Need advise on a Serotta purchase

02-06-2007, 09:08 AM

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?

02-06-2007, 09:55 AM

On 6 Feb 2007 10:08:33 -0800, [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] 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?

I assume there was a reason you chose to drop $ 4900 on this bike, so
only you could decide whether or not to spend more. Of course, the
deciding factor should always be, buy the red one.

Curtis L. Russell
Odenton, MD (USA)
Just someone on two wheels...

02-06-2007, 11:38 AM

On Feb 6, 12:08 pm, [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] 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>.

02-06-2007, 12:37 PM

Will wrote:
> On Feb 6, 12:08 pm, [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] 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

02-06-2007, 12:55 PM

On Feb 6, 3:37 pm, "David L. Johnson" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]>
wrote:

> This is a bit over the top.

Of course it was. It's freaking -10 F here, there's ice out and I
can't ride. But my intentions were pure <g>.

For 5 large you can get get a wicked fast, very light bike with room
in the frame for some variety. But not on a Serotta...

02-06-2007, 03:31 PM

On Feb 6, 3:55 pm, "Will" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote:
> On Feb 6, 3:37 pm, "David L. Johnson" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]>
> wrote:
>
> > This is a bit over the top.
>
> Of course it was. It's freaking -10 F here, there's ice out and I
> can't ride. But my intentions were pure <g>.
>
> For 5 large you can get get a wicked fast, very light bike with room
> in the frame for some variety. But not on a Serotta...

For 5 big ones, you can get an Ultegra go fast sunny day bike, a
fendered rain bike, a Nexus hubbed beer fetcher, and a unicycle.

Or if you find a frame you like, get an Ultegra bike with nice
traditional American Classic wheels from bikesdirect.com for $1500,
flog the frame and fork on Craigslist for $300, and end up with a
$1200 build kit.

Don't see the point in the Serotta, except to empty your wallet. If
you've got a fat wallet and like it, then by all means, enjoy.

02-06-2007, 03:56 PM

>
> I assume there was a reason you chose to drop $ 4900 on this bike, so
> only you could decide whether or not to spend more. Of course, the
> deciding factor should always be, buy the red one.
>
> Curtis L. Russell

Everybody knows that yellow bikes are faster!

02-06-2007, 07:28 PM

Will wrote:
>
> 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.

All true, but a bit over the top.

What are the odds that a $5000 bike will be your ONLY bike?

02-07-2007, 06:11 AM

On Tue, 6 Feb 2007 18:56:33 -0600, "Pat" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote:

>
>>
>> I assume there was a reason you chose to drop $ 4900 on this bike, so
>> only you could decide whether or not to spend more. Of course, the
>> deciding factor should always be, buy the red one.
>>
>> Curtis L. Russell
>
>
>Everybody knows that yellow bikes are faster!

Perhaps, but white is the fastest color. It never runs.

--
jeverett3<AT>sbcglobal<DOT>net (John V. Everett)

02-07-2007, 10:28 AM

[Only registered and activated users can see links. ] 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?

Few riders really need a bike that expensive. Without knowing your
abilities, I'll reserve judgement. But beyond the "new bike phenomena"
that lasts a few weeks, I don't think the new bike will improve your
speed or distance ability a great deal. A bike half this price should
give you about 99 percent of the performance and motivation. Fit and
appropriateness to the kind of riding you do are the main factors to
consider. As with most products, there is a sweet spot in the
performance vs. price curve. Beyond that, improvements are very subtle
and costly.

Art Harris