Price Paid:
$500.00
at ebay Favorite Ride:
the fast ones Bike Setup:
all stock (Sora components, triple chainring), except that I found the saddle unbearable after only half an hour so I swapped that out for a Serfas Vado within a week. Also the bike comes with platform pedals and I swapped those for clipless. Summary:
This bike was my first road bike, which I bought because I was putting way too many miles on my old Raleigh hybrid. It served me well as a developing rider - I rode the snot out of that bike for three and a half years and it never had any serious mechanical problems. It works very well as a recreational bike, but doesn't respond the way you'll need it to in a race setting. As long as you aren't concerned about staying with a fast pack, this bike is sturdy and dependable.
Drawbacks: The shifting is weak, especially the front derailleur. It takes a long time to get the chain properly seated when moving from the granny to the middle ring or from the middle ring to the big ring. Moving to a smaller ring has never been a problem. Also, not too long ago I had mine weighed at a bike shop and it was almost 26 pounds. Oof!
In general, though, it's a great starter bike. I don't think Caloi makes them any more, but mine has been so tough that with a new cable or two (and a good scrubbing) it would still be as good as new, many thousands of miles later. Since I got into racing it doesn't cut the mustard any more, but I would certainly recommend it to anyone looking for a recreational level road bike that won't break anyone's budget. Strengths:
indestructible, although I'm only 5'5" and 128 lbs. But I sure ran it into lots of potholes, and once I biffed a turn and crashed... I wound up in the ER, but all I had to do to the bike was pick some leaves out of the cassette. Weaknesses:
weight (25lbs), Sora components... but ya gets what ya pays for. Also with Sora shifters you can't shift from the drops, which again isn't a problem if you don't need to sprint, but Sora just isn't raceable.
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