Looking to buy my first bike.. have about ~$1000 to spend and plan to use it to prep for a 70.3 Ironman next Fall (2025 Washington Tri-Cities Race). I’m a bit flexible with the price, but would prefer not to spend over $1150 since this is my first bike; also am open to both new and used bikes.
I also found this [Cannondale Synapse](https://www.ebay.com/itm/145789598700) that is about ~8 years old. The seller says that it was rode very little but can’t give me a precise model number/year for me to do more research on the bike. I plan to bid ~$400 so after shipping, it would be around $530. How’s the price for that?
mondocock on
Neither…
Allez is overpriced.
Synapse is overpriced.
I’m sure you’re keen to get in the saddle, but neither of these are, like, AMAZING bikes. They’re good, but far better suited to fast commuting duties than race training. $530usd including delivery just isn’t enough to get my blood flowing. If it was cheaper, then yeah either would do, but the value just isn’t there.
Shop local, something you can inspect/test ride, and aim for a race oriented bike. If you’re willing to spend up to $1000usd used, you will be able to find yourself an absolute weapon. I recently posted this in another thread, but a decent list of models to look out for are:
Giant TCR (not including “Alliance” models) (post 2010)
2 Comments
Hello everyone,
*Reposting for better format.*
Looking to buy my first bike.. have about ~$1000 to spend and plan to use it to prep for a 70.3 Ironman next Fall (2025 Washington Tri-Cities Race). I’m a bit flexible with the price, but would prefer not to spend over $1150 since this is my first bike; also am open to both new and used bikes.
I found this bike [2021 Specialized Allez Elite](https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/414442104841699/?ref=search&referral_code=null&referral_story_type=post&tracking=browse_serp%3A36d5aaf0-5589-4bdc-903f-02f62a36c8d1) on Facebook for $1150. The seller claims that the bike is used but ‘essentially brand new’ since it was bought as a gift and only used ~2 times. Is this a good price, and if not, what is the most you would pay for it? I see online that retail is $1300 brand new.
I also found this [Cannondale Synapse](https://www.ebay.com/itm/145789598700) that is about ~8 years old. The seller says that it was rode very little but can’t give me a precise model number/year for me to do more research on the bike. I plan to bid ~$400 so after shipping, it would be around $530. How’s the price for that?
Neither…
Allez is overpriced.
Synapse is overpriced.
I’m sure you’re keen to get in the saddle, but neither of these are, like, AMAZING bikes. They’re good, but far better suited to fast commuting duties than race training. $530usd including delivery just isn’t enough to get my blood flowing. If it was cheaper, then yeah either would do, but the value just isn’t there.
Shop local, something you can inspect/test ride, and aim for a race oriented bike. If you’re willing to spend up to $1000usd used, you will be able to find yourself an absolute weapon. I recently posted this in another thread, but a decent list of models to look out for are:
Giant TCR (not including “Alliance” models) (post 2010)
Giant Propel
Cannondale CAAD series (post 2010)
Cannondale Supersix Evo
Cannondale Synapse Carbon
Trek Madone
Trek Emonda
Swift Ultravox
Kuota Kharma
Specialized Tarmac
Specialized Roubaix
Kinesis Racelight
Kinesis Aithein
Focus Izalco Max
Focus Izalco Race
Focus Cayo
BMC Team Machine
BMC Road Machine
Felt F15, F25, F35, F45, F55, F65, F75, F85, F95
Felt AR1, AR2, AR3, AR4
Merida Scultura
Merida Reacto
Argon 18 Gallium
Argon 18 Nitrogen
Argon 18 Krypton
Argon 18 Radon
Canyon Ultimate
Fuji Team
Fuji SL
Orbea Orca
Kestrel Talon
Ridley Noah
Cube Agree
Scott Addict
Scott CR1
Cervelo R2, R3, R5
Cervelo S2, S3, S5