[bigD77]

Hi all,

I have been road biking now for a few years on my beloved 1988 Specialized Sirrus, but it is finally time to ride something a bit more current. Ive got my budget set, and im primarily looking at 3 bikes:

Specialized Allez Elite (full 105) $1300
Scott Speedster S30 (Tiagra w/105 RD) $1050
Scott Speedster S20 (105 w/Ultegra RD) $1450

Ive been test riding these and others for a bit now, and the Spec's and Scott just feel better to me (and I like the LBS that sells them).

My question to you all is...

Would you spend the extra $$ to get the Ultegra and 105 of the Allez/S20, or would you save the cash initially and go with the S30, using that money to upgrade the wheelset?

Ive done a whole lot of lurking and reading on this forum, and I have to say, it's a fantastic resource to all of the "casual/learning" riders out there!

Thanks in advance for the help!

 

[PJ352]

Hi all,

I have been road biking now for a few years on my beloved 1988 Specialized Sirrus, but it is finally time to ride something a bit more current. Ive got my budget set, and im primarily looking at 3 bikes:

Specialized Allez Elite (full 105) $1300
Scott Speedster S30 (Tiagra w/105 RD) $1050
Scott Speedster S20 (105 w/Ultegra RD) $1450

Ive been test riding these and others for a bit now, and the Spec's and Scott just feel better to me (and I like the LBS that sells them).

My question to you all is...

Would you spend the extra $$ to get the Ultegra and 105 of the Allez/S20, or would you save the cash initially and go with the S30, using that money to upgrade the wheelset?

Ive done a whole lot of lurking and reading on this forum, and I have to say, it's a fantastic resource to all of the "casual/learning" riders out there!

Thanks in advance for the help!

From what you're offering I get the impression that all three bikes fit/ feel, ride and handle similarly (to you), so I'll base my response on that premise.

For a first road bike, the Scott S30 will suite your purposes as well as the other two, but the Truvativ crankset is not of the quality of the OEM cranksets on the other two bikes. Also, tiagra is 9 spd, the other two are 10. If these differences are of little importance to you, then this bike will do you fine.

Between the Allez and the S20, I think the Allez is clearly the better value. The components are very closely matched, but the Allez is $150 less, and IMO the Ultegra RD on the Scott is hardly worth that. IME Shimano's 105 group is very closely matched to Ultegra, so you'll never notice the difference in performance.

One last thought on these two brands. While I like Scott's, the company only warranties frames for a period of 5 years, where Specialized offers a lifetime warranty on the frameset to the original owner. Something that may be of interest to you considering you're riding an '88 Sirrus.

HTH..

 

[SROC3]

well said PJ352....well said