Hello group,
I am new here, but not new to cycling. I do however have kind of a newbie question that is nagging me. I have searched and read a few posts relating to the topic, but none seem to be conclusive for me.
I have ridden and raced mountain bikes for years and used to sell and wrench mtb and road bikes through high school and college. I do know the differences in most bikes, frames, components, etc. Enough of the BS though, let me get to the question.
I am looking for a new road bike and thought I wanted the Trek 2100 that my LBS was selling for $1399 (yes it's a great deal). However, I as many others, have seen online, several Motobecane and Windsor bikes around the same price range with much better components, wheels, cranks, etc. The Trek has primarially 105 with an Ultegra rear der. The Motobecanes have full Ultegra with FSA carbon cranks, American Classic wheels, etc.
The big question is with the frames on these bikes. The frames are made by Kenisis in Taiwan, the same manufacturer that makes frames for many other brand name bikes, and have a lifetime warranty on them. I also have a LBS close by that sell these models and can probably get warranty support from them if needed. They even have prices at that LBS that are competitive with the online price, so I could buy from them if I wanted to be sure of their support.
I know Trek is a great bike (I've had two of them) and have great customer support. So should I go with them for those reasons and settle for a lower component group (I won't be racing after all, but I would like to brag about my upper level components if I had them 😉 ) Or should I beleive that these Kenesis frames are the same frames as other major brands with different stickers and get a great deal on a superb component group and quality carbon/aluminum frame?
Sorry for the long winded newbie question and I appreciate any advice.