[brypyon]

I purchased R-560 in '07 and as first time road biker but a lifetime 10-speed and mountain biker. I would recommend spend a little more money for reasons below.

1. I had a tire puncture in October last year and had a slight fall going downhill. The police report finds that a flat tire was the cause. I was found by someone unconscious and had a concussion- it's a life and death situation. Looking at the tires- it's very thin though made in Taiwan.
I had to change them to flat resistant tires and self-healing tubes, even if I want to get rid of the bike.

2. The right side gear cable can get locked with the center of the front bar assembly- Pls be aware. [I took it back to the Performance bike and they have loosened it (made cable longer) and feels better but I ended up just using a tie-wrap to wrap the whole thing just to be sure.]

3. At a slow speed, your feet can tough the backside of the front wheel- just be aware.

(Otherwise, I am slowly getting back into cycling- my lifetime enjoyment.)
Slow down when going downhill, as much as they are fun- is it worth the all the troubles???

Take a care,

 

[wipeout]

#1 reason to spend more money - invest in the best bike helmet you can.

 

[andulong]

Lots of good bikes come with cheap tires...that has nothing to do with the quality of the bike itself. Lots of road bike will have toe/tire overlap...normal thing. And I am not sure what you are talking about with the shift cable...maybe it was too short to let you turn the bars completely??? I have a Scattante which I built myself with all Ultegra parts and it has been an outstanding bike and value. Sorry you had a bad experience with yours.

 

[filtersweep]

1. I hate to tell you this, but it isn't your bike. You had bad luck with your flat--- although it certainly doesn't hurt to invest in good tires. The thing is, most of us end up having more flats than we can count over tens of thousands of miles. They are part of cycling.

2. I have no clue what you are talking about.

3. This is completely normal for road bikes. First of all, you can coast to avoid overlap by positioning your feet where they won't touch the wheel. Secondly, you are riding so slow that it should hardly matter anyway, when it does happen.


Just saying, you could purchase a $10K bike and still have the same issues.

I purchased R-560 in '07 and as first time road biker but a lifetime 10-speed and mountain biker. I would recommend spend a little more money for reasons below.

1. I had a tire puncture in October last year and had a slight fall going downhill. The police report finds that a flat tire was the cause. I was found by someone unconscious and had a concussion- it's a life and death situation. Looking at the tires- it's very thin though made in Taiwan.
I had to change them to flat resistant tires and self-healing tubes, even if I want to get rid of the bike.

2. The right side gear cable can get locked with the center of the front bar assembly- Pls be aware. [I took it back to the Performance bike and they have loosened it (made cable longer) and feels better but I ended up just using a tie-wrap to wrap the whole thing just to be sure.]

3. At a slow speed, your feet can tough the backside of the front wheel- just be aware.

(Otherwise, I am slowly getting back into cycling- my lifetime enjoyment.)
Slow down when going downhill, as much as they are fun- is it worth the all the troubles???

Take a care,

 

[Ridgetop]

What Filtersweep said. The tires it came with probably didn't pop any easier than average priced tires. They're all thin and all potentially sensitive to penetration. I've seen riders have 60.00 (or more) dollar tires go boom from small rock impacts, glass penetration, and once a 16 penny nail. It happens.

There's nothing wrong with the bike and I don't understand point 2 either.

I do know a lot of people have purchased these bikes as I see them around town quite a bit. And I've never heard anything negative about 'em.

 

[Ridgetop]

One more thing. Do you remember the tire going flat before the crash? Was there anything in it? I've seen tires go flat after crashes due to impact. Anyway, glad you survived the crash.

 

[Slow Eddie]

I think point #2 might have something to do with poor routing or inadequate length of the RD cable housing between the shifter and the cable stop on the frame.

Maybe.

 

[brypyon]

Thank you, RidgeTop, for your comments.

I don't remember the puncture incidient, like 2 min before the accident, memory relapse.
But the police filed as tire issue and there is a tiny whole I found afterwards.
Last week I replaced the tire with the 'Amadillos' by Specialty which seems to be very sturdy and Specialy tubes which seem to be heavier duty! (Tried Slime tube which went flat immediately after riding only once- both tires! Some say unless you take out the splinters it may lead to bad wipeout!!!) I would definitely recommend anyone with good quality for both tires and tubes.
I feel much safer now! Nontheless slow down on downhill and balance all the time while paying attention to the environment- no mo MP3 players!!!
My wife still demands hefty life insurance though but that's another story :^)

 

[phoehn9111]

Your wife?

 

[weltyed]

none of these issues have anything to do with a specific model being unsafe.

 

[Ridgetop]

Glad you got the tough tires. It'll give you peace of mind but remember, they can still blow out. The thing is, most people don't have an issue on a flat tire unless the timing is bad (going into a high speed turn on a flat front sucks). I'm bad in I like to push the bike at 55mph on the downhills in the Sierras around here and the turns are vicious. I've been lucky in I've never had a blow out and I try to never think about it anyway.

PS: My wife and I both put on thousands of miles a year and we both have very good life insurance and very good disability insurance. Not something fun to think about but you never know.

 

[Ridgetop]

Oh yeah, the only good thing about slime tubes is that if you get a really good flat they make a great rooster tail of green goo that coats everyone and everything behind you. I've had the misfortune of riding behind a rider who blew out one time. It was funny though.