I found in my local store on Yonge north of Steeles Marin Portufina on sale for $729 plus tax or I can buy in small store D'Ornellas on Lawrence Giant OCR3 $750 tax inclusive. The first store gives warranty for 5 years tune-ups, the second one only for one year. Is it good price for this kind of bike? Do you recommend it to buy?
Elena
advice on road entry bike
Thu, 09/03/2009 - 5:32pm
Tue, 09/08/2009 - 11:02pm
#2
How the bike fits you is the
How the bike fits you is the most important thing. In my opinion a shop should take at least half an hour to fit you to the bike (seat height and positioning, adjusting the handlebar stem and changing it if necessary, etc). I don't have any experience with either of those shops (or with Bikes on Wheels), but I will say that proper bike fit is far more important than free tuneups.... if you have to choose between a proper fitting session and tuneups, take the fitting.
Some people find aluminum frames with carbon forks give quite a bumpy ride.... try to ride the bike on a rough road and imagine yourself doing that for six hours.
Thu, 09/10/2009 - 9:38am
#3
I agree with Darren about the
I agree with Darren about the importance of fit vs freebies.
As to the choice of model, I looked at both Marin and Giant websites. Frankly, I think you're shooting too low. You're going to be riding this bike for a while, so you should look for a little more quality. There was a time when eight speed bikes were state of the art. People bought them, and in many cases are still enjoying them fifteen years later. Unfortunately, those days are long gone. All you can find now are cheap bikes with low-end components.
Something to keep in mind, by the way, is that the difference is not just in the components you see. It's sometimes the frame itself (leading manufacturers temper their aluminum frames after welding, others don't), there are things you can't look at like the bottom bracket cartridge, and there are things that you can look at but most people don't think about like pedals.
As a minimum, I suggest that you go up one or two models, and look at value-priced nine speed bikes. They're not much more expensive than the prices you mentioned, and you will be enjoying the bike long after you have forgotten the small extra cost. Twenty percent more money could get you one hundred percent more bike.
You should try Bikes on Wheels which is in Kensington Market on Augusta (just below College). They have many bikes on sale for some really good prices.