Raleigh seem to have a very high end road bike available for a lot less money than better known brands.
http://www.raleighusa.com/items.asp?deptid=5&itemid=296
...all Dura Ace
...all carbon
...Mavic Ksyrium wheels.
....so what's the catch? The only one I can think of is that the only bike shops in NYC that carry this bike is a certain chain that get crucified every time their name appears :)
Any comments from the gear heads?
What's the catch ?
Wed, 07/26/2006 - 5:41pm
Thu, 07/27/2006 - 12:27pm
#1
I am so not in the loop...
Which bike shop is this?
Wed, 07/26/2006 - 9:03pm
#2
Raleigh
Raleigh has been known for several years now for giving a nice parts package for the price. My first entry level road bike that I purchased in 2002 was a Raleigh R700, an aluminum frame with a carbon fork and all Ultegra. It was 1500 dollars and at the time an all Ultegra bike from other brands like Trek (paying for their advertising budget) was 2000 and up. When you considered the Ultegra parts, the Shimano 535 wheels, the Kinesis carbon fork, and the Selle Italia Pro Link saddle, you were basically getting the frame for little to no cost. That bike served me well for a little over a year before I upgraded. My friend in Pa. got it on the cheap and has been enjoying it ever since without any issues.
Wed, 07/26/2006 - 9:11pm
#3
That chain
By the way, I did buy the Raleigh at that chain. They had a good mechanic and nice guy at the time at the 96th street shop (Adrian) who did fine maintenance at the time. The following year after he had left, I had the bike tuned up prior to lending the bike to my friend who eventually bought the bike and they messed up the shifter somehow and put a nasty scratch in the top tube. If I bought the bike from them, I would probably use a different shop to have the bike worked on when necessary.
I heard from a previous worker at that shop who is now at Sids that Adrian might be now working in their downtown shop on the west side.
Thu, 07/27/2006 - 9:35am
#4
Raleigh also saves money by mixing groups to lower costs. If you notice, the bike is not completely Dura Ace. It has an Ultegra cog set. I have owned a 600 for almost five years. I has been very serviceable. It was not until the past year that I had to start replacing the wheels and bars, stem, cogset, etc. The frame has been very durable. I have had good luck Metro at 88th for tune-ups and repairs.
Fri, 07/28/2006 - 11:07am
#5
Yeah, but try to tell the difference in cogs while riding, (not with the digital laboratory scale).
Fri, 07/28/2006 - 9:04pm
#6
Never said there was a difference. Only that they do it to lower the cost of the bike. But, if you were on a bike that had Tiagra or Sora and 105 components mixed together, you would notice the difference riding, and not just on the scale.
