath, etc. You start needing not just puncture resistance and grip from your tires but flotation, too. Anyway, without knowing what your routes are going to look like, I can't really give you specific advice.

Now ... will you consider buying a used bike, like from Craigslist? You've done enough research to be interested in some nice (and not exactly free) bikes. Bikes are extremely reliable when taken care of and less involved to fix than cars, but they depreciate like cars. A lot of people who get into cycling get hooked, and wind up wanting more bike than they got the first time. Maybe they learn they ride differently than they expected or want different type of gear or whatever, but that comes with experience, and used can be a cheaper way to get that.

mca90guitar

Test drive them, you get alot of value with giant. I paid under $600 I believe for my talon and the comparable connonadle was near $1000. Plus for still less money I bought a way better drive train and fork then the treks, conmandale and specialize bikes I was looking at.

But again, got to the dealers and play.

U2R2

Thanks for the replies, good info.

I've about ruled out shopping used because I think I would greatly benefit from a professional fitment procedure. I went through the whole check them all out and see what feels good when buying my first guitar. They all felt like I was holding a baby alien for I had no baseline comfort level for which to compare. I think a bike would be a similar experience until I have some measure of saddle time.

Haven't yet been to the shop, only the website but know they carry Giant and Cannondale brands. Will check them out in person the next time I make it out to Lexington.

Any thoughts on disc brakes. Thinking back to my teenage self on a poorly maintained bike in wet conditions they seem like a better system.

TimothyFish

I have disc brakes on my mountain bike and my newest road bike. I love them in both cases. For gravel, I prefer a mountain bike to a gravel bike. Mountain bike are also gear better for climbing, though gravel bikes do tend to be geared lower than most road bikes.

Jthanmyfitnesspal

I bought a new road bike a couple years back with disk brakes. I love it on the road. It's useless on dirt.

If.you want good stability on bad surfaces, you might consider either a mountain bike or (somewhat more exotic) a cyclocross bike

The only way to decide is to ride them.

Machka9

U2R2 wrote: »

Thanks for the replies, good info.

I've about ruled out shopping used because I think I would greatly benefit from a professional fitment procedure. I went through the whole check them all out and see what feels good when buying my first guitar. They all felt like I was holding a baby alien for I had no baseline comfort level for which to compare. I think a bike would be a similar experience until I have some measure of saddle time.

Do you have the opportunity to borrow or rent a road bicycle? If so, take it! Even if you just rent a bicycle for an hour or something ... and then maybe borrow another one for another hour ...

You'll start to get a sense of how they feel and perhaps, in particular, what you don't like.

NorthCascades

U2R2 wrote: »

Any thoughts on disc brakes. Thinking back to my teenage self on a poorly maintained bike in wet conditions they seem like a better system.

I have hydraulic disc brakes on my gravel road bike. I live in Seattle, where it rains a lot; these have very consistent stopping power in any conditions.

Riding a lot in a rainy city, I've thrown rim brake wheels out because I've worn the brake tracks down. With discs, you just replace the rotor, the rest of the wheel is fine. I waited until I had a disc brake bike to get nice wheels because the rims can last forever with discs. Disc-only wheels can be made lighter and more aerodynamically than rim-brake wheels, but the rest of the braking system is less aero.

U2R2

@Machka9 Interesting thought. I live in a small town/rural county(pop. 3500/15000) but there is a college town in a neighboring county that may provide a rental opportunity. If not being as I'm on a tentative late summer purchase timeline, there is time to plan a Sunday trip to the small city, another county away, where I plan to purchase.

@NorthCascades That reinforces my desire for disc braking.

Thanks

scorpio516

U2R2 wrote: »

Questions:

1. Does the above style of bike sound like a good choice?
2. I'm leaning toward the 105. Is the 105 drivetrain worthy of the additional $300 over the Tiagra? or thew even cheaper Sora.
3. Any other brands in that price range I should take a look at?
4. Any advice you would like to dispense?
5. Am I insane?

1 : If you plan on riding off pavement, rethink a road bike. Especially an Aluminum one. If you don't flat or crash, you'll hate the ride.
A mtb would be great on loose stuff and bike trails through the mountains, but suck on the road. A cross bike would be the best tool for the job. Decent on road performance, great dirt road performance, decent trail performance. Having driven between Lexington and Louisville, Most cross bikes will have the right gearing.
Typically cross bikes have slower gears than a road bike - slower flat out on the road, but easier to climb trails. Mtb have even lower gears - even slower on road, but can tackle steep trails. A good shop will steer you in the right direction.

2: IMHO yes. Lesser are doable - I've got 10 years and thousands of miles on a Sora bike.

3 - All the major brands are pretty similar - Trek, Specialized, Giant, Cannondale, etc. Most bike frames, esp AL frames, are built by Giant in their factory in Taiwan.

4 : Most cross bikes nowadays use discs. I believe they are the best for off road. Mtb were the first place I saw them. I also have an 11 year old mtb with discs.
There's a new trend for 1x cross bikes. You don't want that

5 - yep

CarlydogsMom

I have a Giant 29-er Anthem mountain bike (and love it to pieces). I bike on both dirt and pavement no problem. If you're not going to bike super long distances on pavement, I've found I have no problem with it. Matter of fact most pavement I've seen is cracked, pitted, bumpy, and all-around fairly crappy anyway, so my bike performs well enough for a general recreational riding on both. Whereas I once recently used a skinny tire road bike on a pavement ride and absolutely hated it. Plus those really are useless on dirt/gravel. I think you'll get more riding out of a wider tire bike. Good luck!