Advice Wanted: Bike Buyer in NYC

Hi,

I was hoping someone here could give me some advice.

I've been biking for a little while, and am ready to buy my first new
bike. I spent much of last summer on two used bikes:

a Cannondale R400, 48 cm, for racing
and
a Schwinn beater, for commuting. I'm not sure of the size - but it was
much bigger. Probably 54 or 56 cm.

I also rode a Trek 1200 (2003) when I was on vacation. I think it was
a 52 or 54 cm. I liked it alot. But I didn't buy one, because I wanted
to get rid of my other bikes first.

I finally got rid of my other bikes this week. I went to my LBS, and
unsurprisingly, there was only one Trek 1200 (2003). The salesman told
me it was too big. It was a 54 cm. There were Trek 1200 2004s, though.

I'm thinking of buying a 2004, but I had my heart set on a 2003.

The LBS doesn't have a great reputation on usenet (it's the Metro
Cycles on 96th & Broadway) but I liked the salesman I talked to. He
could have just sold me the 2003 if he wanted to.

Now I'm trying to figure out what to do. I'd really like a new bike
that's well-fitted for me. I also need a bike I can commute and race
on... I'm reluctant to buy two different bikes. Do you think having
one bike is a good idea? If I get a new one, I'll be sure to tape it
up.

I'm thinking of buying the 2004, but my heart was set on the 2003. I
could hold out to see if I could find one, either locally or have it
shipped to me.

I'm sure the 2004 is probably better than the 2003 anyway... is that
right? And it would be nice to patronize a LBS.

Or, now that I know my size, I could just parse ebay and save some
money and buy a used 52 cm of some other kind...

What a mess, huh? Thoughts?

Thanks!

Andrew

On 19 Apr 2004 17:12:46 -0700, (ac) wrote:

I finally got rid of my other bikes this week. I went to my LBS, and
unsurprisingly, there was only one Trek 1200 (2003). The salesman told
me it was too big. It was a 54 cm. There were Trek 1200 2004s, though.

I'm thinking of buying a 2004, but I had my heart set on a 2003.

The LBS doesn't have a great reputation on usenet (it's the Metro
Cycles on 96th & Broadway) but I liked the salesman I talked to. He
could have just sold me the 2003 if he wanted to.

There are a bunch of Metro's in NYC. Didn't the fellow check the inventory
of the other shops? One could then be brought to that shop so he could sell
it to you.

Don donwiss at panix.com.

In article ,
says...

....

I finally got rid of my other bikes this week. I went to my LBS, and
unsurprisingly, there was only one Trek 1200 (2003). The salesman told
me it was too big. It was a 54 cm. There were Trek 1200 2004s, though.

I'm thinking of buying a 2004, but I had my heart set on a 2003.

The LBS doesn't have a great reputation on usenet (it's the Metro
Cycles on 96th & Broadway) but I liked the salesman I talked to. He
could have just sold me the 2003 if he wanted to.

Now I'm trying to figure out what to do. I'd really like a new bike
that's well-fitted for me. I also need a bike I can commute and race
on... I'm reluctant to buy two different bikes. Do you think having
one bike is a good idea? If I get a new one, I'll be sure to tape it
up.

One bike, provided it's the right one, is fine. I use a Fuji Touring
for commuting, touring, and racing. Just adding fenders and a rack for
commuting and winter riding, then removing them for a race works fine.
I leave the aerobars on all the time, because even when commuting it's
nice to be able to reduce the wind resistance.

.....

--
Remove the ns_ from if replying by e-mail (but keep posts in the
newsgroups if possible).

Thanks for your reply! Alas, yes, there were no such bikes in the
whole Metro bikes system...


Don Wiss wrote in message . ..
On 19 Apr 2004 17:12:46 -0700, (ac) wrote:

I finally got rid of my other bikes this week. I went to my LBS, and
unsurprisingly, there was only one Trek 1200 (2003). The salesman told
me it was too big. It was a 54 cm. There were Trek 1200 2004s, though.

I'm thinking of buying a 2004, but I had my heart set on a 2003.

The LBS doesn't have a great reputation on usenet (it's the Metro
Cycles on 96th & Broadway) but I liked the salesman I talked to. He
could have just sold me the 2003 if he wanted to.

There are a bunch of Metro's in NYC. Didn't the fellow check the inventory
of the other shops? One could then be brought to that shop so he could sell
it to you.

Don donwiss at panix.com.

"ac" wrote in message
om...
Hi,

snip

Andrew

IMVAIO, Look for a 2003 Marin Argenta (not necessarily mail order, a bike
shop may also have them).
http://gallery.bcentral.com/Gallery/...38672&PID=1897
930&page=1&sortOrder=0

For $700 you're getting a much better bicycle than the Trek 1200. Chromolloy
frame and threaded headset. Still has Tiagra component set.

BTW, you are NOT right in terms of the 2004 necessarily being better than a
2003, in fact the opposite is usually the case. The manufacturers often
choose to decontent from year to year, rather than raising the price of a
specific model. Rarely do they improve a model from year to year. New,
higher end models are introduced as older models become lower end.

Also, I think that it's a bad idea to have the same bike for commuting and
racing.

IMVAIO, the best option is to buy a Bianchi Brava for racing, and a BUB for
commuting. You'll be spending about $900, but more wisely.
http://momovelo.com/bub.html
http://www.bianchiusa.com/brava.html

The Bianchi Brava retails for $600, and I've seen it on sale for at little
as $510 (this was during a 15% off sale at a local bike shop near me, and
they were selling very briskly, but even at full retail it's a good deal).

For more recommendations see http://nordicgroup.us/bikerec

Steve
http://nordicgroup.us/bikerec

On Tue, 20 Apr 2004 15:28:19 GMT, "Steven M. Scharf"
wrote:

The manufacturers often
choose to decontent from year to year, rather than raising the price of a
specific model.

Decontent? Changing the components to a lower grade?

Curtis L. Russell
Odenton, MD (USA)
Just someone on two wheels...

In article , curtis@md-
bicycling.org says...
On Tue, 20 Apr 2004 15:28:19 GMT, "Steven M. Scharf"
wrote:

The manufacturers often
choose to decontent from year to year, rather than raising the price of a
specific model.

Decontent? Changing the components to a lower grade?

He means "discontinue" a model.


--
Remove the ns_ from if replying by e-mail (but keep posts in the
newsgroups if possible).

On Tue, 20 Apr 2004 15:28:19 GMT, "Steven M. Scharf"
wrote:
For $700 you're getting a much better bicycle than the Trek 1200. Chromolloy
frame and threaded headset. Still has Tiagra component set.

Still peddling the logic-free prejudiced retrogrouchery, I see. I
don't know which of those is the better choice, but the reasons you
present are terrible reasons to discourage somebody from one bike to
another.

Having more models as possibilities (not eliminating models for
silly disproven prejudices) makes it more likely that somebody will
find a bike that fits properly and makes them happy.
--
Rick Onanian

The manufacturers often
choose to decontent from year to year, rather than raising the price of
a
specific model.

Decontent? Changing the components to a lower grade?

He means "discontinue" a model.

No, I think he did mean that a manufacturer might change components to
something less-expensive but keep the model name the same. However, from
'03 to '04, most mid-priced road bikes improved spec *dramatically* for a
given price point. Or, in some cases, simply dropped in price. The Trek
1200 previously mentioned now sells for $749; that's a $150-250 drop in
price from the previous year, with the same components except for the frame
(which moved from domestic production to China). I'd have loved to see the
frame remain domestic, but at $749 with its component spec, it sells a heck
of a lot better than at $999 with the same components but a bit nicer frame.

At $999, you get the Trek 1500, which is a nicer bike (with a domestic
frameset) than a $1300 model just two years ago.

The point to all this is that sometimes a newer model is a better buy than
the older one, even when the older one is on sale. This causes all manner
of problems for a dealer stuck with older inventory!

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
http://www.ChainReactionBicycles.com

"Curtis L. Russell"
wrote in message
. ..
On Tue, 20 Apr 2004 15:28:19 GMT, "Steven M. Scharf"
wrote:

The manufacturers often
choose to decontent from year to year, rather than raising the price of a
specific model.

Decontent? Changing the components to a lower grade?

Yes, just as auto manufacturers do. It can be subtle changes, i.e. not
changing to the next level down in component groups, but changing to lower
cost frame, rims, seat posts, tires, seats, pedals, headsets, etc..
Sometimes it's a result of the country of origin of a major part, i.e. frame
from China versus Taiwan, or the whole assembly moving from Taiwan to China.
It's kind of amusing to have watched the progression of "good country of
origin versus bad country of origin over the years. It started off with
good=Italy, bad=Japan, then good=Japan, bad=Taiwan, now good=Taiwan,
bad=China. They're running out of countries that are capable of doing
manufacturing!

Changing to lower end frame material is pretty common too. I was sad to see
Jamis do this.

Sometimes they do lower the price a little if the cost savings are large,
though as in any business, prices are only loosely coupled to production
costs.

Steve
Bicycle Recommendation Short List
http://nordicgroup.us/bikerec