jstepp 0 Posted August 5, 2004 Share Posted August 5, 2004 been thinking of getting one, trying to decide between a Cannondale or a GT idrive 3.0 anybody know of these, Id much rather get the GT but if anybody has objections please let me know. Link to post Share on other sites
Siren 0 Posted August 5, 2004 Share Posted August 5, 2004 I object. Link to post Share on other sites
Dims 0 Posted August 6, 2004 Share Posted August 6, 2004 When I last checked GT are better value for money, especially in the lower price range. Cannondale bikes are great, but only really come into their own if you are willing to spend a fair chunk o' money. iDrive got pretty good reviews, but it all depends on what type of riding you are doing. Specialized makes some great bikes as well. MTB reviews is a good place to look for good reviews and comparisons. Link to post Share on other sites
nzlegend 1 Posted August 6, 2004 Share Posted August 6, 2004 cannondale are great but you do pay for the name, GT are good value usually. If you are rich and cash is no problem like db, then go for the cannondale Link to post Share on other sites
slow 0 Posted March 21, 2005 Share Posted March 21, 2005 Is there anyone into bicycle here? I'm thinking to buy a road bike(maybe cyclocross) for exercise in summer now. It's very difficult to decide which to buy. This is almost same as choosing skis. I'm interested in knowing which is more fun when you go downhill, road bike on the street or mountain bike in the mountain?? How about mountain bike on the street, is it fun? Link to post Share on other sites
indosnm 0 Posted March 21, 2005 Share Posted March 21, 2005 I used to be a Cannondale man. All my Triathlon bikes and Road bikes were the Fat alumi tubes.. (except for the Giant 1 piece Carbon job) Get a Cannondale! Link to post Share on other sites
js 0 Posted March 21, 2005 Share Posted March 21, 2005 Quote: Originally posted by slow: Is there anyone into bicycle here? I'm thinking to buy a road bike(maybe cyclocross) for exercise in summer now. It's very difficult to decide which to buy. This is almost same as choosing skis. I'm interested in knowing which is more fun when you go downhill, road bike on the street or mountain bike in the mountain?? How about mountain bike on the street, is it fun? A bunch of mates and myself regularly did long distance bike trips (touring - carrying food, tents, etc). Half of the blokes had mountain bikes, the remainder had road bikes. At the end of the day, the road bikes were superior - even on most outback dirt roads. They are lighter, have gears suited to road conditions, thinner tyres means less resistance, and the ramshead handlebars deter a sore back/arms. At the end of a standard day (i.e. 100km's) the mountain bike riders would be several km's behind the road bike riders - it all adds up fatigue, particularly when you add in environmental factors (cross wind, rain, etc) coupled with long distances (many of our trips were in the 500km range). If you're doing relatively short trips around a circuit or town and want a bike for multiple uses - go for a mountain bike. Hope this assists - a broad range of gears, gel seat (they come in male and female types!), good tyres and panniers all helps. Happy riding. Link to post Share on other sites
slow 0 Posted March 21, 2005 Share Posted March 21, 2005 Thanks for advice. I usually ride 30km with my friends in Tokyo. I rode 50km with city bike yesterday and I really enjoyed it. But I realized that up and down was more fun. I really love downhill, speed!! Yeah, Cannondale is cool! I'm thinking to get this Cannondale Cyclocross but it's too expensive... Link to post Share on other sites
kintaro 0 Posted March 21, 2005 Share Posted March 21, 2005 I have a Specialised stump jumper. I do like Cannonndale though. Link to post Share on other sites
js 0 Posted March 21, 2005 Share Posted March 21, 2005 Quote: Originally posted by slow: Thanks for advice. I usually ride 30km with my friends in Tokyo. I rode 50km with city bike yesterday and I really enjoyed it. But I realized that up and down was more fun. I really love downhill, speed!! Yeah, Cannondale is cool! I'm thinking to get this Cannondale Cyclocross but it's too expensive... Also factor into the cost the price of tools to fix it - there's the catch, if you wanna fix/service the bike yourself, you'll need to get the tools at the same time you buy the bike because manufacturers constantly change tooling just so they can make more money when peeps want to upgrade components (gear ratios, etc). Try compiling a wish list of what components you want, then check out all retailers for the best deal. Happy Riding. Link to post Share on other sites
montoya 0 Posted March 21, 2005 Share Posted March 21, 2005 I used to bicycle race in California (road racing, cyclocross) in my teens and college years. I still follow the Tour de France on TV here (anyone else??), but it's been ages since I went riding. I think you will basically be paying for weight, and the level of components. For example, Shimano Dura-ace is top of the line, but the one below it is great also, etc. I think a cyclocross bike is a nice compromise betwen road and mountain bikes, they are usually pretty rugged and light. It also depends on how hard or aggressive you intend to use it - if you are going to bomb down rugged dirt downhills, mountain bikes are the way to go. Link to post Share on other sites
Yuki's Passion 1 Posted March 22, 2005 Share Posted March 22, 2005 I have 3 cannodales here in the States and a Trek carbon (maybe a 5600, forget the series) and like the aluminum frames for racing but wonder about the durability of them off road. The affore mentioned bikes are road bikes. My current mtn bike, which is also aluminum, has a crack in the base of the seat tube. I would go for something stronger if its gonna be used off road much and am just weary about investing in an aluminum mtn bike. Or is it just me? Link to post Share on other sites
nzlegend 1 Posted March 22, 2005 Share Posted March 22, 2005 Yama! those bikes are no bloody good back home! get one of them sent over here! better still get two of them sent over and I can "borrow" your spare one and we can hit the roads of Hyogo one Sunday! I am in the market for a good road bike, I keeping my eye peeled on Yahoo Japan auctions but havent seen the right one yet. Slow - you rode 50km on a mama chari! wow you rock I wouldnt even dream of doing that! You really need to get a good bike - check Yahoo auctions too, plenty of small frames for the ladies p.s. Anyone in Osaka/Nara is who is a serious cyclist, road and off road and wants to know where to go or wants to ride with a group of hard core Japanese guys, give me a PM I can hook you up. These guys know all the best spots to go and will leave you gasping trying to keep up - funnily enough they are almost all Cannondale men! ( didnt help that the group leader until recently ran a bike shop specialising in cannondale ) Link to post Share on other sites
indosnm 0 Posted March 22, 2005 Share Posted March 22, 2005 Quote: Originally posted by montoya: I used to bicycle race in California (road racing, cyclocross) in my teens and college years. I still follow the Tour de France on TV here (anyone else??), but it's been ages since I went riding. I think you will basically be paying for weight, and the level of components. For example, Shimano Dura-ace is top of the line, but the one below it is great also, I still follow the tour mate! I can't wait to return home so I can start riding everywhere again.?? Speaking about gearing, the one below Durace is Ultegra ( used to be 600 ultegra) I used that because at the time it was much lighter than the Durace ensemble. Link to post Share on other sites
slow 0 Posted March 22, 2005 Share Posted March 22, 2005 Yeah Yama, why don't you send your cannondales to Japan? I may join you riding somewhere after I get a cool bike! Are you having a good time? Link to post Share on other sites
brett_jackson 0 Posted March 22, 2005 Share Posted March 22, 2005 Yama my old Scott MTB (Boulder model) with aluminium frame could handle anything my 90kg body could throw it around at, and the only things to break were spokes, 1 head stem and 2 bottom brackets wearing out. That was X-country x-mountain type riding plus some pavement, and the bike had an upgraded fork (RST crap to RockShox Pilot) & handlebars and that was it. I guess everyone has their own story about why Alum is better than Chrom-moly or vice versa, so you never know what to pick. I've only ridden Alum since I've been serious about MTB, and never had frame problem once. New bike is Scott Scale 50 upgraded to full Deore XT (except crank which is strong enough Shimano FC-M470) and Titec El Norte riserbar. Frame is WAY lighter than my oldie, and feels really thin to the flick, but apparently it's heaps stronger. Time will tell I guess. As for Cannondale ... over-priced IMO. I ride with dudes on Cannondales ... their bikes certainly don't function a multiple amount better than mine by the same factor as their price. Having said that, if money were not a problem I'd go with them simply because their frames are sweet looking with the finished welds. P.S. for info on MTB frame strength, the Engineering For Bikes website is interesting ( http://www.efbe.de ). Looks like your frame has to be pretty rugged in order to comply with their standards. Link to post Share on other sites
Yuki's Passion 1 Posted March 23, 2005 Share Posted March 23, 2005 VH, yeah, my mtn bike is really old and has been to hell and back, a few times. Im pretty small (lack of any real muscle ) so I doubt that I could crack it; but when I was a serious triathlete my local bike store that sponsored me was amazed that I broke my spindle twice. Good thing bike parts were free Indo, two of my cannodales have 600 on em, and one more and my trek have durace on em. I love the profile bars on em too. Ahhh, Id love to train for Tri's again but would want to move back to Hawaii to train... Slow, Ive always thought about bringin a bike over but am afraid of training in Japan just cuz of the crazy drivers. And, the one thing about me is I love to go hard and fast on a bike so its not a good combo. Havin a good time in the States and its really nice seeing my family. Damn, there are some HUUUUUUUGE people here; not to meniton the food portions are obsurd. Its quite shocking how much people eat and also think they need to eat. No wonder so many people are overweight. Shocked at how much sweets/coke/sugar people intake too Nice to see beautiful women too Link to post Share on other sites
sunrise 0 Posted March 23, 2005 Share Posted March 23, 2005 Kintaro, I have a Specialized stunt jumper too. I put road wheels on it. Link to post Share on other sites
kintaro 0 Posted March 23, 2005 Share Posted March 23, 2005 Cool, mine is pretty factory standard. Yamakashi, did you used to train in Kona? I used to always see triathles training along side the road on my way to Hapuna beach. Link to post Share on other sites
Yuki's Passion 1 Posted March 24, 2005 Share Posted March 24, 2005 Kintaro, I have never raced a full Ironman, just a half...which was F$king long enough. I lived out in Mililani and use to train on Oahu. My pops did Kona 3 times so I have trained in Kona but never raced. I have soooooooooo much respect for those athletes. Watching the Ironman in Kona is just amazing. Not to mention the Big Isle is beautiful. Off topic, back in like 86 or 87 we went out to the volcanoes national park and got to see Kiluea flowing right. We walked over 2-3 day old dried lava and it was cool. I walked about 10 meters away from my mom and fell through the old lava. About 4-5 meters below the surface was a vent with lava flowing through it. It was so scary and so freakin hot!!! Seems the workers forgot to rope off that area I seem to have some problem with falling into holes Link to post Share on other sites
kintaro 0 Posted March 24, 2005 Share Posted March 24, 2005 I've walked around there many times...very trippy terrain. Link to post Share on other sites
slow 0 Posted March 29, 2005 Share Posted March 29, 2005 This is cool, too! Do you have any comment about surly bike? Link to post Share on other sites
Yuki's Passion 1 Posted March 29, 2005 Share Posted March 29, 2005 yup, you should buy it and then ride to Ashiya on it Link to post Share on other sites
slow 0 Posted April 4, 2005 Share Posted April 4, 2005 There are not so many Surly shops in Tokyo. I found one in Asakusa and will check their Cross-Check next weekend. I really want to get one as soon as possible. Then, I can enjoy nice spring weather in Tokyo. Yama, I'd like to visit you guys in Kansai. Can we go to mountain to ride a bicycle together this summer? You should send your cannondale before you leave there. Link to post Share on other sites
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