New Road bike advice needed....

Out of the options there, go for the higher specced Avanti, or the Giant. The specifications are fairly similar (perhaps the giant has slightly better specs), but it basically comes down to your comfort on the bike. If you're set on a new bike, thats probably the best deals you can do. However, it would be well worth your while investigating the possibilities of a second hand bike. For a thousand bucks, second hand, you can get a whole lot of bike. You'd be looking at Carbon forks, possibly 105 componentry and decent wheels.

The best advice I can give you is to check out a lot of bikes until you find one that is comfortable for you, for whilst, compared to many road bikes, $1000 isn't that much, its still a decent amount of money.

Good luck!

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by Rob Woozle
I am a MTBer who wants a road bike mainly for commuting but also for the odd triathlon and some
training when I want some variety.

$$$ are severely limited and I am hovering between an Avanti Edge, Avanti Sprint or the Giant OCR3.
All are less than a grand which is my budget.

Any recommendations or other bikes I should look at?

Thanks, Rob

Have a look at the 2nd hand market too. Bikes tend to lose value fairly quickly and you can usually pick up some bargains. Some unridden and other times a really high quality but older bike for less than $1000.

Cheers

"Rob Woozle" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I am a MTBer who wants a road bike mainly for commuting but also for the

odd

Quoted message said:

triathlon and some training when I want some variety.

$$$ are severely limited and I am hovering between an Avanti Edge, Avanti Sprint or the Giant
OCR3. All are less than a grand which is my budget.

Any recommendations or other bikes I should look at?

For what it's worth, I purchased a Merida 901 in 2000 for $ 900 and have ridden it very hard.
Consider Merida as well.

If you are bike-wise, then I would go second hand, if you are not, go brand new.

"RMan" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I too ride a Merida and it been OK, but you may like to consider that the Qld based Merida Cycling
Team recently handed back their bikes and severe their sponsorship ties because they had trouble
with the magnisium frames snapping and they are now looked after by Avanti.

Quoted message said:

For what it's worth, I purchased a Merida 901 in 2000 for $ 900 and have ridden it very hard.
Consider Merida as well.

"SH" <[email hidden]> wrote in message

Quoted message said:

I too ride a Merida and it been OK, but you may like to consider that the Qld based Merida Cycling
Team recently handed back their bikes and severe their sponsorship ties because they had trouble
with the magnisium frames snapping and they are now looked after by Avanti.

They had trouble before the Mg frames with their Al ones breaking too. Mark Lee

Check the Trading Post there are some real value
second hand bikes out there. You can get lucky and find one that fits with all the fine quality bits !

Hey Rob,

Bought a bike yet? Check this out:
http://www.cyclingforums.com/t36259.html

hey bob

if you like it, I can give it to you bit cheaper. 😄
contact me if you are interested.
I reckon my avanti is pretty good setup, I put a lot of efford upgrade and maintain it.

Alan

Thanks for the heads up.

I have bought a bike. After a lot of research and test rides I went away and found some extra cash
and bought a Merida Road 904. Heaps of fun. The added couple of hundred dollars got me Tiagra
shifters, drivetrain and a few other nice bits and pieces.

Cheers, Rob

fuelrider <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Hey Rob,

Bought a bike yet? Check this out: cyclingforums.comt36259.htmlOpen ↗

Out of the three, I would go for the Giant.

However, I was recently in the market for a new cheap road bike to replace my commuting one. I considered Merida 901 and 902 and Trek 1000. But I ended up with a LearSport bike. I'd recommend you take a look at their line up. The price is very attractive. The Shimano components are the same regardless of the brand. The frame would be under question. The workmanship looks as good as other brands, and they offer 15 years warranty on the frame. This was convincing for me. The Lear7700 is based on pure Tiagra and a carbon fork which sells for $1099. An equivalent of this bike from a major brand with such a fork will fetch at least $700 more.

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by Rob Woozle
I am a MTBer who wants a road bike mainly for commuting but also for the odd triathlon and some
training when I want some variety.

$$$ are severely limited and I am hovering between an Avanti Edge, Avanti Sprint or the Giant OCR3.
All are less than a grand which is my budget.

Any recommendations or other bikes I should look at?

Thanks, Rob