# Specialized Globe Comp 8 Speed Nexus Guessing from 2006



## bunnerrabbit (Sep 27, 2014)

Does anyone know much about these? I am looking to get into road riding. This is more a hybrid but seems more road than anything. How well does the Nexus system hold up? Would this be OK for local group rides? Would a $300 bike from direct bikes be much better? I am on a very slim budget. I also have a Mt bike I could convert but thinking about other options.


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## wim (Feb 28, 2005)

Difficult to pass judgement on this bike unless we know what you mean by "get into road riding" and "local group rides." For sure, any road riding you're going to do on this bike is going to be slow compared to road riders who aspire one day to be so fit that they can ride on flat ground 20 miles in one hour without drafting another rider or a group.

As to group riding: you'd be OK in a group consisting of people who are about as fit as you are and are riding bikes which weigh about as much as the Globe (close to 30 pounds without accessories). That would limit you to what's called social or casual rides which focus more on camaraderie than on riding at a satisfying speed or expending some effort to reach a fitness goal.

Last thought: Unless you learn to quickly fix rear wheel flats without taking the wheel out of the frame, it'll take you considerable time and some know-how to replace a tube in a rear wheel having an internal gear hub. On a group ride, I can almost guarantee you that no one will wait for you to do that unless you've learned how to be quick about it.


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## bunnerrabbit (Sep 27, 2014)

Thank you for your input. I am not sure about that bike anymore after searching old post and reading your post. I just know I do not have $850 for a bike, $85 Helmet, $100 shoes, $50 of extras that they were trying to sell me at the shop. There is a group ride in my area that varies 20-30 miles It starts about 6 miles from my house and comes within 1/2 mile so I could always just ride home. The course just loops through neighborhoods in the area. I do have some health issues is why i mentioned going home. I been riding my Mt bike around a 7 mile loop but want to go farther faster to keep it interesting keeping me out. What got me thinking about all this is I stopped to help a guy that was broke down in the middle of nowhere. It turned out to be my Dr.


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## AndrwSwitch (May 28, 2009)

For a tight budget, I've bought used bikes. $300 is a pretty reasonable road bike from the '90s or newer. New enough to have contemporary parts and straightforward maintenance, anyway.

Do you have any friends who ride?

Is anything stopping you from riding more variety on your mountain bike? I have both, and I'd get bored riding the same thing over and over again. I have a favorite MTB spot a couple miles from my house with a ton of options do depending on how long I want to/have time to ride, I do lots of different routes there. I also have a riding spot I go to near work and I make a few trips a year to other places around my region.

I haven't been riding the road that much lately. I have a greater tendency to just ride the same route near my house on my road bike but if I've been riding it more or just feel like it, there are several other options I do on occasion and, of course, all the routes I can imagine.

Points being, mountain biking is a fun way to ride a mountain bike and variety makes all kinds of riding more interesting. Just getting a different bike may not make going around and around the same loop interesting enough.


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## wim (Feb 28, 2005)

bunnerrabbit said:


> I just know I do not have $850 for a bike, $85 Helmet, $100 shoes, $50 of extras that they were trying to sell me at the shop.


I know the sales pitch, believe me.

To start road riding and go on group rides, you don't need a thousand dollars worth of new stuff. The $300 used bike option mentioned above is an excellent alternative. The shoes and pedals you use when riding your mountain bike most likely would work for you for a while, even if they're just sneakers and platform pedals. Being tightly connected to the pedals feels good and makes you a better rider, but it doesn't magically make you go faster (people swear it does, but it's mostly BS).

If you can't find a good $300 used bike, consider taking your mountain bike and make it a little more efficient. If you have large, knobby tires now, replace them with narrow (1.5 inch or so) slicks. If the bars are much above your saddle, lower the bars a bit for increased power and better earodynamics. Add some bar ends (even just mini-bar ends) so you can ride with your thumbs up instead of facing each other (the palms-down flatbar hand position is completely unsuitable for longer road rides). If you make these modifications, your mountain bike will almost certainly be more suitable for group road rides than the Globe would.


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## bunnerrabbit (Sep 27, 2014)

I live near the coast of NC, Its pretty flat here and the limited Mt Bike trails are limited, There are only a few and nothing within 25 miles. However there are group road rides everyday of the week. sometimes more than one. I started out biking when I lived a lot closer to the mountains and was defiantly the way to go there. Road bikes are whats popular around here. I do have a cousin that't is starting to ride Mt bike so I plan on riding with him some. I have seen some people riding road bikes in my area that I would like to talk to. They seem old enough and heavy enough I should be able to keep up with them.


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## bunnerrabbit (Sep 27, 2014)

I have looked used but think the popularity in the area keeps prices up on them. I still have the knobby's and no bar ends. Maybe i will just swap some parts on it.


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## wim (Feb 28, 2005)

bunnerrabbit said:


> I have looked used but think the popularity in the area keeps prices up on them. I still have the knobby's and no bar ends. Maybe i will just swap some parts on it.


Putting narrow "city" tires on the mountain bike will make the biggest difference, by far.

Are there bike clubs in your area? Sometimes the newsletters those clubs put out have excellent deals in their "For Sale" section. I was reminded of this when I got my local club (Williamsburg, Virginia) newsletter today and saw that an 80-plus year old fellow rider was hanging it all up and put his 9-speed carbon Specialized Roubaix road bike with all accessories up for sale. So good things are out there. Caveat: has to fit! Don't even take a bike for free if it doesn't fit you.


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## bunnerrabbit (Sep 27, 2014)

Save Up to 60% Off Road Bikes - Motobecane Mirage S

considering this also

Also know where there is a diamondback podium 3 local for $450 2 years old road very little I think its 105 equipped.


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## AndrwSwitch (May 28, 2009)

Don't get too hung up on the gear.

Granted, I'm not putting in a ton of road miles lately. But lately, I'm just riding Sora and Tiagra on my road bikes. I had a pretty nice 105 bike that I bought back in 2000, but it was too big. Due to some circumstances, I bought a 'cross bike at retail in 2008. Going through the retail process, I ended up getting the right size bike for me. But, I could only afford a Tiagra bike. Really, I couldn't afford that. But I "needed" it to compete in 'cross races. So I kicked myself for buying it for a few years, and then I put 23 mm slicks on it and lo and behold, I liked it better than my nicer road bike. Guess which one I kept in a recent move. I could have stripped the 105 and Ultegra stuff off the road bike, I suppose, but I would have felt guilty about stripping the choicest pieces and then sending it to my brother, so I didn't. I thought I might buy a nicer road bike after moving, since now I'm working full-time again and I can afford it. But those Tiagra bits keep working. 2009 Tiagra was a 9-speed group.

The Sora stuff is on my rain bike, formerly my commute bike. That came to me with SRAM Rival, but when one of the shifters broke, I stuck some downtube shifters on it and got on with my life. Since moving, I'm not commuting by bike anymore, so I decided I'd like to have integrated shifters again. I didn't care to replace any more than I had to or throw any more money at it than I had to, so I stuck some Sora shifters on it to stay 9-speed. That has a side benefit that I only have to keep 9-speed spares around for road cycling. My mountain stuff is, unfortunately, a lot less rational.

Point being, if the bike fits you well and it's mechanically sound, you're almost all the way to the efficiency of a bike costing thousands more. Since most of the power loss on the road is from pushing your body through the air, the difference the components can make, again assuming they all work right, is pretty marginal. Though I do like some of the creature comfort stuff - integrated shifters are pretty nice and I'm a sucker for fancy tires.


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## wim (Feb 28, 2005)

AndrwSwitch said:


> Point being, if the bike fits you well and it's mechanically sound, you're almost all the way to the efficiency of a bike costing thousands more


Exactly right.

On the Motobecane: mail order bikes are OK, but you're on your own when it comes to assembly and possible issues. If you bring a mail-order bike to a bike shop for assembly (often, $100) or repair, your savings might evaporate. For entry-level mail order bikes, I prefer Nashbar or similar vendors for the simple reason that unlike BikesDirect, there's tons of seemingly honest reviews on their website--good, bad and the ugly.

But as Andrew said: don't get hung up on gear. I stopped group road-riding a few months ago (too old) and gave my carbon wonder bike to a much younger person. Well, couldn't stand to be without a "road" bike after a few weeks and ordered a Nashbar Argyle coaster-brake (yes, the brake on kid's stuff) bike for $219 including shipping. After slapping a drop bar on it, I found the thing to be a blast to ride and the $219 to have been spent very well , indeed. This from someone who just had to have Campagnolo Record on his bike not too long ago, go figure.


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