Favorite Ride: Palo Alto to La Honda via Page Mill & 84
Bike Setup: replaced wheels with neuvation aero 3's, gp4000 rubber, dura-ace 12-27 casette and matching chain, tiny slk saddle, shorter stem and aero bars to give my wrists a break on long flats.
Summary: Wonderful frame for my 135lbs 5'5" self. I have 3000 miles on a 50cm. I use this bike for a 64 mile round-trip commute and keep it light save for some wrist-saving aerobars. I also use this for 5-7 hour day rides and mountain climbs.
Strengths: Wonderful frame for my 135lbs 5'4" self. Very light for aluminum and minimal flex even as I kick with all I've got in low gears. Stable geometry on mountain descents. 105 components are excellent. stock drop bar is strong enough for the aerobar mounts. I'm surprised the brakes are holding up well despite spewing lots of dust
Weaknesses: Alex rims held up for about 500 miles then couldn't keep true. The rim tape would shift too giving me plenty of flats.
Cassette and chain wore quickly.
goofy oversized "SCATTANTE" graphics everywhere--pretty silly and covered by reflective tape anyways
Similar Products Used: specialized allez triple, roubaix, trek 1000
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Favorite Ride: Anywhere with the Saturday morning group
Bike Setup: Full Shimano 105 with Alex 450 rims and Fizik Arione saddle.
Summary: I've only owned this bike for 3 months and I've put about 1000 miles on it. I LOVE this bike. I found it used on-line. It was a great deal. I had tried out a variety of bikes before finding this deal. (I would have bought a bike locally but the deal on this bike was too good to pass up.) I wanted a full Shimano 105 set-up and many other bikes with those components were priced much higher.
The compact geometry is perfect for me as a woman. It has a carbon fork with an aluminum frame. I was concerned that I'd want a carbon seat post but that hasn't been the case. It did come with upgraded Alex rims and I upgraded the saddle only recently (a birthday present from my husband).
The bike is light and very responsive. Of course I'm not a racer or ride competitively so that's just my opinion. However I found it rode just as well as some of the other high-end bikes that I tried out.
A few people I have met have asked me how I liked the bike since you can't find this bike locally and thus not many people, if any in this area, own one. I've told them only good things as I can't seem to find anything bad about it.
I took it to a local bike shop to replace the tires once I received it. The guy was also thoroughly impressed with the bike.
Strengths: Light and responsive. As another reviewer said, it doesn't have any snob appeal, however it receives a lot of attention on its own because of its name.
Weaknesses: I love to ride this bike so much and spend so much time on it that my family is going to forget who I am.
Similar Products Used: Tried Trek 1000, Trek 1500 WSD, Lightspeed Vela, Lightspeed Firenze, and Felt F-75 before buying this one. This one rates right up there with them and a I paid a fraction of the price.
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Bike Setup: All stock. 105 shifters & derailers, Truvative Elite triple, SRAM cassette, Alex 450 wheelset.
Summary: Generic frame with some generic components. However, if you can get past that, the bike rides like most other aluminum frames. 105 components work without a hitch. The top and down tube are shaped for a more aero look. The frame itself looks really nice with the white lettering on red.
The bike has held up well since May 2004 when I bought it. I've put about 3500 miles on it since then. I have wrecked it once and have fallen over many times (couldn't get foot out of cleat!). Everything is stock still, including the wheels which are Alex 450. The only problems I've had with it are standard maintenance things like broken spokes, scratches in paint, worn tires, etc. I have raced this bike in a crit and it held up fine. I had no problem with the seat, just have to get past the break in period. Also, the BB is a little flexy, especially when compared to a Caad 7 frame.
Strengths: -Price & Value
-Components (Shimano 105)
-Nice looking bike
Summary: Having returned to the road from strictly the dirt for the past 12 years, I was orignally looking only to upgrade my old Prestige steel frame with a triple and STI shifters to determine if this was a passing desire. It quickly became apparent that the cost to do so would be more than a complete bike. To make a long story short, I found that bikes in the same class as the 2005 R550 had better performance and weighed less than my high end old bike. After several months of 2-3x a week riding, I am very happy with the decision. The frame feels light, agile and responsive and despite it being aluminum, it also seems more compliant over road irregularities. The 105 components shift very well, even under most loads while climbing and THANK GOD for the triple! Brakes are effective, although getting brute stopping force requires a position in the drop bars. The Alex450 rims are decent, but do look to need a bit of truing after some usage. I am a clydsdale, so a 3x wheelset actually appeals more to me than a minimalist one that may fail under load and stress.
Strengths: Price to value ratio.
Great frame, with upgrade potential.
Weaknesses: the stock seat was pure mysery. I also upgraded the tires to 25cm Continental Gatorskins, as I hate road bikes flats!
Although not material to its performance, I am not overly fon dof the name...
Similar Products Used: test rode many different models from all the majors. Since it did not have the brand name sticker got waaay more bang for the buck!
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Bike Setup: Stock except for new Conti 2000's, Crank Bros Candy pedals, Quick Stop break pads, and SLR seat.
Summary: Review of 2004 Scattante R-550:
I have now used the bike for a full year, appx. 1,700 miles. I've used it for general riding up to about 80 mile days, commuting, triathlon racing, some informal group rides, and late night winter rides on the trainer. This bike supported my return to the road after a few years hiatus.
For the price, it’s hard to beat. Good value component selection, quality frame material, excellent build straight out of the box.
A great everyday ride. I'm not afraid to get it wet, or lay it down in the grass, but it won't impress anyone either (thats fine by me).
Value. Hard to find this spec. for this price on any other bikes out there, I looked.
Strengths: The frame is nice, it feels snappy, and accelerates with ease. The bike climbs well, and I have never noticed any flex from the frame (I am only 165 pounds; 6'2" on the size 60 frame). The geometry fits me well, and is pretty traditional.
The white paint with red lettering is acceptable, nothing fancy, but very clean and smooth. The bike looks good to me, but I am more focused on function rather than form.
The seatpost, handlebar, stem, etc. are nice. These parts work well and I have not noticed them at all. The bike comes with Shimano 105 shifters and derailleurs, which are a good working-class level component. I’ve never had a problem with them. The Tru-Vativ Elita triple crankset shifts smoothly and seems to hold up well to a bit of shoe rub on the crank arms. The Tektro brakes work well and look good. They are easy to adjust and I have never had to worry about them. The Alex wheels are not fancy and “lightweight” but they have held up well, and have not required any truing yet.
Weaknesses: The R-550 in general is very competent, and I have to stretch to find many faults; however, there are a few. The original brake pads wore out at about 750 miles, and the rear tire (Kenda) wore out at about 1,000 miles (mainly from use on the trainer). Some of the steel bolts on the handlebar stem are rusting slightly from perspiration. The generic chain is a bit touchy, and makes some noise when not well cleaned and lubricated.
The replaceable rear derailleur hanger was slightly bent in shipping. It took me a few minutes to realize why the initial shifing was so bad, but Supergo included a spare with the bike and the problem was quickly remedied.
I purchased the bike online, after doing a large amount of research on frame dimensions and sizing. If you are unfamiliar with these numbers, you may end up not getting the right size. I would recommend that if you are at all uncertain about which size you need, you get some help from someone knowledgeable (Don’t take up the LBS’s time and then order online!). That said, if you normally fit a 60, you should fit this one well too.
Similar Products Used: I don't have much experience with new road bikes at this level. My other bikes are Mtn. or Cross. Thus, I can't really compare ride characteristics, but I am very happy with this bike. The quality and component level for the price is outstanding. You just have to get over the name.
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