Opinions on REI brand bikes (Novara)?

Hi all,

Here is in the USA we have a co-op outdoor store chain
called Recreational Equipment Inc (REI) which has its own
brand of bikes called Novara.

I was looking at their Strada racing bike which has an
aluminum frame and Shimano 105 components in 5 places,
and I was curious if anyone had any experience with this
bike. Here is a link:
http://www.rei.com/online/store/Prod...ory_rn=4500865

From a parts perspective it looks good to me (I'm not
a bike mechanic, nor rich) but I don't know about the frame.
I was told by a salesman it was made in Taiwan by the same
manufacturer that makes the Litespeed. I haven't verified that
claim with the customer service people yet.

Can anybody offer any experiences / insights / advice
on whether this might be a good bike to get? It's on sale
locally is why I ask.

Personally I am not sure that an Alu frame is for me,
having experienced for a year the Alu stiffness factor in
my previous bike, but I'm responding to the components
and sale price and trying to be practical.

Thanks.

REI bikes are as good as any in my opinion. I especially like their
Randonee steel tourer, and the neato Fusion commuter.

What's more important is the staff at the REI. The ones at my local are
really nice and I'd rather spend my money there than at the two
arrogant ma and pa shops which are closer.

If it fits, is on sale, and you feel good about shopping at REI, take
it for a test spin and see if you like the ride.

Aluminum can be designed to soak up road buzz, but it's often
overbuilt. Tires can't fully make up for poor frame design--I've had an
alu bike that was harsh even with 35mm tires. Blowhards that say that
there's no difference are full of crap.

So take it around the block and see for yourself.

In article .com,
"Zix" wrote:

Hi all,

Here is in the USA we have a co-op outdoor store chain
called Recreational Equipment Inc (REI) which has its own
brand of bikes called Novara.

I was looking at their Strada racing bike which has an
aluminum frame and Shimano 105 components in 5 places,
and I was curious if anyone had any experience with this
bike. Here is a link:
http://www.rei.com/online/store/Prod...logId=40000008
000&productId=47968697&parent_category_rn=4500865

From a parts perspective it looks good to me (I'm not
a bike mechanic, nor rich) but I don't know about the frame.
I was told by a salesman it was made in Taiwan by the same
manufacturer that makes the Litespeed. I haven't verified that
claim with the customer service people yet.

Can anybody offer any experiences / insights / advice
on whether this might be a good bike to get? It's on sale
locally is why I ask.

Personally I am not sure that an Alu frame is for me,
having experienced for a year the Alu stiffness factor in
my previous bike, but I'm responding to the components
and sale price and trying to be practical.

Behold the Approved Standard rbt answer:

-the most important factor in enjoying a new bicycle is ensuring the fit
is correct, and this is likely to mean dealing with a shop that can fit
you properly and is willing to make the appropriate stem/bar/saddle
changes to get things right.

-the feel of "stiffness" is best tuned by adjusting your bike's tire
pressure in 5 psi increments. There are only a few exceptions, most
notoriously the infamously whippy Vitus 979 frames. The second most
important factor in the ride of a bike is probably frame geometry,
followed by the type of bar tape you use.

My opinion? If it fits and it's a good deal, buy it.

--
Ryan Cousineau http://www.wiredcola.com/
"I don't want kids who are thinking about going into mathematics
to think that they have to take drugs to succeed." -Paul Erdos

Ryan Cousineau wrote:
In article .com,
"Zix" wrote:


Hi all,

Here is in the USA we have a co-op outdoor store chain
called Recreational Equipment Inc (REI) which has its own
brand of bikes called Novara.

I was looking at their Strada racing bike which has an
aluminum frame and Shimano 105 components in 5 places,
and I was curious if anyone had any experience with this
bike. Here is a link:
http://www.rei.com/online/store/Prod...logId=40000008
000&productId=47968697&parent_category_rn=450086 5

From a parts perspective it looks good to me (I'm not
a bike mechanic, nor rich) but I don't know about the frame.
I was told by a salesman it was made in Taiwan by the same
manufacturer that makes the Litespeed. I haven't verified that
claim with the customer service people yet.

Can anybody offer any experiences / insights / advice
on whether this might be a good bike to get? It's on sale
locally is why I ask.

Personally I am not sure that an Alu frame is for me,
having experienced for a year the Alu stiffness factor in
my previous bike, but I'm responding to the components
and sale price and trying to be practical.


Behold the Approved Standard rbt answer:

-the most important factor in enjoying a new bicycle is ensuring the fit
is correct, and this is likely to mean dealing with a shop that can fit
you properly and is willing to make the appropriate stem/bar/saddle
changes to get things right.

-the feel of "stiffness" is best tuned by adjusting your bike's tire
pressure in 5 psi increments. There are only a few exceptions, most
notoriously the infamously whippy Vitus 979 frames. The second most
important factor in the ride of a bike is probably frame geometry,
followed by the type of bar tape you use.

that's parody, right? tire pressure has absolutely ZERO effect on a
frame's mechanical properties or a wheel's mechanical properties, both
of which are significant factors in ride quality. it may be ok to joke
about this stuff once in a while, but it's dangerous here on r.b.t.
because repetition means people start to believe the most outrageous
b.s. as "fact".


My opinion? If it fits and it's a good deal, buy it.

In article ,
jim beam wrote:

Ryan Cousineau wrote:
In article .com,
"Zix" wrote:

[REI Novara]

I was looking at their Strada racing bike which has an
aluminum frame and Shimano 105 components in 5 places,
and I was curious if anyone had any experience with this
bike. Here is a link:
http://www.rei.com/online/store/Prod...ory_rn=4500865

Personally I am not sure that an Alu frame is for me,
having experienced for a year the Alu stiffness factor in
my previous bike, but I'm responding to the components
and sale price and trying to be practical.


Behold the Approved Standard rbt answer:

-the feel of "stiffness" is best tuned by adjusting your bike's tire
pressure in 5 psi increments. There are only a few exceptions, most
notoriously the infamously whippy Vitus 979 frames. The second most
important factor in the ride of a bike is probably frame geometry,
followed by the type of bar tape you use.

that's parody, right? tire pressure has absolutely ZERO effect on a
frame's mechanical properties or a wheel's mechanical properties, both
of which are significant factors in ride quality. it may be ok to joke
about this stuff once in a while, but it's dangerous here on r.b.t.
because repetition means people start to believe the most outrageous
b.s. as "fact".

Jim, I hope I'm not misrepresenting others here, but my impression is
that one regular in this newsgroup who makes his living designing and
selling titanium frames (Mark Hickey) and one regular in this newsgroup
who literally wrote the book on bicycle wheels (Jobst Brandt) have both
basically said that given the relative amounts of flex in an inflated
tire (significant by design) and virtually any bike frame or wheel
(magnitudes smaller), the chance of the frame or wheel's "ride quality"
being discernible to any sensible degree is virtually nil.

I would treat geometry considerations separately: angles and dimensions
affect how a bike feels in interesting ways, but most bikes exist within
fairly small variations on these parameters.

I know you disagree, but I judge the "tire-supremacist" arguments as the
most reasonable explanation. My own experience has been that frame
materials are not very important to bike feel, but I would not put
myself forward as an expert.

--
Ryan Cousineau http://www.wiredcola.com/
"I don't want kids who are thinking about going into mathematics
to think that they have to take drugs to succeed." -Paul Erdos

On Sun, 19 Mar 2006 19:23:20 GMT, Ryan Cousineau
wrote:

Jim, I hope I'm not misrepresenting others here, but my impression is
that one regular in this newsgroup who makes his living designing and
selling titanium frames (Mark Hickey) and one regular in this newsgroup
who literally wrote the book on bicycle wheels (Jobst Brandt) have both
basically said that given the relative amounts of flex in an inflated
tire (significant by design) and virtually any bike frame or wheel
(magnitudes smaller), the chance of the frame or wheel's "ride quality"
being discernible to any sensible degree is virtually nil.

That's won't impress Jim Beam; he routinely disregards anyone else's
opinion, no matter how well informed, and in particular seems to take
delight in loudly denouncing any position taken by Jobst Brandt. He's
also fond of denouncing any genuine consensus that he disagrees with
in the slightest regard.

I would treat geometry considerations separately: angles and dimensions
affect how a bike feels in interesting ways, but most bikes exist within
fairly small variations on these parameters.

I know you disagree, but I judge the "tire-supremacist" arguments as the
most reasonable explanation. My own experience has been that frame
materials are not very important to bike feel, but I would not put
myself forward as an expert.

I have, on occasion, seen him be demonstrably right about something,
but he's in my killfile for a number of reasons that are good and
sufficient for me, and will stay there.
--
Typoes are a feature, not a bug.
Some gardening required to reply via email.
Words processed in a facility that contains nuts.

Avoid aluminum road bikes if you desire comfort. For all day rides find
a steel frame. Novars bike have a good reputation. I'd advise to find
a ike that is comfortable first.

"Zix" wrote in message
oups.com...

Can anybody offer any experiences / insights / advice
on whether this might be a good bike to get? It's on sale
locally is why I ask.

My experience with Novara is getting old, but fwiw it's this:

The bikes are competitive and comparable to other name-brand bikes that come
from Asian factories. The prices can be attractive, especially when on sale.
REI's warranty is excellent.

What colors the decision (other than your compatibility with the bike
itself) is the quality of the bike department in your local REI. Some seem
to be as good as many an LBS (and in some locales, they function as such).
Others seem to be little better than mass-market stores. This will
principally affect how well the bike is assembled and prepped, how flexible
they are with matters like stem-swapping and other custom setup issues, and
what you can expect from the wheels.

My 6-year old Novara Randonee, a steel touring bike, has been entirely
satisfactory and was a singular bargain. But I needed a taller stem and the
store was completely unable to do anything for me (I ended up buying a
Nitto), and the buying experience was notably free of any references to
fitting. On the other hand, there was a highly skilled wheelbuilder who did
a great job of rebuilding the rear wheel under warranty. On the third hand,
the bike should not have been sold with the rear wheel so poorly prepared to
begin with. On the fourth hand, that's what led me to decide to become my
own wheelbuilder.

Bottom line: if the store isn't nearby, and you aren't equipped to do your
own maintenance, and you plan to do a lot of riding, investigate the local
REI's service reputation carefully, just as you would any other LBS you were
considering buying from.

RichC

"Zix" wrote in message
oups.com...

I was looking at their Strada racing bike which has an
aluminum frame and Shimano 105 components in 5 places,
and I was curious if anyone had any experience with this
bike.

I had this bike for about five years. I dk if it's a racing bike per se -- I
think the staff at REI seemed to think it was an entry-level racing bike. I
used it as a club ride/commuter/light touring bike, and it was fine for
those purposes. I put 3000 - 5000 miles on it annually, slowing replacing
the 105 components with Ultegra as they wore out. I just sold it off to
someone for $125.

There's nothing for me to say about stiffness, as I really don't have an
opinion. It didn't feel particularly noodly to me, but something has to be
pretty flexy before I notice that sort of thing. It's reputation was that it
put more shock up through the butt than many people would like, but also, I
didn't particularly notice.

Probably my biggest bias in this matter is that I've been an REI member
since birth, and we spend a lot of time/money at the place as it is. I know
the personnel at the store and especially at the bike shop, and that makes a
difference to me. Which store are you looking to buy it from?

Warm Regards,

Claire Petersky
http://www.bicyclemeditations.org/
Sponsor me for the Big Climb! See: www.active.com/donate/cpetersky06
See the books I've set free at:
http://bookcrossing.com/referral/Cpetersky

Zix wrote:


Can anybody offer any experiences / insights / advice
on whether this might be a good bike to get? It's on sale
locally is why I ask.

Personally I am not sure that an Alu frame is for me,
having experienced for a year the Alu stiffness factor in
my previous bike, but I'm responding to the components
and sale price and trying to be practical.

A friend of mine has one of these and she likes it just fine. She has
some biking experience so I'd say her opinion has value. In her case, it
was on sale plus she had some sort of REI credit for past purchases
making the bike net cost to her of about $700. I think it a steal at
that price for a new bike.

I rode it and it felt ok, but I'm not expert enough to be a bike critic.

-paul