best bang for the buck ?

[Fixed]

carbon fiber bikes that are the best deal. bro
some cats going to say fuji .

[CPP]

My Parlee Z1 frame for 2 grand
CPP

[Avispa]

At what end of the spectrum?

Is a Fuji a better buy than a MeiVici; needless to say, if money was not an issue?

Where do the mixed materials bike fall, then?

[Dave]

Undoubtedly someone will post about various offbrands that are much cheaper than the big names. Generally you do pay a lot more for the name and/or a frame that's just a few ounces lighter.

I'd seriously consider a LOOK 585 for $2200, the 565 for $1850 or the 555 for $1500 at Bicycle John's on e-bay. I would doubt that this seller can provide a valid warranty, since LOOK requires the warranty card to be signed/stamped by an authorized dealer and returned to LOOK. I paid full price for mine, only avoiding sales tax and shipping thorugh Wrench Science. I still had to return the warranty card to them, to stamp/sign and send back to LOOK. Now Wrench Science has a 15% discount on all LOOK frames, which makes for a pretty good deal on a warranted frame.

[mike p]

Rode a jamis CF that was pretty nice and cheap, if your into slopers. Retro paint too.

Mike

[1centaur]

Pedal Force at $650 and not far off 1 kilo seems to be the stealth low priced weightweenie brand.

http://pedalforce.com/online/product_info.php?cPath=21_100088&products_id=348

[Steelman]

... Now Wrench Science has a 15% discount on all LOOK frames, which makes for a pretty good deal on a warranted frame.

If one is concerned about warranty and therefore longevity/design/mfgr issues, they might be looking at the wrong brand of frame or the wrong type of frame.

[obtuse]

Pedal Force at $650 and not far off 1 kilo seems to be the stealth low priced weightweenie brand.

http://pedalforce.com/online/product_info.php?cPath=21_100088&products_id=348


anorexia is the only way to go. but $650? i spend that much on shoes.

obtuse

[Fat Robert]

stop posting pics of my little brother

[slowgoing]

My Parlee Z1 frame for 2 grand
CPP

No joke. Someone ought to snap up that frame in the classified.

[Buddha]

07 Fuji has a claimed weight of 14.5 lbs. out of the box. Funny thing is, it looks just like the Scott.

[bshell]

Check out the "silk carbon" at ibisbicycles.com. It is light, very attractive, and fairly easy on the wallet. Click on the photo a couple of times to blow it up, it's pretty.

[bigbill]

Colorado Cyclist is selling a carbon frame/fork under their Douglas moniker for $1500. I have never heard anything negative about their products.

[Lanternrouge]

Undoubtedly someone will post about various offbrands that are much cheaper than the big names. Generally you do pay a lot more for the name and/or a frame that's just a few ounces lighter.

I'd seriously consider a LOOK 585 for $2200, the 565 for $1850 or the 555 for $1500 at Bicycle John's on e-bay. I would doubt that this seller can provide a valid warranty, since LOOK requires the warranty card to be signed/stamped by an authorized dealer and returned to LOOK. I paid full price for mine, only avoiding sales tax and shipping thorugh Wrench Science. I still had to return the warranty card to them, to stamp/sign and send back to LOOK. Now Wrench Science has a 15% discount on all LOOK frames, which makes for a pretty good deal on a warranted frame.

Bicycle John's is a legitmate shop and I'm quite sure an authorized dealer since I can't imagine they would have purchased that many frames other than through Veltec. I think Colorado Cyclist has the 585s on sale for $2200, which makes for a really good deal if you are also in the market for a DA10 kit.

[Fat Robert]

i can't resolve the words carbon and value together. bike companies have decided that carbon is "best," and hence use that material for their highest price point frames. is a meivici a value because of the customization, build quality, and tube shapes? a good rhetorician could persuade you that it is. is a fuji a good value simply because it is very inexpensive? one could concoct a perfectly good argument there as well. is a c-50 a great value because it is, as my buddy andy maintains, the best race bike going?

there are plenty of great bikes made out of the black stuff. however, i thinik if someone is looking for "value" they might be better off looking at other materials.

[bostondrunk]

i can't resolve the words carbon and value together. bike companies have decided that carbon is "best," and hence use that material for their highest price point frames. is a meivici a value because of the customization, build quality, and tube shapes? a good rhetorician could persuade you that it is. is a fuji a good value simply because it is very inexpensive? one could concoct a perfectly good argument there as well. is a c-50 a great value because it is, as my buddy andy maintains, the best race bike going?

there are plenty of great bikes made out of the black stuff. however, i thinik if someone is looking for "value" they might be better off looking at other materials.

Lets not over analyze. The guy is asking whats the best carbon frame to get for not much $$$.
He's probably not looking for suggestions in the 2-3k range..
How about a used Calfee Luna, or one of the carbon frames mentioned above from pedalforce, etc.
You can also find Look carbon frames new, like the 461 models (I think) for under 1k.

[Too Tall]

Not trying to be a smartarse...any used TREK OCLV esp. an older one with 1" steerer. Now THAT's a value....as far as carBONE goes.

[Climb01742]

i wonder what % of a material's optimum performance you get for "cheap" bucks? i have a ridley excalibur, a "value" carbon frame. it is a very respectable "tool". but it isn't in the same class as a parlee or time or other high-end carbon frame. due to it's development cycle, or just marketing, the better performing carbon frames are the more costly ones.

compare that to a 8:30AM or a steel serotta. for short money, i think you may get "more" of the total potential performance out of a steel or alu frame nowadays than from carbon. just a theory but makes some sense based on my experience.

of course the real values are in second hand high end frames.

[saab2000]

of course the real values are in second hand high end frames.

word

[bostondrunk]

i wonder what % of a material's optimum performance you get for "cheap" bucks? i have a ridley excalibur, a "value" carbon frame. it is a very respectable "tool". but it isn't in the same class as a parlee or time or other high-end carbon frame. due to it's development cycle, or just marketing, the better performing carbon frames are the more costly ones.

compare that to a 8:30AM or a steel serotta. for short money, i think you may get "more" of the total potential performance out of a steel or alu frame nowadays than from carbon. just a theory but makes some sense based on my experience.

of course the real values are in second hand high end frames.

OK, but what makes the Excaliber a 'tool' or 'value' frame other than the price tag when compared to other frames? What happens when we take the Ridley Excaliber sticker off of it and put a Colnago sticker on it?? When you take the brand name away, and decide to ignore the fact that it was put together by a guy in China (or Australia) instead of a guy in MA, is there really that much difference?

[Climb01742]

OK, but what makes the Excaliber a 'tool' or 'value' frame other than the price tag when compared to other frames? What happens when we take the Ridley Excaliber sticker off of it and put a Colnago sticker on it?? When you take the brand name away, and decide to ignore the fact that it was put together by a guy in China (or Australia) instead of a guy in MA, is there really that much difference?

yes, there is a difference between how the excalibur and a parlee ride, at least to me anyway. a forum member sold me a second hand parlee Z3, which cost me pretty much what the excalibur did, so price isn't influencing my opinion. are_all_pricey carbon frames better than their less costly brethen? not in my experience. but i do think there are_great_carbon frames that ride noticeably better than less pricey ones.

[znfdl]

At what end of the spectrum?

Get a Spectrum Ti

[Fixed]

what do you think of a system 6 ?
cheers

[mike p]

what do you think of a system 6 ?
cheers

Fixed,
What is it, never heard of it. Cheers.

Mike

[landshark_98]

Used from reputable maufuacturer. FOr example, there is a 56 cm Calfee Tetra on ebay with current bidding less than 500. Send back to Calfee for inspection - 250 covers any minor repairs, and they transfer the remainder of the 25 year warranty. I bought Jeff Wier's Calfee tetra off this forum for $1200. Every bit as perfect as a new one at around $2800

[vandeda]

Fixed,
What is it, never heard of it. Cheers.

Mike

Mike,

it's a Cannondale, and that's all my pea-sized brain knows

Dan