u/zzFuwa

I'm relatively new to road bikes, so I would appreciate any and all advice!

I'm looking at two used listings. They are the 2012 Trek Madone 4.5 Compact ($450) (specs), and the 2011 Specialized Dolce Triple ($200) (specs).

My use cases are as follows:

• Weekdays: I'm a university student, and I largely commute by bike to and from class.
• Weekends: I enjoy cycling for fitness; and with this new bike, would like to join my university's cycling club to take things up a notch (I had a step-thru bike before this)

Here are my current thoughts on the two listings:

• Both seem pretty fairly priced.
• The Madone has a carbon fiber frame. The Dolce an aluminum one. I have heard stories of carbon fiber frames potentially hiding structural cracks, but being novice, I'm unaware how serious of a problem this actually is.
  • I generally take care of my bikes fairly well, but alas I am a student, and will be locking and unlocking against bike racks a lot.
• I think the Madone is a better choice in quality for more serious weekend rides, and at $450 is of particularly good value.
• I think the Dolce is a better choice in price for my majority-commute weekdays.

Thanks.

I'm relatively new to road bikes, so I would appreciate any and all advice!

I'm looking at two used listings. They are the 2012 Trek Madone 4.5 Compact ($450) (specs), and the 2011 Specialized Dolce Triple ($200) (specs).

My use cases are as follows:

• Weekdays: I'm a university student, and I largely commute by bike to and from class.
• Weekends: I enjoy cycling for fitness; and with this new bike, would like to join my university's cycling club to take things up a notch (I had a step-thru bike before this)

Here are my current thoughts on the two listings:

• Both seem pretty fairly priced.
• The Madone has a carbon fiber frame. The Dolce an aluminum one. I have heard stories of carbon fiber frames potentially hiding structural cracks, but being novice, I'm unaware how serious of a problem this actually is.
  • I generally take care of my bikes fairly well, but alas I am a student, and will be locking and unlocking against bike racks a lot.
• I think the Madone is a better choice in quality for more serious weekend rides, and at $450 is of particularly good value.
• I think the Dolce is a better choice in price for my majority-commute weekdays.

Thanks.

I'm looking at two used listings. They are the 2012 Trek Madone 4.5 Compact ($450), and the 2011 Specialized Dolce Triple ($200) (pictures, link to specs included below).

My use cases are as follows:

• Weekdays: I'm a university student, and I largely commute by bike to and from class.
• Weekends: I enjoy cycling for fitness; and with this new bike, would like to join my university's cycling club to take things up a notch (I had a step-thru bike before this)

Here are my current thoughts on the two listings:

• Both seem pretty fairly priced.
• The Madone has a carbon fiber frame. The Dolce an aluminum one. I have heard stories of carbon fiber frames potentially hiding structural cracks, but being relatively new to bikes, I'm unaware how serious of a problem this actually is.
  • I generally take care of my bikes fairly well, but alas I am a student, and will be locking and unlocking against bike racks a lot.
• I think the Madone is a better choice in quality for more serious weekend rides.
• I think the Dolce is a better choice in price for my majority-commute weekdays.

Any and all thoughts appreciated!

___

2012 Trek Madone 4.5 Compact - $450 (specs)

https://preview.redd.it/ujbbq23gwgug1.png?width=600&format=png&auto=webp&s=27aeef4800206bb329a5c0ed947a307135f1b7c3

and...

2011 Specialized Dolce Triple - $200 (specs)

https://preview.redd.it/1a55h2nmwgug1.png?width=600&format=png&auto=webp&s=c02e1343648f2a6694aea12a2c500b73d2b58a9d

I’ve reached out to 28 different sellers. Only three have responded, and one of them ghosted later. Sometimes I’ll even see that they have updated their listing, but still receive no response.

As it is with bikes, I have to try them out before committing to buying them. Therefore, my messages have been of the form ‘I’m interested in this bike, would there be a good time for be to try it out in person?’. If a few days have passed and they have not responded, I follow up with a quick message.

Sellers, am I doing something wrong?