What attracts you to buy a new bike ?

[Smiley]

I am very interested to know, and who knows maybe the good folks at Serotta are just a tad curious too.

Is it new technology
Is it lighter weight
Is it the paint scheme
Is it just for a better fit
Is it to keep up with the crowd
does it have to have a reason ?

I for one like to have a new bike when technology dictates a change in reason , my Legend Ti serial #00025 and my Hors Categorie serial #00053 where such purchases . I went thru a series of mountain bike purchases till I settled on my TiMax by Serotta ( some still think its the best of the Serotta design ).

So please share your thoughts as I am still waiting on Carbon / Ti technology to GET IT dead on and I am jumping into the fray .

[yeehawfactor]

i can understand buying a bike that is a change in technology from serotta. but most changes in technology don't interest me. i like having a newer bike that will work perfectly every day. aside from that, i like oldschool lugged frames that you don't see too much. technology has a place, but there's something about handmade steel frames that you don't get from the majority of non-serotta new bikes.

that being said, the bikes that i am drawn to are those that are(in this order)
1. quality old school/lugged
2. have interesting, preferably loud and dated paint jobs
3. have an interesting story

[Ti Designs]

In 86 I had Peter Mooney build me a custom because all my previous bikes didn't fit. There were a number of factors there, fit was a big one, but all of my other bikes had something I liked about them, the custom Mooney was my best stab at a bike that did it all - 'cept it wasn't light. The final factor was how well it was put together, I looked in the bottom bracket shells of many of the italian bikes and then I looked at the work that Peter does. There are details you never see once the paint and parts are on the bike, things that set the well made steel frames apart. Peter pays attention to the details, as does Serotta - that was the selling point for me.

Two years ago it was the technology that prompted my purchase of a Seven Odonata. I wanted something as stiff in the bottom bracket while still being comfortable. The Odonata's design using titanium in all the horizontal tubes and carbon in all the vertical tubes made some sense to me, it didn't hurt that the frame and fork were 2 pounds lighter.

The Odonata didn't last very long, I'm back on the Peter Mooney, and I noticed something. I never went from the Mooney directly to the Seven, there was that winter of riding my tank of a fixed gear between the two. When going from the Seven back to an aging Peter Mooney I found that the Mooney rides better - take that you techno weenies!!! So now I'm on and old steel bike with a Columbus KL top tube (.4mm wall thickness) and some rust, thinking that I may need to get something new.

So, do I go to Peter Mooney with cash in hand and say "one more time!", or do I step up to the new technology? It's gotta be local, and the geometry is going to be exactly the same as my Seven. here's where it gets interesting. I don't want another Seven, so if you were planning on getting me one for christmas, don't. There is IF, I did all the custom lug work on their show bike with the agreement that it goes towards my own bike. I own an IF mountain bike which I love, but I don't think IF can build what I want. And then there's Serotta. I rode an Ottrott ST for the season after my Seven failed, It wasn't my cup of tea, and I couldn't afford one even if it was. For me the selling point of Serotta isn't the Ottrott or the Legend Ti or and one model, it's Kelly Bedford. Kelly is the guy who designs the bike based on the riders needs and riding style, he's Serotta's equivelent of sitting down with Peter Mooney and explaining what I liked about my previous bikes.

[Ken Robb]

It's "horses for courses".
I like having a bike well-suited for the kind of ride I plan for the day. If I don't know what I'll get into or if it's going to be a mix of paved/unpaved there's the All-Rounder Riv, though the Ramboullet and Waterford are pretty good on dirt too. The Legend and CSi with 700x23 and 700x25 tires are strictly for smooth pavement.

[dbrk]

First, there is fit 'cause if it don't fit then it's someone else's bike. But let's say we can get a given bike to fit as it suits its purpose: racerish for fast and relatively short, audax for day touring and into the night, cyclotouriste for longer rides, commutes, bounding about the unpaved distances, 'cross for the backyard, oldoldschool for Sundays...Like my clansman Robb (we're clan MacKay/McKay) put it, "horses for courses."

But actually once there is fit and purpose established then for me its easy because if the aesthetics are "right" then the bike will make me happy. It's like that old saw from Buckmister Fuller who said something about not trying to make something beautiful that works but that when it works it always comes out beautiful. Sure, I'm all for the ugly rascal too, whatever gets anyone out there and on a bike is perfect. But I ride "pretty" bikes in all-weathers and never worry about rust or other perils, mostly 'cause I should just ride and I am too old to not think that every ride is a blessing.

I am tweaked by new technology but almost always disappointed by it, mostly because it rarely lives up to being "better." I like _different_ experiences, which is why I have ti and carbon and mixed media bikes as well as lugged steel (and even two TIG'd steels, IFCJ and BLE). I own only one bike I don't ride, my 1966 Schwinn Fleet that my Dad bought me new. Since then, I'm hooked.

But it's the sheer beauty plus function of a bike that makes me want it: Nagasawa, Mariposa, Rivendell Saluki, RS, Tournesol, these are the bikes I have in line and for which the lust factor still rings my bell. For the very same reasons I would like a Goodrich, Kirk, Spectrum 25th, Vanilla, Eisentraut, and Confente though the MC is beyond my boundaries. I would like one more try at a CSi too since, well, mine is not quite right.

dbrk

[Larry]

Don't need a new frame..................... only more updated components.

When is Campy Electronic due to hit the shops??????

[eddief]

My quest has been for fit, aesthetics, and road dynamics. Fit is first then the other two merge in next. I have steel with carbon fork, ti with carbon fork, and steel with steel fork. I went through a Waterford with carbon fork to finally get to the Rambouillet. All of my riding is recreational on smooth roads, so no interest in multi-purpose machines. Beyond the current three, I can't see another on the horizon.

My relationship to materialism, however that might be described, does not allow me to surround myself with more than three fine road bikes at this time. Poor me/us.

I have no interest in plastic, but 650B would be an all new experience. I've learned to never say never again.

[Hard Fit]

First Replacement Bike: Wanted to move from an upright sitting bike to a racing frame.

Second Bike: Keep up with the Joneses. Friend bought a new bike which of course started the itch.

Third Bike: Second Bike frame bit the dust when the derailleur failed doing sprint intervals.

[Matt Barkley]

Smiley - The Ti-Max was schuweet! Where can I score one?... :)

For me geometry is usually always first. But I do like to constantly experiment. This goes for every part of fit, (geometry and components) definitely material, pricepoint, and construction method.

So I guess I am out looking for the real (my) "keepers":

Nagasawa
Eisentraut
Pegoretti
Sachs
Serotta

(But I will try anything) Maybe: Colnago C-50 (just about to try it out), OTTROTT (Would love to try it out - which basically means designing my own frameset - with INVALUEABLE help from Kelly), Derosa NeoPrimato. That is basically it for now... Try a full carbon. Try a new super-light Ti/carbon for $$$. AND also try out a steel lugged frame and fork. (I have a hard time plunking down $ for an OCLV - but would really move to try one for 3 or 4 weeks...

Basically I am always cycling through bikes (1 every 3-6 months or so) really searching for that new feeling and experience that may be better. I am willing to compromise on aesthetics in order to just try something out. Maybe it will offer something better. Maybe not. The "keepers" are hard to come by. You gotta commit, and maybe get in line.

I guess it REALLY comes down to if I hear a bike is riding really nice - then I will investigate and then try it out. Simple as that. Weight, paint, material all may matter BUT the ride is the most important and then my own desicive factor.

TiDesigns is making mucho sense in his last few points. Very Informative. Thanks TiD! :beer: -Matt

[Big Dan]

I go for proven technology. There's something nice about don't having to worry too much after hitting a pothole.......Call me retro, but I go for steel and heavy duty wheels......... :D

[Peter]

What attracts me to buy a new bike?-the cracks on my existing frame.

I'm too poor to be upgrading under any condition except necessity, then I can justify whatever the cost.That's why I feel so good when I break a frame; I know replacing it is not a squander of my meager funds.

To me, the improvements in frames/bikes on a yearly basis is too small to justify upgrading.

My racing bike is 20 years old. Just this year I upgraded from 7 speed downtube gearing to STI only because 7 speed freewheels were basically history. The bike is not ridden much, maybe 500 miles/yr. I'd love to get something new but not until the frame fails and considering how much I ride it, that may not be for a while.

My mountain bike is 3 years old. It replaced a 10 year old Bridgestone which cracked around the top tube. I held it together with a hose clamp while waiting for a new frame-six weeks! That MB-3 didn't owe me a dime.

My commuter is seven years old, fillet brazed steel. Three years ago the seat tube cracked and I had it repaired. Last year I was hit by a car and buckled the seat tube at the bottom bracket. I thought of replacing it with a Ramboulliet but chose the cheaper route-repairing the frame. I'll continue to ride it until a failure makes it unrepairable. I'd love to try an oversized steel frame, but not until I EARN it...

[Lifelover]

1. I'm an addict and being addicted to shopping for bikes is safer than being addicted to alcohol, food, pot, coffee, etc. Fairly mild addiction at this point. I just need it to warm up so I can ride again. I think I could displace my addiction with riding if I didn't loath cold weather.


Any ideas for something to swap my "habit" with are welcome.

[zap]

Smiley-Carbon/Ti mix technology is over 12 years old now.

Get a Parlee (put Serotta stickers on it if you must :D ) or wait for Ben to come out with full carbon.

I've been waiting for over 10 years for Ben to come out with a carbon bike.

[RichMc]

I'm working on getting a second bike just to have a back-up in case anything, God forbid, should happen to the first one. Actually I already have the backup bike but it doesn't fit right and that starts to bother me after 20 miles. So I'm getting the second bike. Then I'll have two that fit and I'll sell the current second bike. Maybe. First bike is Ti. Second one will be steel. That should do it. After all I can only ride one at a time and there is maintenance to consider. So I'll have a Ti, a steel, and maybe that Al one if it doesn't sell. Then again there could be a carbon Parlee out there after I get the steel. Or maybe a nice Sachs, just to have a classic, handmade lugged steel. Hmmmm. Someone hold me back. I'm going to have to retire some day and I can't have these extra funds tied up in custom bikes. Or can I?

[saab2000]

Don't need a new frame..................... only more updated components.

When is Campy Electronic due to hit the shops??????


Hopefully never!!! This seems to be an answer to a question that nobody is asking. Both Campy and Shimano are making terrific systems which seem to work under nearly all conditions. It is hard for me to see how an electronic system could be better.

As they say, it might be more expensive, but at least it malfunctions in the rain...... :rolleyes:

[Sandy]

1. How the bike rides.
2. How the bike fits.
3. Confidence in the producer of the bike.


Sandy

[Jeff N.]

Some of my bikes and some of the reasons:

Serotta Legend Ti: Heritage.
Seven Axion Ti: Artfully curved chain and seat stays.
Moots Vamoots: Best welds in the business. Period.
Holland Ti: Local genius. Wonderful craftsmanship. Bill's attention to detail.
Litespeed Team Issue: Price too good to pass up.
Dean El Diente Ti: Ditto.

Jeff N.

[Climb01742]

jeff, are your socks made out of ti, too? :beer:

clearly, you feel about ti the way i feel about garlic...no such thing as too much! :rolleyes:

[Jeff N.]

jeff, are your socks made out of ti, too? :beer:

clearly, you feel about ti the way i feel about garlic...no such thing as too much! :rolleyes:Correctamundo! Nothing but the best. Bury a Ti frame, come back in 100 years, dig it up, hose it off, build it up and you're off! I like that about Ti. Jeff N.

[Climb01742]

Correctamundo! Nothing but the best. Bury a Ti frame, come back in 100 years, dig it up, hose it off, build it up and you're off! I like that about Ti. Jeff N.

any plans to personally try that yourself? ;)

[Jeff N.]

any plans to personally try that yourself? ;)No. I would, but if you came back and dug ME up, I doubt I'd be rideable. Jeff N.

[JohnS]

It would give new meaning to the expression "jump his bones"! :)

[ericmurphy]

Black and yellow (sorry BBDave!), well, actually black and neon greenish-yellow. Plus it was 13 years old, and had 15,000 miles on it, and it didn't seduce me into going on rides the way my Legend does.

[Kane]

Does the bike create bike dreams?
I saw a Ron Cooper frameset at Bicycle Odyssey in Sausilto, CA last year. In order the fit was right. The equipment was mostly boring (Shimano Ultegra) with some open pro's that I could have lived absent the Ultegra rear hub. The finish was spectacular with a classic blue that was very understated and elegant. The construction was sublime with a mixture of lugs (headtube and bb) and fillet brazing seat lug. It lacked a head badge, but that was not a deal stopper.

I didn't buy the bike, because I was lusting after a new mtn bike. The mtn bike allure materalized in the form of a Turner Burner. No offense to hard tail owners, but you are so many generations behind that it is not even funny. Turner is the real deal in the mtn bike world. In the road bike world you can ride a lugged bike and know in your heart that it is the rider and the fit not the frame material 99.9% of the time. On the mtn., the frame design implies full suspension. Steel would work, but not as good as Al. Titus makes a custom Ti, but do you really want something that is so good looking on the mtn, when you know that you are going to crash a number of times?

Now that I have a new mtn bike, back to that Ron Cooper ...

[shinomaster]

The Geometry
The paint
The decals
The carbon fork curves
The Optimo tubing..ha ha
It's marketing campaign in cyclesport
If phil Liggit and Paul Sherwin rave about them on the tele like the do about their precious Colnago's.
Did Mario Cipollini ride one? :banana: :banana: :banana: