| Re: Need advise on a Serotta purchase
Will wrote:
> On Feb 6, 12:08 pm, loubla...@gmail.com wrote:
>> I'm considering purchasing a Serrota CDA. The dealer is quoting over
>> $4900 for the Coeur d'Acier with carbon seat stays, standard paint
>> with custom name option, Serotta F3, Ultegra 10sp Double Group,
>> Easton Orion II wheels and eveything else needed to complete the
>> package. I'm upgrading from a $800 Cannondale so I'm having a hard
>> time accepting that you can put that much on top of an $1800 frame! If
>> indeed this is what it takes to get a really good bike should I take
>> the next step and move up to the La Corsa titanium frame?
>
> So what happens if you really get addicted to riding?
>
> Other than having a:
> let's_do_50_fast_ones_on_Saturday_morning_with_the _boys... You've got
> a $5000 unit that does nothing else well. You can't ride in winter...
> skinny high pressure tires suck on cold pavement. You can't ride in
> the rain, well you can, but getting road dirt out of that $2500 drive
> train is annoying. Super-light fenders would help but hey...they don't
> fit. You can't ride at night... you might hit a chuck-hole and ding
> something that costs a grand to fix.
>
> You know where that Serotta looks really good? In a picture on Ebay.
> With the rest of them. Great selection there... Triple mint condition
> too <g>.
This is a bit over the top. There are lots of
"50_fast_ones_on_Saturday_morning_with_the_boy s" bikes out there that
get ridden on lots of those rides. You may not want to do that, but
lots of us do. There are reasons to not only have a transportation
bike, or, more likely, to get a "50-fast..." bike in addition to a
transportation bike. Trying to do those 50 fast ones on a bike with fat
tires, serious fenders, and whatnot might not be fun, since you wouldn't
be as fast.
And my skinny high-pressure tires get lots of winter miles, just not
when it is too icy. That's when I ride on my mountain bike with studded
tires. But I don't think that my skinny-tired bike was a waste of money.
Any bike that sits in the basement, never ridden, is a waste of money.
Any bike that gets you away from the computer and out on the roads is
the right bike.
As to whether it's wise to spend $5000 on a bike, well, that is beyond
me. I had enough trouble spending $700 on a frame. Lots of people
think it's a good investment of their money to spend on a bike they
like. It is their money, after all.
To the OP, you'd have to decide whether that bike is worth it to you.
Myself, I'd go with something more moderate, say the $2000 level, with
midrange Campy components --- something a lot like my Habanero, which is
why I put it together the way I did. Will you be faster spending twice
as much? No. Will you ride more? That is the question. If so, then
you would be faster on that bike. As a college kid I might have been
more committed to racing had I bought the Masi I really lusted after,
but that was $50 more than my Frejus, and I just couldn't justify
spending the money. Maybe I coulda been a contender, had I gotten the
Masi. Maybe.
If 20 people answer you, you'll get at least that many opinions. Your
decision. Oh, BTW, titanium is nice. But then I like it since it will
not rust and needs no paint, so scratches are not a problem. Rides
nicely, too.
--
David L. Johnson
"It doesn't get any easier, you just go faster." --Greg LeMond
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