Bike dilemma

[kostadinnm]

Hello.
I am a newbie and plan to buy a new bicycle. I plan to use it both in the city(we have rough roads here) and in the mountain. I plan to buy a pre-build configuration. I made some one-week research over what kind of bikes there are, what is offered here and little bit on which are the decent components. So, I need to choose between these two:

I’d be thankful to hear your comments on the black-backgrounded components, as for the others I decided that are either good enough, or will be able to change them with no hassle! Also, I went and tried both bikes first-hand, but I’d like to wait on your experienced comments.

Thanks

[Greg Heil ✓ supporter]

I’m a pretty big SRAM fan, but it sounds like the Shimano components are nicer. Are you getting them for the same price or are you paying more for the Shimano? If you’re paying the same price for both, the Shimano would probably be a better deal.

However, I don’t know all of those components off the top of my head without doing research. Maybe someone who knows these all better than I do will respond…

[kostadinnm]

The Shimano’s are actually a bit cheaper(~50 bucks less). However, I don’t like the fact that they decided not to disclose the frame characteristics. I think that as a newbie, the better frame will ease my eventual upgrades. I also find the second bike’s frame pleasantly light, but I don’t expect it to be strong enough for the toughest downhill rides. I think the second bike will be my balanced choice for the city riding that I plan for the most of the time.

I must also say that these bikes(RAM) made better marketing in my country, albeit their apocalypse-related motto([url:23iawhpx]http://www.ram-bikes.com/eng/view_news.php?news_id=16[/url:23iawhpx]) for this year is an "apocalyptic" advertising fail I think. IMHO, RAM bikes had more consumer-oriented presence on our market these couple of years, as opposed to a "keep-one-market-hit-for-years-and-acquire-Italian-licence-for-the-professional-bikes" approach of the other company. Ok, I’ve exceeded this one, and you might think of me as sort of economist, but I am actually an IT.

So, I’ll probably buy the second one! Opinions are still welcome, though.

[dhavener]

If the components are basically a wash (read: equal) you should, in my opinion, buy the best quality/best fitting/performing frame you can afford. If you have a great frame, it’s much easier to upgrade the components as you a) break them b) can afford them or b) lust after better ones; as opposed to buying a mediocre frame with slightly higher quality components.

It’s the same idea as buying a house – buy the worst house in the best neighborhood (so long as the structure is sound), and fix it up to your exact liking as you can afford it.

Either way, you’ll have a bike and lots of fun!

[Author]

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