Just received an email from Reid with this promo, definitely not a "pro" bike but not a bad buy for a beginner looking at a value road bike priced below $500…
Reid sale has it at $499 (RRP $699)
Use code 20BUCKS to bring it down to $479 - less 4% Cashback for a total of $459 - cashback link - https://www.cashrewards.com.au/reid-cycles
It's 9sp SORA components are best avoided, given you might be able to get 10spd 105 for only a little more. Consider the recently sold Reid 2014 Falco Advanced Road Bike with Shimano 105 Components for $555.01 (see http://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/180513 )
For those who are more price conscious.
I have had the Sora gearset for almost 3 years.
I ride about 4,700 a year commuting to work.
I never had a problem with the Sora set until towards the end where the chain was stretched and the cassette needed replacing.
No doubt there are better gearsets around, but the Sora has been solid for me.
If you are getting nearly 5K Kms out of a chain you are doing very well. I ride an Ultegra chain (2 or 3 grades higher) and I get about 3K out of my chains (although I do a lot of hill climbing).
Do you not think higher end kit wears quicker given the weight reductions? What I find with the cheaper groupsets is they require more frequent servicing and tuning as they have more play over time.
That is expected. Your "higher grade" chain is narrower (11 vs 9speed?) so the pins wear out faster.
I'd be surprised if there was any difference in the steel.
Lucky you, I've had no end of issues from my sora front derailleur. If I had my time again I would have opted for the Tiagra on the next model up.
Lucky you putting in the km's, time to upgrade and appreciate the engineering, try anything Campagnolo and Shimano will be a distant memory :)
try anything Campagnolo and Shimano will be a distant memory
Only because you'll have a lot of time to think on the long walk home :P :P
As an active rider I don't think SORA components are that bad. I currently ride a bike worth about $6000 but started with a cheap bike with SORA components. It lasted many years and even when I sold it, it was still holding strong.
So for an everyday bike with no fuss, this bike is decent.
I agree with you .. had mine for 18 months .. so far so good .. SORA components have proven to be OK!!!
Good price!!!
Looks like funny-buggers with the pricing. It was actually selling at $599, not $699. Deceptive and misleading conduct.
Lots of cyclists on here - may I pick your brains? I've been looking at getting a bike primarily for the work commute (but I want to have the option of biking for fun, too) and have been kicking back and forth these two:
and
The work commute is a totally paved road, with several steep climbs. The paved path is often strewn with glass, rocks and other debris. It's about a 6km ride. Thoughts?
Both look like bog-standard mountain bikes, except for the tyres, that more than meet your requirements.
Both are hardtail Mountain Bikes. 6km isnt a long distance on a bike (even for a Mountain bike). If you are going to be riding mostly on paved paths or roads the low end suspension forks arent going to add much but expense to the cost of the bike. If you aren't going to ride offroad you would be better off getting a hybrid or flat bar road bike, probably cheaper, faster and quicker. Get some Gatorskin tyres to go with it and avoid punctures, you will still be in front.
Having bought Specialized Crosstrail similar to Giant Roam, as my first bike, my advice for you is to get the flatbar road bike like Specialized Sirrus or Giant Cross City. The front shocks on the hybrid bike isn't much use, I have mine switch off 99% of the time. My thought on the hybrid after a year having it, is that hybrid is a useless bike category, you can't really ride it on hardtrail and it's slow on road. Get flatbar with carbon front fork, it's more durable and less vibration. However if you like offroad adventure then go for a proper MTB.
Hmmm, interesting. They're not sold as MTB at all, too fragile for that kind of work and for $700 you can buy a more fair dinkum MTB anyway.
These were the two bikes my LBS recommended. Thanks Jackfruit, that is the exact kind of feedback I was looking for, it corresponds with my gut feeling about these hybrids. I'll make another trip into the LBS and have a closer look at their 100% road bike setups, this weekend.
Is this a good bike for commuting? (Hornsby to North Sydney, NSW) about 20km each way 2-3 times a week?
I'm 178cm/70kg :)
Really interested in getting this, but I'm getting a "500 Internal Server Error" when trying to access Cashrewards. Never used it cashrewards before.
Anyone else getting this?
This was a better deal.