Choosing a new bike

[Highpowernut]

So, I am new to this world of cycling.
Been riding for a year now. I purchased a road bike( cheap carbon frame) last year with all ultegra 6700.

Looked around and found my Tri bike, a Serotta HSG aero. Love it, can't say enough good things about it.

Wanted to upgrade my road bike frame ever since I got the serotta.

I was thinking I wanted to get a matching road frame, until this week.

Now I don't know. Any suggestions?

I currently ride about 70 miles a week. Almost all solo, avg speed 21 mph.

[bicycletricycle]

you could always keep it in the serotta family.

Kirk, Ellis, Bedford

[T.J.]

What is wrong with the frame you have now? What would you expect out of a new frame? No offense but 70 miles a week isn't very much so I'm curious as to what you are after

[MattTuck]

A big part of me getting a custom was that I hadn't bought a bike for 10 years, I wanted something different, and I really appreciated the handmade/craftsmanship aspects of a custom frame.

There's really no financial way to rationalize a custom frame. It is an emotional purchase for my sporting passion.

Nothing wrong with wanting a new bike. Just figure out why you want it, and tailor your purchase to hit that need/desire.

[Louis]

If you know what size works for you, then hang around here long enough and you're sure to find something that catches your eye.

One way to think about n+1 is frame material: what do you have now, vs what's different out there that you would like to try? Another is purpose: thinking of giving 'cross a try, then that would lead you in one direction. Want to do some overnight touring? That would lead in another.

Good Luck

[MattTuck]

I prepared this handy grid a while ago, to help in the process. It deals only with material and type.

Future versions will incorporate the type of joinery, geometry and surface treatment. :)

If you know what size works for you, then hang around here long enough and you're sure to find something that catches your eye.

One way to think about n+1 is frame material: what do you have now, vs what's different out there that you would like to try? Another is purpose: thinking of giving 'cross a try, then that would lead you in one direction. Want to do some overnight touring? That would lead in another.

Good Luck

[sparky33]

you could always keep it in the serotta family.

Kirk, Ellis, Bedford

This.

You might as well get something extra rad from good people.

[oldpotatoe]

So, I am new to this world of cycling.
Been riding for a year now. I purchased a road bike( cheap carbon frame) last year with all ultegra 6700.

Looked around and found my Tri bike, a Serotta HSG aero. Love it, can't say enough good things about it.

Wanted to upgrade my road bike frame ever since I got the serotta.

I was thinking I wanted to get a matching road frame, until this week.

Now I don't know. Any suggestions?

I currently ride about 70 miles a week. Almost all solo, avg speed 21 mph.

What are you trying to 'fix' on the road bike, what problem are you trying to solve? What do you want the new bike/.frame to do that the one you have now, doesn't do?

[oliver1850]

If you're looking at used, a Serotta is still as good as it was last month. From a warranty standpoint, I'd say a new one is less desirable because of recent developments.

Since you are relatively new and your interests/needs may change with more miles, a little patience would be a good thing. Your current bike is probably fine for what you're doing now, unless the fit is poor. When you have more experience it will be more apparent what you should look for in the next bike.

[jmoore]

Pull the trigger on a Spesh

[charliedid]

Post 3 photos of bikes you "Like"

:-)

[Likes2ridefar]

With that average speed, you should consider a Cervelo S5 for it's aerodynamics. Might buy a mph or two for your avg speed.

sorry, couldn't resist.

avg speed is meaningless to most here especially if we dont know if you are in Miami, FL or halfway up a mountain pass in CO.

[Highpowernut]

My current road bike is a little small and should be the next size up, main reason for wanting a new frame.

I would like new frame to ride similar to the serotta , as its a lot nicer ride.

I have been looking for a used serotta ottrott or meivici , but I've recently looked at the k.bedford ti/carbon and liked it;-)

[bicycletricycle]

If you want a mixed frame check out the firefly stuff. Super nice

[Louis]

I prepared this handy grid a while ago, to help in the process. It deals only with material and type.

Well, Matt, I see lots of empty boxes in that matrix.

It looks like you ought to be able to justify a few more purchases... :bike:

[Scott Shire]

I would advise you VERY strongly to stay away from a custom frame.

At 70 miles/week, it's simply impossible to know how you'll fit on a bike. You're likely to end up with a ton of money into a bike that is only interesting to an intensely small niche of the riding populace.

Get a used frame. Hang the Ultegra on it. Ride lots. In a year or two, you'll have a much better idea of what you want and need. You may find, for example, that you love fire roads, and want discs and clearance for big tires. Or you might get into bikepacking/camping and be enchanted by a sweet Boulder 650. Or maybe you'll get REAL fast and determine that you might be better served by an aluminum race machine with all of the stiffness.

You want to see how folks blow custom even when they know a bunch? Look no further than the exploits of the artist formerly known as BikeTart.

http://www.bicycles.net.au/forums/viewtopic.php?f=25&t=64928

http://www.velocipedesalon.com/forum/f3/fs-swap-long-shot-my-baum-33382-2.html

http://www.velocipedesalon.com/forum/f10/spraying-frame-home-33867.html

[Fishbike]

I am going to try respond to the question instead of assuming Highpower does not know what he is talking about. He sounds like he does.

It sounds like you want a nice, fairly high end road bike. I will try to break it into some imperfect categories.

New, available now, commodity bike from a bike shop. You are probably looking at carbon. Trek, Specialized and a whole bunch of other manufacturers sell great frames with great components for all budgets. There are many that will be lighter and ride a little nicer than what you have. These will cost a lost more. But it will be great fun to test ride them all trying to find the perfect bike for you.

used/ newish You will find many of the bikes mentioned about on the used market. You won't quite have the kid in a candy store experience, but you can save a lot of money if you know what you want and you buy the right size.

Used/oldish. You can find many great-riding bikes that are not new. Older great frames may include steel, titanium and maybe aluminum. SOme ride as good or better that new top tier carbon bikes. Most will be heavier. But if you are looking to replicate the ride of your Serotta, chances are you are not looking at the world's lightest bike.

Small builder / used custom. Most folks here go ga ga over bikes built buy small builders -- such as Moots, Indy Fab, Speedvagen -- or custom, very small shops such as Kirk, Bedford, Firefly and countless other quality folks and quality builders. In this segment you can find all kinds of cool, more unusual and wonderful bikes, including the Meivici and Ottrot you mentioned. If you hunt around for a used bike, you can get a great rig at a good price. You won't get custom, but if the bike fits, it fits.

Full custom There is no reason not to go custom at this stage as long as you pick a good builder. Tell the builder what you think you want and he will walk you through the process and build the bike for you. Sorry, Mr. Shire, I got my first custom after only riding seriously for a year. Worked great then; works great now.

Good luck and have fun!

[rando]

Simple answer is go get a proper fitting done. If you think your current road bike is too small you could be missing how modern off the shelf frames should be set up compared to older ones with a different design protocol.

Nothing wrong with getting a nicer bike. Gas pipe steel has almost nothing in common with high end tubing and the same applies to carbon or any other building material. Regardless of whether you ride 500 miles a week or 70.

Once again, determine your ideal geometry and only then move forward in whatever direction piques your interest.

[alessandro]

To the OP: Go talk to the Serotta emeritus framebuilders, as suggested in this thread. You'll have fun.

Slight tangent: You want to see how folks blow custom even when they know a bunch? Look no further than the exploits of the artist formerly known as BikeTart.

http://www.bicycles.net.au/forums/viewtopic.php?f=25&t=64928

http://www.velocipedesalon.com/forum/f3/fs-swap-long-shot-my-baum-33382-2.html

http://www.velocipedesalon.com/forum/f10/spraying-frame-home-33867.html

THAT is such a festival of craptasticness... maybe there's a reason he chose tart as a handle. On the other hand, these are just more opportunities for other people to pick up an awesome frame at a nice price.

[Highpowernut]

Thanks guys, you gave me some ideas and items to consider.

I will probably keep looking for a used frame in my size, as that's where the budget is for me. (Im not a dentist)

Also since my main focus is on triathlon and my Tri bike is the serotta :-)




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Ronald Reagan