The Epic Choice

[splintersp3]

looking to ride 100milers and race. Have narrowed my new bike to 3 different models. 2009 trek modone 5.1 , 2009 look 566, and 2008 bianchi 928. all with ultegras and are in the 3000 $ range. Not much of a gear or bike expert so any reccomendations would be greatly appreciated

 

[LugHugger]

looking to ride 100milers and race. Have narrowed my new bike to 3 different models. 2009 trek modone 5.1 , 2009 look 566, and 2008 bianchi 928. all with ultegras and are in the 3000 $ range. Not much of a gear or bike expert so any reccomendations would be greatly appreciated

have you ridden all of the bikes? bike fit is most important when picking a new ride. find yourself a shop that will allow you to test all of the bikes, preferably for at least an hour.

if all 3 bikes fit, then if it were me i would be thinking along these lines:

trek - lots of people have 'em. reasons for this are: armstrong rides one, value, warranty, dealer covereage, dealers whom i know say that their longevity is comparable with any brand in terms of build quality.

look - less common. this is because armstrong does not ride one. my personal pick of your 3.

bianchi - can only speak from peer group comments but would avoid due to some experience of poor build quality and warranty issues (they take for ever to sort out)

all of the above is subjective apart from the advice about fit. good luck.

 

[gavin_m]

It would be between Trek or Look and I would lean towards the Trek, better craftsmenship to me.

 

[rvokes]

Id stay away from the bianchi 928. fantastic ride, but a crap build. I had 3 (928sl) in a 4 month period last season, they seem to break at the BB. I think that they redesigned the area for the '09 frames. I'm a not a big guy, nor a gear masher(175cm/65kg), and haven't broken than many frames since columbus altec came out in 95.

regards

robert

 

[sherer]

i'd also take into account the wheels, will you be keeping them or upgrading. If you want to keep them compare them too, the Bontrager wheels are pretty good not sure about the Looks.

In the 3k range pretty much any bike is going to be a good ride just depends on what your personal preference is

 

[kiwirider]

looking to ride 100milers and race. Have narrowed my new bike to 3 different models. 2009 trek modone 5.1 , 2009 look 566, and 2008 bianchi 928. all with ultegras and are in the 3000 $ range. Not much of a gear or bike expert so any reccomendations would be greatly appreciated

Seriously recommend not buying Bianchi. I had problems with two frames snapping on me - and like the other poster who had problems, am neither big nor a masher. Their build quality is crap - a close look over a frame will reveal heaps of poor finishing and lack of QC.

I was just helping a friend get onto a new bike on the weekend and part of our exercise was comparing a Trek to a Cannondale. Again, the QC and attention to detail on the Trek (which admittedly was a bit below the level you're looking at) wasn't fantastic - and definitely wasn't the level of the 'dale. I am fussy when I buy a frame or a bike and to me there is something that's just not at the right level with Treks (eg., I was looking at an alloy Fuel at one stage and the welds were rough and had slight gaps in them - not good on a high end bike!). Also I don't rate Bontrager components as a finishing kit - although in saying that, I don't know what the Look has on it.

My call though would be for the Look ... and besides, depending on where you are, isn't it nice to have a bike that's a bit different to what everyone else is riding??

That said though, all of this is secondary to the earlier advice that another poster gave of going with what feels most comfortable to you ...