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Post by Deleted on Aug 10, 2014 7:10:55 GMT
I've finally talked the other half into getting a bike so nipped into decathlon yesterday to have a look. While I was having a look I took the chance to have a quick go on the Mach 700 & 720 which they had in my size. As the other half was with me she came over and said are you getting one of them, you use your bike enough so treat yourself! I would have had one there and then if id had the availble cash but hey at least I know when I have its all good! Few questions though. Is the campag set up worth the extra money on the 720? Being a novice is a full carbon frame a good idea for the extra cash? I know weight wise and what its supposed to do and in relation to energy transfer etc but if I had an off etc they cant be fixed so would it be worth it? The mythical beast which is the Alur 700 which is pretty much the same bike as the Mach 700 but not carbon frame for a good bit less. Or dare I say it something which isnt a triban in this price range?
Oh & its more likely than not going to be early next year I pick somthing up with winter not being to far off now.
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Post by ChrisD on Aug 10, 2014 8:00:04 GMT
Result @al999! Plenty of time to try some bikes. Pushing the button is always a bit agonising I reckon. By the time spring is approaching something will be whispering 2015 range in your ear! BTW what bike did your wife get or is she still shopping for one?
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Post by Radchenister on Aug 10, 2014 8:25:14 GMT
Pays your money and makes your choice, the Campag Mach is lovely but if you need to work on the bike just be wary it's all a bit different to Shimano and needs different tools. I see you have an SE in the avatar pic', so really this is n+1, which is good, I'd be thinking of the SE as your everyday / training bike and another bike as your best bike, used for sunny dry use (as far as possible), that way it can be kept in decent order. Sounds like you're not quite ready to take the plunge, so take your time - or alternatively, it's less of an outlay to get the Alur; which is a lot of bike for (relatively) little money. 105 is the budget racers go to groupo, reliable, widely available, easy to work with, the bike itself is still fairly stiff, most likely slightly less harsh than carbon, an all round decently sporty and fairly light bit of kit, that's good for lots of miles ... it has to be the benchmark for comparison against others in terms of VFM. Arguably, in the spec' v progression ladder, anyone would have to be quite a rider before they could state they needed an even better bike than an Alur in order to improve and given that improving means riding lots and wearing things out, there's decisions / debates between head and heart to ponder - nice problems to work on though.
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Post by chiban3 on Aug 10, 2014 8:50:00 GMT
I've finally talked the other half into getting a bike. I suggested to my wife we'd get her a bike (or now a tandem!) as she trains in the gym a lot and loves spinning. Her response was if we have enough money for a bike, she'd rather spend it on another puppy! (all because her first puppy, the purchase of which I did not agree to, turns out to adore me more than her!) Great work on negotiating the Mach, will confess it wouldn't be my choice for the money, based on looks alone, but then you shouldn't be spending that money and deciding on looks alone.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 10, 2014 10:40:04 GMT
Result @al999! Β Plenty of time to try some bikes. Pushing the button is always a bit agonising I reckon. By the time spring is approaching something will be whispering 2015 range in your ear! BTW what bike did your wife get or is she still shopping for one? Only a cheap hybrid, which also means ill need one to as I need to be able to fit a child seat on the back. Im not overly keen on the frame shape of the Mach but it felt very next nice and seemed to move very easily! This is also the main reason I want to see the Alur so I can look at the frame etc and also would mind something with a bit more colour. It would defo be a summer bike to ill be using the SE as my work horse &for shoving on a turbo trainer in the garage. Will be able to at least have something to get on no matter what the weather so no excuses! To say ive got the bug is an understatement!
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Post by ChrisD on Aug 10, 2014 16:03:56 GMT
Result @al999! ... BTW what bike did your wife get or is she still shopping for one? Only a cheap hybrid, which also means ill need one to as I need to be able to fit a child seat on the back. Could you fit a child seat to your SE? Not trying to be deprive you of N+1+1 but it might be possible to fit one to a rear mounted rack (Blackburn?). I used to have one fitted to my Dawes tourer. If clipless pedals are an issue/worry when the child carrier is fitted you could fit the multipurpose pedals with clipless (SPD) on side and conventional on the other. Might give you some upgrade potential to the SE .
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Post by Radchenister on Aug 10, 2014 16:16:24 GMT
IMO, adding a child seat on a Triban is asking for trouble, as it's a light bike and can be toppled easily if you're not parked with your butt on it (my light panniers were enough to tip it a bit on last week's jaunt).
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Post by ChrisD on Aug 10, 2014 16:21:10 GMT
Yes, in hindsight good call I think there Rad.
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Post by Radchenister on Aug 10, 2014 16:23:51 GMT
Wouldn't want to hear stories of small children hitting the deck when attempting to park up.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 10, 2014 20:56:49 GMT
Only a cheap hybrid, which also means ill need one to as I need to be able to fit a child seat on the back. Could you fit a child seat to your SE? Not trying to be deprive you of N+1+1 but it might be possible to fit one to a rear mounted rack (Blackburn?). I used to have one fitted to my Dawes tourer. If clipless pedals are an issue/worry when the child carrier is fitted you could fit the multipurpose pedals with clipless (SPD) on side and conventional on the other. Might give you some upgrade potential to the SE .I think the other thing with that is the ride position and being to tempted to give some if i was on the SE which may not be the best idea. At least id be in a more upright and I'll hopefully be riding with the better half so want something for plodding and not have to be to worried about kerbs etc.
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Post by fatmanona5a on Aug 11, 2014 7:09:31 GMT
Could you fit a child seat to your SE? Not trying to be depriveΒ you of N+1+1 but it might be possible to fit one to a rear mounted rack (Blackburn?). I used to have one fitted to my Dawes tourer. If clipless pedals are an issue/worry when the child carrier is fitted you could fit the multipurpose pedals with clipless (SPD) on side and conventional on the other. Might give you some upgrade potential to the SEΒ .I think the other thing with that is the ride position and being to tempted to give some if i was on the SE which may not be the best idea. At least id be in a more upright and I'll hopefully be riding with the better half so want something for plodding and not have to be to worried about kerbs etc. In your original post did you say that you persuaded your wife to get a bike? Hopefully she will use the bike, and not leave it in the shed/garage (like someone I "know"). It is possible to plod on a Triban (you should see my Strava to see a plodder), possibly raise handlebars & a different seat? My answer for kerbs/potholes/p*nct*r*s etc are Schwalbe Marathon PLus 700x25. How would you feel about a kiddie trailer instead of a kiddie seat, and then later a tow-along, so they can pedal (if they want to!) If you hybridise your Triban & get a secondhand kiddie trailer, you could then get the N+1 that you want??
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Post by Deleted on Aug 11, 2014 21:03:34 GMT
I think the other thing with that is the ride position and being to tempted to give some if i was on the SE which may not be the best idea. At least id be in a more upright and I'll hopefully be riding with the better half so want something for plodding and not have to be to worried about kerbs etc. In your original post did you say that you persuaded your wife to get a bike? Hopefully she will use the bike, and not leave it in the shed/garage (like someone I "know"). It is possible to plod on a Triban (you should see my Strava to see a plodder), possibly raise handlebars & a different seat? My answer for kerbs/potholes/p*nct*r*s etc are Schwalbe Marathon PLus 700x25. How would you feel about a kiddie trailer instead of a kiddie seat, and then later a tow-along, so they can pedal (if they want to!) If you hybridise your Triban & get a secondhand kiddie trailer, you could then get the N+1 that you want?? I've got plans for the other half on the bike, shes always going on about doing more together and she has mentioned a lot of times about wishing she could come out with me on a bike. Just hope that once shes been out a few times she will get the bug as well, would love to get her on a road bike eventually. But not holding my breath with that one. The little one is to young still I think for a trailer, hes only just coming up to 11 months so just want to get him used to bikes asap and will look into the other bits when hes older. To be honest I do quite like the idea of having a decent nice weather bike, a work horse (also for use on a turbo trainer) and a mountain bike or hybrid that I could get off the beaten track with from time to time. Also wouldn't fancy being clipped in if I had the little one with me as I'm bad enough at unclipping as it is
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Post by fatmanona5a on Aug 11, 2014 21:29:09 GMT
Confession Time. I have got MTB style pedals and shoes (never fitted) but I ride on flat platform pedals!! I worry (too much?) about unclipping accidents. Living on the outskirts of London, I don't want to fall in traffic!!
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Post by Deleted on Aug 11, 2014 22:38:44 GMT
Confession Time. I have got MTB style pedals and shoes (never fitted) but I ride on flat platform pedals!! I worry (too much?) about unclipping accidents. Living on the outskirts of London, I don't want to fall in traffic!! To be honest the first few ride I had a couple of comedy falls, but you get used to them very quickly. The only time recently was when I was tired and had to stop quick but still managed to just pop one out and the odd wobble here and there. Although I defo wouldn't fancy them much if i was in a lot of traffic all the time.
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