Strengths: Hmmmmmmmmm...........I can ride it in the rain and on my trainer now?
Weaknesses: Cheap components - crankset problems after 1 year 1500 miles only; is not at all a 'forgiving ride' but rather it leaves your spine to do all the shock absorption; skinny handlebars make it hard to relax your grip; extremely relaxed geometry leaves handling twitchy (ie the bike will not ever follow a line), paint has chipped easily, also had to replace the very short seatpost; after 2 months of riding the rear wheel had to be rebuilt after losing 2 spokes; sloppy shifting needs lots of adjustment, etc. etc. etc.
Bike Setup: Stock except installed a longer stem and seatpost.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Dave Bonnell
a Recreational Rider
from
Date Reviewed: August 16, 2006
Strengths: Forgiving ride, good stability (steering is not 'twitchy'). Lighter than I had expected.
Weaknesses: Flexy, particularly noticeable in the fork/bars. If you're not racing, this isn't really much of a weakness...in fact, it may help increase your comfort on the road.
Bottom Line:
I bought the 58cm size. I am 6', 195#, with a 35" inseam, and had to replace the stock seatpost with something a little longer.
Overall, I consider this bike to be excellent value for money. I purchased it as a 'backup' bike for training in poor weather conditions (to save the drivetrain on my $3k bike).
I'm not a big fan of the Sora shifters, as the mechanism uses a thumb and finger levers (unlike 'reguler' STI, where the up/down shift levers are right next to each other). I require a slightly different hand position to comfortably reach the thumb levers, despite my large hands. Not a big deal anyway, as I'm not racing this bike. The shift mechanism itself is fine, no problems with up- or down-shifting.
It serves the purpose quite well, and I won't be afraid to thrash it around in the trainer this winter. I am also using it to commute occasionally.
With the bologna fork and narrow-diameter tubing, the bike doesn't look (or feel) much like a racer. Steering is very predictable.
Similar Products Used: 2005 Giant TCR Composite 2 (if you call that similar)
Bike Setup: Mostly stock, upgraded to a set of Ultegra brakes (I had a pair lying around), swapped the included seatpost for a longer one. Shimano Flightdeck installed.
For the humor-impaired, the following is satire, but aptly captures many of our frustrations with the general spirit of the times:
[URL="http://www.climatesciencewatch.org/index.ph Read More »
See, Republicans can be persueded to go along when it's something they care dearly about.
Senate rejects freeze on earmarks
By ANDREW TAYLOR, Associated Press Wri Read More »
Another "Success" :D
[URL="http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN0526654020100805"]http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN0526654020100805[/URL]
WASHINGTON, Aug 5 (Reuters) - T Read More »
[i]Despite sanctions and trade embargoes, over the past decade the United States government has granted special licenses allowing American companies to do billions of dollars in bu Read More »
new to the forum.
Theres a 2000 Fuji Finest i'm looking at. Asking price is $350 and it would fit me well. It's in good condition, but it is pretty much stock.
frame is 4 Read More »
