I have a dilemma

[-Adam-]

So, as most of you know I'm now in the motions of procuring a new bike after last weeks events.

The frame is more or less sorted, it'll be a Fuga in my team colours. Only sticking point is a Medium is too small, and a Large is too big. So I should get to ride a Large at the weekend to see if its going to be toooooo big, as otherwise, the geometry is almost ideal.

So... the biggest problem is, and this may spark a raging debate... which groupset!?

The idea being that this will be my jack of all trades bike, it needs to be the best for racing, but I will train on it all year round too. Whats the logic for this? Well its better, physiology wise, to ride the exact same position all year around. Short of getting another R3 (Which I can't afford!!!), riding the exact same bike is the best way for most to do this. Plus, it's just nicer all round really if you can ride a decent bike all the time.

So, as far as I see it there are 4 options:

1. Dura Ace 7800, this was my first and prefered choice. DA7800 is awesome, theres no two ways about it. Compared to the other flagship gruppos its the cheapest, and in my opinion the most usable. However... it's no longer in production, so I have found everything but short cage rear mechs available online for very reasonable prices. But I need the rear mech! If anyone knows where I could find one that would be much apreciated!

2. Dura Ace 7900, hmm. I'm a bit reluctant on this one, two reasons: its bloody expensive compared to 7800 for the sake of not much weight, plus (although it would probably grow on me) it's not all that attractive, is it! That said, I'm sure it works very well.

3. SRAM Red, very interested by this idea, however... carbon cranks? I'm not convinced. Plus, it's reeeeaaaaalllllly expensive!! Plus, it's totally new, so would I like the way it works???

4. Er... this one will cause some eyebrows to be raised im sure... Campagnolo Record or Chorus. Again, reeeeeaaaaallllllly expesnsive, and the shifters look a bit weird! Plus, all my wheels are shimano freehubs, so not all that feasible. If they used the same freehub I would be quite tempted to take the Italian plunge.

So I guess it's a nice problem to have, but a problem all the same. I think if I were to go for option 2,3 or 4 I would put the new gruppo on my Cervelo, and swap the old Dura Ace to the new Fuga as that would be the real workhorse... No point wrecking new components straight away.

Let the Shimano/Campag/SRAM war begin!

[-Adam-]

[quote="marco"]Im with Mike I on this - Chaterlea with Benelux gearing.

[Keith]

You've no need to worry Adam, what with you being team leader. One of your underlings will be glad to give you his bike if you have a mechanical.

[Alex S]

Personally I would go full dura ace but with ultegra cassette and chain, they tend to last longer than DA ones do. The 2009 mechanical dura ace is amazing.

SRAM has strange levers. instead of having two controls like mechanical shimano DA, it has one (where the smaller lever is on shimano). you do a light tap of the lever to change to smaller cogs and push the same lever more to change to bigger cogs. I can foresee it causing more mechanical problems and confusing mechanics more than having 2 levers. The great thing about SRAM is you can get custom hood colours. Pimping.

EDIT: Shimano recently.. as in this month.. put all their prices up 40%.. You might be able to find a cheaper set in your LBS if they havent bumped the prices up yet, most internet places will have upped the price already.

[-Adam-]

[quote="Alex S"]EDIT: Shimano recently.. as in this month.. put all their prices up 40%.. You might be able to find a cheaper set in your LBS if they havent bumped the prices up yet, most internet places will have upped the price already.

[Dombo]

I'd go Shimano DA 7800 if I were you. Nothing wrong with Campag, but you never know when or where you may need a spare cable or nipple end, and even Halfrods stock the Jap kit. Doesn't matter if you have DA on your winter bike - just makes it nicer to ride. Some of the internet places like chainreaction may not have put their prices up yet, certainly their mtb spd cleats are still under a tenner vs twenty quid ( for cleats FFS).

And as I always say, if only to bait Marco and Grahame, if it's good enough for Big Tex....

[-Adam-]

[quote="Dombo"]And as I always say, if only to bait Marco and Grahame, if it's good enough for Big Tex....

[Sylv]

7800

get the rear mech on ebay http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Shimano-Dura-Ace- ... 240%3A1318

[Grahame]

Doesn't annoy me at all. He's quite welcome to ride whatever his paymasters (sponsors) pay him to ride.

Me, I still think that any purchase decision above 105 level is based more on emotion than function, especially for a winter/commuting/training/everything bike. I'm also a hypocrite though, and have been very happy with the Ultegra stuff on the Sunn I bought off Sylv a few years ago, so I think a Dura Ace 7800 / Ultegra mix would be the way to go, especially as your race bike has Dura Ace - you wouldn't want to get to the vital part of a race and muff it up 'cos you were too busy thinking about what system you were using rather than just instinctively changing gear and going for the win, would you?

[-Adam-]

I think its gonna be standard 2008 DA, the more I look the more I am finding... it's not easy to come by though, guess it must be popular huh

Gonna need some orange bar tape... any ideas anyone?

[Alex S]

Pinnacle (Evans Cycles) are the only company I know of that does full orange bar tape (Its just like the bontrager tape. I think you can order it in if you pop into evans.

[Tony]

My advice....stick with Shimano. Having Campag on one bike and Shimano on the other will prove to be a total pain in the butt. It did for me when I switched.

Can't really advise on any of the other stuff.....maybe consider a different frame manufacturer if your not happy with the sizes available. It makes sense to have geometry very similar on both bikes - although some people seem very sensitive about such matters, whereas others can ride virtually anything with borrowed shoes, unfamiliar cleats etc. Whatever works best for you!

Also, you should spend at least twice what you originally budgeted. That's normal approach to take when buying a bike. Plus we all need to get spending to bring the country out of recession. Never mind paying for it....that comes later.

[Jon H]

[tightwad mode on]
Presumably before last weeks hiccup everything on the dead bike was working OK, and not everything got trashed in the crash? So just get a new frame and transfer the kit from the dead bike to the replacement.
[tightwad mode off]

Alternatively get the new electric DA bling to put on the Cervelo and transfer the old-skool DA onto the new training bike.

[Andrew G]

[quote="Jon Hemming"][tightwad mode on]
Presumably before last weeks hiccup everything on the dead bike was working OK, and not everything got trashed in the crash? So just get a new frame and transfer the kit from the dead bike to the replacement.
[tightwad mode off]

[Jon H]

P.S. As for the frame, get one medium and one large, cut them both in half and then glue the front end of the medium to the back end of the large and vice versa. Then you'll have two frames that fit you - one to use and one as a spare. Glad to be of help.