Buying a new bike this month

Buy/Sell
1

Hey all,

I’ve been thinking of joining a cycling team for most of my semesters at McGill but a variety of excuses always seemed to get in the way. This time will be different thanks to a considerate citizen of our city who stole my good old Rocky Mountain Sherpa 30 last week. Since I’m starting over from scratch in the bike owning department, I’m now trying to make sense of the deals and technology available as part of the end-of-summer sales bike shops have going on these days. Here are my 3 choices so far (still not sure what kind of deals are available at Neron) based on a 1K-1.5K budget and wanting to buy from a LBS to get a good fit and 1 year service ( La Cordee offers 5 year of free labour):

Giant Defy 1 2012: http://boutique.ekkip.com/store/product/51443/Defy-1-XS/

Trek 2.1 2012: http://www.lacordee.com/fre/product/velo-trek-2-1-2012/60797

Cannondale Synapse 5 Alloy 105: http://www.primeauvelo.com/index.php/en/catalog/product/view/id/11572/

Can anyone let me know if I should be looking at other bikes in the same price/spec range? And, can I mention McGill cycling at the Montreal Neron bike shop to get an additional discount if I find a bike there?

2

IMO the specialized allez is a fantastic bike. I pmed you details of the Neron sponsorship.

3

As Eric mentioned, the Allez is a great entry level road bike. You will also get a good deal from Neron.

Depending on your level of fitness though, the Trek 2.1 will be the easiest bike of the 3 to ride. It’s a triple with a 12-30 in the back which means no climb will be too difficult.

4

I’d go with Neron sponsorship + Allez Comp Apex. 36T-28T on a 10sp with compact crank makes a triple pretty redundant.

I’d wager the Allez is a superior frame to the one’s you’ve mentioned.

5

Thanks for the comments. Will go check out the Allez bikes at the Neron shop now that I know how the sponsorship works.