For many years my only bike has been a Fuji Declaration, a single speed bike for tooling around urban areas. While living in Brooklyn I took my single speed on some day trips up to Westchester County, but ultimately knew that if I was going to ride the Empire State Trail from Buffalo to New York City, I would need a bike with gears! I did entertain the idea of doing the entire Empire State Trail on my single speed (beast-mode) but a cycling friend said, "Spend some money on a new bike, and spend less later on knee replacement!"
Budget for a bike was around $2000. The first decision was whether to get a carbon fiber frame or aluminum. Carbon fiber is lighter, faster, more expensive, far more brittle and susceptible to damage. I decided against a carbon fiber bikes because a most carbon fiber bikes are not designed to carry a lot of extra weight for multi day bike trips. Many carbon frames do not have seat stay frame attachment points for rear racks. I also was cautioned that excessive weight on carbon frames can cause them to break. Carbon frames are also much more difficult to repair, especially if you are in rural Western NY on a multi day bike trip!
I like riding more upright so all road bikes with drops handlebars were out of the question. After researching numerous bicycle varieties, I settled on a fitness bike. This is category of bikes (aka hybrids) have flat handlebars, are usually 2x11 (22 speed) or 1x11 gears (11 speed). Most major manufactures are active in this space.
The brands I evaluated were were Fuji, Giant, Trek and Cannondale. I was partial to Fuji because I rode one for many years, but all the shops I went to had no Fuji bikes stocked. The model I wanted to try was the Fuji Absolute 1.3 but couldn't find one anywhere.
Regarding Giant, I tried some of their models in at the Pleasant Valley Bike Shop in Pleasant Valley, NY but didn't think feell good about their quality. Something else that irked me about Giant was they don't reveal the actual weight of their bikes on their website. For example for the FastRoad AR 2 in the specs section it states:
Weight: The most accurate way to determine any bike’s weight is to have your local dealer weigh it for you. Many brands strive to list the lowest possible weight, but in reality weight can vary based on size, finish, hardware and accessories. All our bikes are designed for best-in-class weight and ride quality.
What exactly are you hiding Giant? Every other bike company tells you the weight of their models!
Regarding Trek, I had a great experience talking with the manager of a Trek Store on W. 47th st in Manhattan. She explained the difference between carbon fiber and aluminum and showed me both the FX 3 Disc ($999.99) and the FX 4 Sport ($1,499.99). Their FX line goes up to FX 5 and FX 6 but those models were way outside my price range. The FX 4 is carbon and I eventually decided against this one because of its limitations on carrying gear. The carbon frame did not have seat stay rear attachment points and only one water bottle holder (albeit 3 lbs lighter than the FX 3). While the FX 3 was a little heavier it felt better for my multi day touring needs.
After hemming and hawing about the FX 3 and nearly ready to purchase it, a cycling swami friend of mine suggested I look at Cannondale, specifically the Quick 1. The Quick 1 is the top of the line in their Quick Series of fitness bikes. It retails for $1,625, but was on sale for $1,225. What drew me to this model were the following features: the 2x11 gearing, the shimano 105 groupset, and its 23.4 lb weight. Compared to the Trek (1x11 gearing, Shimano Deore M4100 groupset, and 25.88 lb weight), it seemed like a much better deal for a similar price. The Shimano 105 gearing is more for road riding and the Deore is more for mountain biking, and the 22 speed gave me more flexibility than the 11 speed.
I ended up buying the Quick 1, although with a few caveats about the purchasing experience. The Cannondale website shows you which bike stores have the model in stock. I found this out the hard way...THIS IS NOT ACCURATE.
I saw that Bicycles NYC on the Upper East Side of Manhattan had the Quick 1 in the XL size for me (I'm 6'4") and when I arrived they said they didn't have that model in my size. I thought the people working there were awesome and I was disappointed I couldn't buy it from them, but there was a lead time to order the bike and I needed it very quickly.
The only other shop in the NY Metro area that had the Cannondale Quick 1 in the XL size was Mineola Bicycle on Long Island. Don't be fooled by the fact they also sell lawnmowers. They have a great selection of bikes for many types of users. After a number of back and forth conversations and emails with the manager Barry, I purchased the Quick 1 from them and have been very pleased. He was a pleasure to do business with.
In my next post explain the accessories and modifications I did to make it roadworthy for my 12 day Empire State Trail trip.
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