Well, the components are low-end.... but that doesn't make them unusable. They just won't last quite as long, and they won't operate as smoothly as better components tend to do. But I wouldn't consider that a deal breaker at all.

What is a deal breaker for me is not being able to ride before the buy. That's silly. What makes riding enjoyable and lasting is the actual fit and how the contact points feel against your body, your flesh, and your bones. If the bike doesn't feel good, and doesn't feel like an extension of your limbs, you won't ride that bike too often or for very long. You have a $600 budget? You can find a whole lot of bike value this time of year (the off-season) for $600 at your local bike shop, and that bike will be assembled correctly and fitted to you by someone familiar with the bike model and its components.

Look at the two bikes you identified. Both have disk brakes. Do you plan to cycle in steep hilly terrain or in wet, slippery conditions where disk brakes are most useful? If not, disk brakes are expensive features (about $100 added to the price of the bike) and much heavier than rim brakes. One bike has a Suntour suspension fork. If you'll be riding 90% road and 10% light trail, you don't need a cheapo suspension fork that adds $100 to the price of a bike. Trade those potentially useless (for your needs) features for something better than a Shimano Acera or Shimano Sora drivetrain where you'll experience crisper shifting and greater durability.

For a 10-mile commute to and from work, you'll want to mount a front handlebar bag for essentials and a rear rack and trunk bag for a change of clothes and whatnot. So look for sturdy braze-ons and a bar that's friendly to your bar bag.

If you live in a cold weather zone with potential for sub-freezing temps and snow, disk brakes may make sense. Also your bar and hand controls should be compatible with Bar Mitts for sub-freezing temperatures.

But most important are your contact points, i.e. the feel of the grips and their width as it relates to your personal shoulder to shoulder distance, your saddle width as it relates to your sit bones, and your pedals as it relates to the size of your feet with the shoes you'll ride in. So invest in nice grips (or gel bar tape), a decent saddle that fits your butt well, and pedals that are commuter friendly and large enough for your feet with work shoes. Check out Ergon grips and pedals suitable for daily commuting. I ride my Hybrid with a Serfas RX mens saddle ($58) for a comfy, commuter-friendly ride as it's 158 mm wide, supportive and comfy for me.

Best wishes to you with your new bike!

It depends on how many bikes you will end up owning. If this is the one bike for years, I would go with the one that lets you do as much dirt as you want. If this is the first bike this year and another in two years, I would go with the one that fits either road or dirt riding and plan on getting the other bike then.

Check options like criagslist or other local sites. It might be worth getting an older bike now to go through the winter. I got my most expensive bike from a LBS in February for half the price they wanted in September. It is a full carbon road bike. When it broke, they replaced it under warranty When it broke a second time in the same spot, they replaced it with a frame two steps up. I now have a $4,000 frame for a $1,200 investment. After three years riding it, I won't go back to my hybrid for road riding.

Another option. I have volunteered at Young Life camps. They want it to be the best week of a kid's life. So, the ones that have mountain bikes get new ones every summer. They are hardly used. They buy them from a LBS at wholesale and sell them at wholesale. I got a $1,00 Trek for $500. The mechanic at camp gave it a tune up before I got it. Again, two years later, I am glad to have a good road bio and a good mountain bike. Might be worth calling around.

Enjoy the ride when you get it and heal soon.

Have you taken a look at Bikes Direct's sister site http://bikeshopwarehouse.com? It's where most of the discontinued/older models are advertised. Sizing is limited but you might find something slightly better value. Also you may want to take a look at http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk. It's slightly more expansive but still a good value.

Personally I am flip flopping between a CF with Campy Chorus or Moto with SRAM Red as my next bike, or a Moto Ti with Ultegra once I reach my weight goal.

not keen on that "hunched" look to the frame, looks like a dog struggling to coil one out...

veloman21 wrote: »

TheBigYin wrote: »

not keen on that "hunched" look to the frame, looks like a dog struggling to coil one out...

Oh I dunno, I kind of like the look, it feels retro in a modern way. Reminds me of bike designs from yesteryear like this one. http://thecabe.com/images/5bar/main.jpg

much more like this

Personally don't like the gearing on either. Triples with a wide range cassette means big jumps in the middle. However for the record I've not much use for triples anyway.

What's with the seat post pictured on the diverge comp smartweld? Am I missing something or does it seems a lot of unnecessary metal just before the seat clamps. If its just for aesthetics, count me out. Actually, the whole package.

and it's not metal... it's carbon fibre, and probably weighs less than a straight Al. or Ti. post would...

Still looks fecking hideous mind, but if it's a step up in being effective over the old Pave Seatpin, then I can see why they came up with it.

Frankly though, the Canyon VCLS 2.0 appeals more to me...

it's not so much a "suspension" seatpin, more something that just takes the edge off the vibration... I can certainly see a place for it on a long-distance offroader like that bike, and definitely over the pave in france and belgium, but the real place where it'd come into its own IMO is for the stoker on a tandem - the rear rider really takes a pasting from any imperfections in the road surface, mainly because they don't always see them, and if the pilot doesn't warm them to "brace" or lighten up on the saddle in time...

I must admit, I've got the old first generation Pave seatpin (the curved one)on my Dolan... I'm not sure if the "Zertz" gel capsule thing actually does the damping, or if its the wierd weave that is required to make the hole in the shaft to house the Zert... Doesn't look quite as fugly as the Kobl Gobbler though...