Are these new high-end, affordable road bikes too good to be true?
Ive noticed several seemingly high-end road bikes, such as Scattante, Habanero, and Leopard, hitting the market at significantly lower prices than other major brands. Is there a quality difference between these fres and the more well-known fre builders? And why havent I seen any serious reviews of these bikes? Philippe New York, New York
Scattante CFR road bike
Scattante CFR road bike
Although these guys dont get a lot of review space yet, there are some signs of life as they become more well-known. Our very own Outside magazine recently named a Leopard road bike as a killer value" in the annual Buyers Guidenot a bad recommendation.
So, Id trust any of these brands. Last winter, for instance, I purchased a Weyless-brand hardtail mountain-bike frame from Supergothen owned by Performance, and now absorbed into the parent companyand think its just great. Light, stiff, and well-made. No complaints at all. You can get a Leopard (www.leopardcycles.com) L1 carbon-frame bike for $2,300 with Shimano Ultegra components. Thats a smoking deal, if ever there was one. Or, Performance (www.performancebike.com) has the Scattante CFR carbon bike, also with Ultegra, on sale right now for just under $1,900. Or, price out Habanero (www.habcycles.com) titanium cycles from $2,000 (with perfectly serviceable Shimano 105) to $3,400 (with super-sexy Campy Record). Too hot!
The votes are in: Check out the winners of Outside's 2006 Gear of the Year awards, including the year's hottest road bike.
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