My Final Decision: Specialized Amira and Shimano Tiagra vs. Shimano 105 Components

My new baby being assembled at Cycle Center

I knew I wanted the Specialized Amira Compact and I was pretty sure that the base model was probably the way to go.  I had quickly ruled out the middle entry level model with SRAM components.  Multiple sales reps at different stores had said that customers didn’t like the SRAM shifting which requires a double push and can be hard to get right, or for women with small hands, hard to push all the way over.  The Tiagra shifters in the base model felt like an upgrade to my Sora shifters, and I was questioning whether spending an additional $700 between the base and elite models was really worth it.  But, my husband, even being an accountant always looking for the good deal, said he would hate to advise me not to consider the upgraded components which are a very important part of any bike.

My one other concern as I considered either of these components was that fact that I would be going from a 27 speed, triple crank to a 20 speed, double crank.  The staff at Cycle Center of Stamford advised me that the difference would be that on the low end on either bike, I would lose the option of the lowest 1-2 gears but at the high end on the Elite, I would have one more gear allowing for more power going down hills.  I decided to do a test on my Raleigh around one of my North Stamford rides and since I was able to maintain my ride in gears 10 – 18  going up some rolling hills, I decided I should generally be ok.  In the end, I would also gain some speed and power through a better bicycle.

I returned to Cycle Center to test ride bicycles with the Shimano Tiagra versus the Shimano 105 components.  In the end, I could feel a difference in the ease and smoothness in shifting and decided this is a very important factor.  The carbon seatpost upgrade on the elite model is a nice factor, although that is something on any bike you can easily upgrade.  The Fulcrum wheels are also a nice upgrade, although based on some reviews I’ve read, if I were just upgrading the wheels, I would likely make some other choices.

So, in the end, it was the Shimano 105 components that were the biggest deciding factor in going with the Amira Elite.  I wish the middle Amira Compact model gave the option for the Shimano 105 instead of the SRAM Apex as I do feel like you have to overpay somewhat to get the overall package you want.  On the other end, the base Amira model is a very good value if you don’t mind the Tiagra components.  I was just concerned that one year from now I would be kicking myself for not going with the Shimano 105.

The Amira Elite model I was ordering only came in one blue and black color, which I was a little disappointed in when placing the order.  I had liked the white and gold color scheme on the lower models.  But when I picked up the bike, the color scheme in real life far exceeded my expectations.  The black areas of the frame have a very cool gloss over the matrix patterned carbon fibers.  The blue pallet is a cool electric blue and the blue and white stripes carry through to the seat and handlebars.  I was instantly in love with my new baby!

Bicycle Reviews: 2012 Specialized Amira Compact vs. The Trek Madone

I set out looking to test ride the Specialized Amira Compact and the Trek Madone.  Before heading out, I posted on each of the manufacturer’s facebook pages, “why should I buy your bike versus the competitor?”  Of course, I knew only I could decide what was right for me, but I was curious what they would say.

The Amira caught my eye in Bicycling Magazine, which named it one of their top picks for women’s 2012 models.  The review gives the bottom line, “Buy it if you want an affordable bike that will let you go fast.”  Yes – that’s me!  The Amira Compact is the entry-level model of Specialized’s more expensive Amira line, which includes 7 models in total.  The entry-level line comes in 3 models:  the base model ($2,000 msrp) with Shimano Tiagra, or the next model up ($2,200 msrp) with SRAM Apex components, and the Amira Elite ($2,700) with Shimano 105, upgraded tires and carbon seatpost.  All three models have the same racing designed carbon frame.

I received a postcard in the mail for Cycle Center’s annual bicycle sale in March.  I showed up on a sunny Saturday with my shoes and peddles in hand.  The store was packed but there was an adequate and friendly sales staff to quickly service me.  As it turned out, Cycle Center in Stamford, CT had the Amira in my size available for a test ride.  They directed me to a route around one of North Stamford’s reservoirs.  They definitely get the award for “best outdoor environment for a test ride” out of all shops I visited, which is actually a very important factor.

I took the 20 speed, carbon frame base model out for a ride and zipped around the reservoir.  The Shimano Tiagra was an upgrade to my Shimano Sora shifters.  I liked the fact that the 20 speeds, double crank saved weight and had easier shifting over my current triple crank, 27 speed, although I wondered if I could make it up some of the steeper hills I encounter in my CT and Martha’s Vineyard rides. 

Next up, I headed to Danny’s Cycles to take a test ride on the Trek Madone.  The only WSD in my size was their more expensive 5 series model (retail price I think was $3,300).  Christina was ready for me and took me out for a test ride, which was a nice touch to have the sales rep accompany you.  She advised me to just wear my sneakers with normal pedals for our test ride, which was on some side streets around downtown Stamford (probably a wise thing for being on an unfamiliar bike having to watch out for cars and broken glass in the city streets).  Of course, this being such an expensive bike, the ride was awesome, even given the less than ideal street conditions.  I asked to ride the less expensive 4 series, which they had available in a men’s slightly too large frame.  I could tell the difference between the 2 models in shifting and absorption of road vibration but the 4 series was still a great ride.

Now, I was confused.  On one hand, the Trek felt more comfortable but I couldn’t put my finger on why.  And I wondered why Bicycling Magazine hadn’t rated it side by side with the Amira (was it some sponsorship deal?).  For some reason probably having to do with brand perceptions and style, I was in love with the Amira but my head was telling me the Trek was more comfortable and therefore rationally a more appropriate bike for me.  I checked my facebook query and the responses, which came from all over the world, were all from regular consumers who either were simply advocating “their brand” or very unbiased and good advice to just get what was right for me.  But I really wanted to know the facts of why I should get one versus the other (being a professional marketer, the manufacturers missed a huge opportunity here to have a conversation with me in social media to help me through my choice and have the response on display for other viewers).

I stopped back at Cycle Center.  They had told me if I got confused or liked something about another bike to talk it through since many adjustments to any bike can make a difference.  We looked online together at the Trek models and it became evident why the “comfort” factor was different.  The Trek only makes a geometry in the Madone series that allows for a more upright position.  If I wanted more upright comfort, I should be test riding a Specialized Ruby for comparison to the Trek Madone.  In the end, I wanted a racing bike, so it became clear that would be my reason for selecting the Specialized Amira.  Now my heart and my head could agree!

Good Things Come in Big Packages (but is a triathlon bike right for me?)

My husband took my “subtle” hints of my “need” to have a bicycle on location at both homes in CT and Martha’s Vineyard for this year’s birthday present.  Once I started training for triathlons, my 15 year old Specialized Hybrid which I was keeping on the Vineyard just wasn’t cutting it anymore except for short runs to the beach or store.  So last summer I was constantly insisting we load my 5 year old Raleigh road bike onto the car for our weekend trips to our home away from home.  Both the Specialized and Raleigh were former birthday presents so given history and hints, I was pleasantly “surprised” with my gift.

My accountant husband did a lot of research and determined the best deal on the market was a Kestrel triathlon bike – you can find it online with high end components for about $1,800.  I was thrilled at the opportunity to not just get another bike to satisfy my “need” but also to upgrade for my future races.  But, the first question I started asking is “should I get a triathlon bike”?

I read some articles that would indicate I should consider a triathlon bike.  Generally, you should only consider a triathlon bike if you already have a road bike for certain training and riding situations in which you would not want a triathlon bike.  A lot of group rides prohibit triathlon bikes, which are not made for quick maneuvering or a lot of hills.  Triathlon bikes are best when you want to maintain speed over long distances on flat or not more than rolling hills surfaces.  Their design can be considered a little less stable when needing to deal with situations where you have to maneuver through a lot of bike or car traffic.  The geometry of the bike is designed to help “save your legs” somewhat during cycling to make the transition into the run easier.

So with this in mind, I visited some local bicycle shops to further investigate triathlon bikes.  My first stop was to a triathlon shop that I’m thrilled just opened in Stamford, CT – Pacific Swim Bike Run.  I follow them on Facebook as they frequently hold some great events.  While they carried Kestrels, they didn’t have any triathlon bikes in that or any other brand in my size to give a trial ride.  I stopped in at another store while in Waitsfield, VT – FIT WERX.  Very nice folks who take cycling seriously and it appears that people travel for miles to shop in their store and/or use their bike fitting services.  Again, there was nothing really in my size to try.  On the way home from VT and almost home, we stopped in Cycle Center, a bicycle store in North Stamford a few miles from our house.  Again no triathlon bikes in my size.

I started looking online at manufacturers’ sites, hoping to find a manufacturer’s event or sponsorship at a local expo.  While there appeared to be many events across the country, I was surprised and disappointed that there was nothing upcoming in the metro NY area (a huge oversight I think for the manufacturers).  I finally discovered a woman’s bicycle shop in Fairfield, CT.  The shop, Trek Women Bike Store, is really just a section of the larger Trek Bicycle of Fairfield store, but they did have a woman’s Trek triathlon bike in my size.  They were very busy that day so I had to wait awhile for them to get the bike ready but once they had time for me, the person helping me was very knowledgeable and actually a former triathlete pro-in-training who spent a couple years in Colorado at the training headquarters.  The weather was misting so I just took it for a quick ride in the parking lot to see how it handled.  I returned to the store thinking I would have to come back for a longer ride on it, and upon coming into the store, one of the sales attendants said, “yeah they are really nice bikes but you really only want to take them out on race day.”  Huh?  While I understood they are not good for all situations, I didn’t envision having a bike that I only took out on race day.

My next stop a few days later on a late evening just before closing was to Danny’s Cycles in Stamford, CT.  Danny’s offers lifetime annual service for free if you buy a bicycle there, a plus.  I instantly liked the sales rep, Cristina, who was a triathlete herself.  We talked more about a triathlon bike and she further discouraged me from it, confirming that most people who have one bring them out for race day.  As I thought about the fact that I ride on bike paths a lot, I often have to maneuver around people and on occasion stop quickly.  I also concluded through these discussions that I could just put aero bars on a road bike, particularly if I knew that going into the purchase and bought a bike sized with that in mind.  When I googled “getting optimal speed on a bike” one of the best things you can do is reduce wind resistance which is what the aero bars help accomplish, as well as ease the pressure on your back during long distances.

So, one month into my shopping, I concluded I would focus on a road bike.  I was also reminded throughout this process how important a Women’s Specific Design (WSD) is for me.  While many women can ride a man’s bicycle, I have long legs and a short torso which is one of the key features a WSD addresses.  Furthermore, bicycle designers who have been taking the woman’s market seriously, have made design changes to the handlebars and braking and shifting positionings, accounting for women’s smaller frames and hands.  As I researched WSDs, it appeared that Trek and Specialized are the two brands taking WSD seriously.  Both brands tout women designers on staff, have events tailored to women, and have an online presence that clearly demonstrates they take the market seriously.  Next up – my reviews of Specialized and Trek test rides.

Dare to Dream

There was a moment last September when I was running down the path along Manhattan’s West Side in preparation for my last triathlon of the season. It was a beautiful evening run with the sun setting and glistening on the Hudson River and Lady Liberty standing tall in my view. I was feeling good that the pain in my knees that had been bothering me for the last 3 weeks had dissipated and that my pace was up despite my recent lack of running. But, it was unseasonably HOT. I was cursing that I had chosen to pack a long sleeve top that morning upon leaving my house. Then, it occurred to me there was an alternative – I had my sports bra on underneath my shirt.

It took me another five minutes of internal debate whether or not the right thing to do was just to strip the shirt since it had never occurred to me to workout in my sports bra. I was trying to envision the women in the gym – surely I had seen some of them working out in halter type outfits, whether or not they were a sports bra or not, I was unsure. And, there was that woman in the Nantucket Triathlon whom I had passed and ultimately beat – the image was very clear that she had been wearing something less than a shirt. But, there was something nagging me keeping my shirt on until I was so hot that I finally said the hell with it, ripped off the shirt, and went on to turn around for the second half of my run, waving to Lady Liberty and not caring what anyone thought about my freedom to wear what I pleased so I could insure a good workout.

After watching a fantastic movie last evening, it occurred to me why perhaps there had been a nagging thought in the back of my brain. As logical as I had thought about the fact that my swim suits were more revealing in public and that other women were certainly not always covering themselves with shirts, there once was a controversy that had put the issue on the front of the newsstands – it was the end of the 1999 World Cup when the American Women’s team had just beat the Chinese in overtime based on penalty kicks. Brandi Chastain, was just doing what the guys do when they win, she ripped her shirt off, revealing her sports bra, and fell to her knees in exultation for their magnificent victory. Somehow the models who pose in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit edition are sexy and Brandi on the cover of Sports Illustrated, Time, and Newsweek was a controversy?!

I thoroughly enjoyed the movie, Dare to Dream, about a group of women who changed sports forever. Most were high school age teenagers when they were recruited in the ‘80s by Coach Anson Dorrance for the US women’s national soccer team based on a vision and tiny investment from US Soccer. I have to say that I’m embarrassed and disappointed that I didn’t know more about them until now, especially considering they are my generation and that one of its star players, Kristine Lilly, went to my husband’s high school, and we were likely living in Wilton, CT at the same time as she was. In fact, before watching the movie, the only things I could recall was “the bra incident” and the name Mia Hamm.

The reality is that these women played for the love of the game. They didn’t have the same dollars and investment that the men’s team had. And, they had to figure out what all professional women have to do – how to balance family and work. When one of the young players in her twenties decided to start a family, she thought her “soccer hobby” was over, but thankfully her coach encouraged her back on the field. But, while we office professional women can thank the discrimination laws for equal pay for equal work, there are no such laws protecting female athletes and other creative artists whose pay is dictated by the market force of butts in seats and TV viewing that fuel sponsorship dollars.

So, you would have thought after they had finally proven their ability to get butts in seats in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, that sponsors and others would have taken notice. It took a labor boycott in advance of the 1999 World Cup for them to negotiate only some of the same terms in their contract as the men. And, as women of many professions have found, their abilities to succeed were called in question in the media – could they really fill the seats in Giant Stadium and the Rose Bowl? They did what many women have had to do – they worked harder. Not just on the field, but at building a fan base and in their grassroots ticket selling efforts. In fact, they played to a SOLD OUT stadium of screaming and fanatical fans of all ages and genders.

Brandi’s shirt ripping off gesture was not just about that win. As she whooped it in the air with her right hand – just like Lady Liberty holds the torch in hers – it was a symbol for the change and revolution that this team of amazing women had achieved.