Which Bike to get?

[Sarah99701]

Made it through the winter biking to work 3 days a week and now I deserve a new bike. I thought I had my heart set on a road carbon frame bike. But after talking to different people I'm not sure what to get. Which is better steel or carbon? I'm so confused. Below is a little about my biking needs.
1. Want to use it to bike to work in the warm months. Would like to be able to hold my lunch
2. I mainly will be biking on the bike paths/sidewalks
3. Would spend up to $2000
4. Plan to ride to Anchorage this summer with my teenage son (but once will be enough) (I have a bob)
5. I live in town
Any advice is welcome

[Sarah99701]

Researched some on the internet so far maybe I should get a steel frame (lightest one in my price range) with a carbon fork. Seems with a total carbon frame I would feel every bump on the bike path and sidewalks. Any thoughts?

[tclark]

"Steel is real"...

It is true that steel absorbs some minor bumps, but the main shock absorption on a road bike is:
a) the saddle
b) the handlebar, bar tape and gloves
c) the tires

Since it doesn't sound like you are trying to build a race bike, go with largish tires. Make sure that the frame and brakes can accept touring-style (or "randonneur") tires. Something like a 700x35 or so. Good saddle, fat tape and whee! Comfy!

The best advice that I can offer though is talk to the folks at one or more of the local bike shops. You can tell that you are talking to the right person when they ask a bunch of questions, about your current bike, about your riding style, whether you want to race, tour, or whatever.

Best of luck!!
Tom

[Carbonfiberboy]

IMO components and frame geometry are much more important than frame material. Get the bike that fits you best and has the best components for the buck. I don't think tire width is particularly important compared to frame and fork. A carbon fork is probably the single most important thing from the standpoint of comfort and performance. Most carbon forks won't accept tires of over 28c, many not over 25c. You want full fenders or the possibility of same? That will make a difference, too. Most carbon bikes and most carbon forks don't have room or attachments for decent fenders.

All that said, full carbon is very nice. I ride my full carbon bike on 400k randonees with 23c tires inflated to 140 lbs. That's how comfortable it is. And it's fast. All that said, you sure as heck don't need a carbon bike to ride on bike paths and sidewalks. OTOH, Anchorage is a long way away. OTOH, you won't be using big gears pulling a Bob, especially uphill. All that, long distance with Bob, bike paths and sidewalks, points toward a bike with MTB gearing. A SOMA Stanyan frame and fork?:
http://store.somafab.com/sostfr.html

See if it could be built up by your LBS for your price point. Triple in front and 11-34 cassette, 105 components. Open Pro rims. Pretty hard to buy a bike off the rack for what you want to do.

[dajohnson53]

Tires are the most important, much more important than frame and fork material when it comes to comfort, especially on rough pavement, gravel, etc. Carbon, steel, aluminum - they make excellent, comfortable bikes. Don't worry about materials. All work very well as long as you get it to fit, get a saddle and handlebars you're comfortable with, and don't use skinny tires unless you really want to lose that extra minute on your commute.

I have been riding a cross bike turned commuter for a year and am really sold on that type of bike for commuting and most recreational use. They can be as racy as you want them to be, but are also equipped from the get-go to take 32+mm tires which are great for commuting. I use smooth tread tires rather than knobbies, and if you want to do winter commuting, they make a variety of studded winter tires so you can do that too. Many, but not all come with eyelets for fenders and rear rack - make sure you check on that.

You can set up most cross bikes as full-on commuters or touring bikes with rear racks, maybe even front racks, fenders and nice wide-ish tires. You can set them up to very closely mimic a "real" road bike by just taking off the extra stuff and putting 23's or 25's tires on it. If I had one bike, it would be a cross bike with two sets of wheels (light and skinny and heavier and wider).

Although I love my carbon fiber road bike, my aluminum cross bike is very fun to ride and very comfortable. With fenders, rack and 32mm tires, it isn't as light or fast as my road bike, but for much of the riding I do, it's actually more fun to ride, and actually is faster in a lot of conditions - on the crappy bike paths, gravel strewn shoulders, etc. I know it's a lot faster on horrible the gravel roads that make up part of my commute.

Go to your favorite Fairbanks bike shop, the one you feel most comfortable with, and talk to them about your budget and uses. Don't worry about frame material- that can be debated all day. But in that price range, and paying attention to fit and tires, you won't get a bad bike.